Sankaty (steamboat)

The "Sankaty" (a.k.a. HMCS "Sankaty" a.k.a. "Charles A. Dunning") was a propeller-driven steamer that served as a ferry to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts; in Rockland, ME; Stamford, CT and Oyster Bay, Long Island; Staten Island; Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia; and served as a minelayer for the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II.

Construction

The "Sankaty" was designed by Chauncey G. Whiton,citation
url = http://sdr.lib.umich.edu/cgi/m/mdp/pt?seq=102&view=image&size=100&id=mdp.39015020219674&u=1&num=245
title = Steamboat Days
first1 = Fred Erving
last1 = Dayton
chapter = Nantucket Sound
publisher = Frederick A. Stokes company
page = 245-6
year = 1925] built by the Fore River Works in Quincy, MA"The Technology Review", Vol. XIII, No. 1. January, 1911. MIT Alumni Association. [http://books.google.com/books?id=Gg0AAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=steamer+%2BSankaty] ] and launched in 1911."The Dukes County Intelligencer". Vol. 24, No. 4. May 1983] It was 188 feet long, a slim vessel with twin propellers and twin smokestacks."The Dukes County Intelligencer". Vol. 7, No. 4. May 1966] It had a 36 foot beam, [Douglas-Lithgow, Robert Alexander. "Nantucket, A History" G. P. Putnam, 1914.] and drew 9' 6" of water. [ [http://www.mvgazette.com/commentary/gazette_chronicle/?document=19800400_25_years_ago Vineyard Gazette Online ] ]

Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Ferry

From its construction in 1911 until 1924, the "Sankaty" operated as a ferry serving the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. While not the first propeller-driven steamer to serve these islands (which was the "Helen Augusta" which substituted for the "Monohansett" during the Civil War) it marked the end of the paddlewheel steamer era for the Cape and Islands.

The "Sankaty" rolled much more than the sidewheelers that preceded it. Because of this, the ladies' parlor and toilet was situated on the upper deck in a location to reduce the motion and vibration while on the rough waters of Vineyard Sound.

1924 fire, Maine and New York Ferry Service

On the night of June 30, 1924, "Sankaty" caught fire and burned down to its steel hull while tied up overnight in New Bedford harbor. It drifted across the Acushnet River in flames and crashed into the famous whaling ship "Charles W. Morgan", setting it on fire as well. [The American Neptune, 1941. Peabody & Essex Museum, Peabody Museum of Salem [http://books.google.com/books?id=xzLSFspFuKAC&q=steamer+%2BSankaty&dq=steamer+%2BSankaty&pgis=1] ] [ Pacific Steam Navigation Company, "Sea Breezes" Vol. 56, no. 443 (Nov. 1982) [http://books.google.com/books?id=5qoPAAAAIAAJ&q=steamer+%2BSankaty&dq=steamer+%2BSankaty&pgis=1] ]

"Sankaty" was raised, sold and rebuilt with an open deck for use as a car ferry in Rockland, ME. A few years later it was sold again to serve as a ferry between Stamford, CT and Oyster Bay, Long Island. [Snow, Edward Rowe, "Mysteries and Adventures Along the Atlantic Coast" Dodd, Mead. 1948. [http://books.google.com/books?id=IbPTkRE2bR4C&q=Rockland+%2BSankaty+%2Bferry&dq=Rockland+%2BSankaty+%2Bferry&ie=ISO-8859-1&pgis=1] ] [Morley, Christopher. "Streamlines". Doubleday, Doran & Co, 1936.] It also evidently served as a Staten Island Ferry. [ [http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andrew.etherington/1940/09/24.htm 24 September 1940 ] ]

Canadian service

In 1941 the "Sankaty" was purchased by Northumberland Ferries of Prince Edward Island, Canada, but before it began service it was requisitioned by the Royal Canadian Navy to serve in World War II as a minelayer, HMCS "Sankaty". After the war it was renamed the "Charles A. Dunning", and served from 1946 until 1964 in the waters between Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia. During this period its capacity was twenty-three cars and four trucks. [ [http://www.islandregister.com/ship_data5.html The PEI Ships Arrival/Departures Database - P.E.I.'s Coastal Vessels and Ferries ] ] It was sold for scrap in 1964, but sank enroute to Sydney, Nova Scotia. [http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/october/27Oct.txt]

The new "Sankaty"

In 1994, The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority began service of a new freight vessel "Sankaty", named after this old steamer. [ [http://web1.steamshipauthority.com/ssa/ferries.cfm The Steamship Authority, Serving the Islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket ] ]

Image gallery

Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 1941.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 1941.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, March 1941.

Notes