The loss of GALWAY
LINE´s CONNAUGHT intrigued me after a friends sending of a copy of GALWAY ADVERTISER of Thu, Sep 15, 2016, about . Intuiged by an earlier finding about, I started a research
for this article.
The loss of the ps CONNAUGHT, ATLANTIC ROYAL MAIL STEAM NAVIGATION Co. or GALWAY LINE, October 8th 1860. The CONNAUGHT was launched to reverse the sliding fortunes of the J Orwell Lever’s GALWAY LINE, and had a severe blow to the company. Although the local press tried to make the most of the fact that of the 591 people on board, not one life was lost, the bad publicity soured the public towards GALWAY LINE, which was at the same time in financial trouble.
The loss of the ps CONNAUGHT, ATLANTIC ROYAL MAIL STEAM NAVIGATION Co. or GALWAY LINE, October 8th 1860. The CONNAUGHT was launched to reverse the sliding fortunes of the J Orwell Lever’s GALWAY LINE, and had a severe blow to the company. Although the local press tried to make the most of the fact that of the 591 people on board, not one life was lost, the bad publicity soured the public towards GALWAY LINE, which was at the same time in financial trouble.
by Earl of Cruise
CONNAUGHT of ATLANTIC ROYAL MAIL STEAM NAVIGATION
Co. or
GALWAY LINE - courtsey Timothy Collins, Transatlantic Triumph and Heroic Failure: The Galway Line
The ps CONNAUGHT was a 110 meter / 360 feet long, 2,959 GT, passenger sail and paddle steamship which was built in 1860 at PALMERS SHIPBUILDING and IRON COMPANY in Newcastle upon Tyne, and sank on its maiden voyage.
Above and below: The Liverpool Mercury, Saturday, October 20, 1860
The CONNAUGHT's first trip was from Galway, Ireland to Boston, Massachusetts
via St. John's, Newfoundland. The
ship departed on 25 September 1860 with 50 first-class passengers, 417 steerage,
a total of 462 passengers, and a crew of 125. The ship successfully crossed the
Atlantic ocean to St. John's, and then departed to travel onward to Boston. While
in Boston some 10,000 people visited the ship, and no doubt exclaimed at its
magnificence and comfort. And thereafter sailed on to Boston, Massachusetts.
On Saturday October
6th, the CONNAUGHT steamed out of Boston on her return voyage with 591
passengers and crew on board.
CONNAUGHT under way - courtsey Timothy Collins
In the early days
of October 1860, approximately 100 miles (160 km) from Boston a storm hit.
Side paddle wheels are not an optimum structure for vessels in stormy seas, and
the ship sprung a leak. The leak was brought under control, but due to the
extra stress on the coal-fired steam a fire had by then started below deck. On
October 7th 1860, the smoke and flames forced passengers and crew up on to the
top deck in the storm.
CONNAUGHT of ATLANTIC ROYAL MAIL STEAM NAVIGATION
Co.b/w copy from a painting - courtsey Timothy Collins
That evening, about
160km northwest of Boston, a leak was reported in the main engine room. The
ship’s pumps were unable to keep the water from rising. In the early hours of
Sunday morning, the water had put out the the main engine furnaces. The
auxiliary furnaces were lit, but they quickly caught fire and were soon out of
control. As the fire spread the passengers were driven onto the deck where they
spent a distressing night watching the fire spread forward through the ship.
By sunrise CONNAUGHT
began to sink by the bow. Captain Leitch gave the order to abandon ship.
Unfortunately, in common with all passenger-carrying ships of the day, there
were no regulations as to the ratio of lifeboats to the number of passengers.
On CONNAUGHT the number of life-boats was derisory. Incredibly this state of
affairs was to continue until the sinking of TITANIC brought the matter to the
attention of a horrified public 52 years later.
The lifeboats were
lowered, but the waves smashed them against the ship's iron hull. According to
eyewitness accounts, the hulls of CONNAUGHT
became so hot that they boiled the waves as they crashed over her. Although all
of the lifeboats were smashed in the storm, all of the passengers and crew
aboard were saved by the heroic actions of a fruit transport ship, the MINNI SCHIFFER, and her Captain, John
Wilson and her crew.
The Liverpool Mercury, Saturday, October 20, 1860
The small fruit
merchant ship, MINNI SCHIFFER,
sailed to intercept after discovering smoke. The women and children were
evacuated first, followed by the male passengers and crew. Reports indicate
that so many people boarded the tiny transport that they stood on every
available patch of deck, and that some even clinging to the tall masts and
rigging. Lastly, the captain of CONNAUGHT
joined them.
After all hands had
abandoned ship, CONNAUGHT swiftly
broke up and sank. 591 passengers and crew were transferred from one of the
largest passenger ships of the day to a tiny merchant vessel, during a storm,
without a single loss of life. MINNI SCHIFFER then arrived at Boston's India Wharf on the following day. So many people boarded the tiny transport that
they stood on every available patch of deck. Some were forced to cling to the
masts and rigging. Captain Leitch was the last to step off the burning ship.
Having cast off lines, CONNAUGHT was set adrift and was last seen, one mass of
flame. MINNI SCHIFFER returned with
the shipwrecked to Boston.
The wreck was
rediscovered in 2014 by The ENDURANCE EXPLORATION GRPUP, INC.
Name:
|
CONNAUGHT
|
Type:
|
Passenger
Ship
|
Launched:
|
21/04/1860
|
Completed:
|
06/1860
|
Builder:
|
Palmer
Bros & Co
|
Yard:
|
Jarrow
|
Yard
Number:
|
81
|
Dimensions:
|
2959grt,
1521nrt, 360.5 x 40.4 x 21.5ft
|
Engines:
|
Steam,
800nhp
|
Engines
by:
|
JB Palmer
& Co, Jarrow
|
Propulsion:
|
Paddle
|
Construction:
|
Iron
|
Reg
Number:
|
28389
|
History:
|
Lost
during inaugural voyage ~100 nm off Boston
|
06/1860
|
Atlantic
Royal Mail Steam Navigation Co, London
|
08/10/1860
|
Sank
|
Comments:
|
08/10/1860:
Destroyed by fire near St John's, Newfoundland
|
GALWAY LINE during its six years of the
difficult and challenging business ferrying passengers, mail, and cargo from
Galway to New York and Boston, out of a fleet of 16 ships, six were involved in
serious accidents due to ice and fog as well as storms; while five made only
one trip or foundered on their first crossing. However between 1858 and 1864, a
total of 55 return voyages were successful.
These gallant ships were driven by a mixture of paddle-power and sail, or the more advanced screw-power. These technologies were not fully tested before they were launched in ships full of passengers who, no doubt, put their trust both in God and the weather, rather than the engineers.
Except for its miraculous saving of all lives on board, the sinking of CONNAUGHT reflected the misfortunes of TITANIC, half a century later. Built by the PALMERS SHIPBUILDING and IRON COMPANY in Newcastle upon Tyne, 360 feet long iron hull, was driven by a single steam engine which drove two side-paddle wheels. It was among the giants of the sea in its time, and probably its most opulent. Another reason also was its relative size and opulence compared against other passenger ships at the time it was launched.
As she steamed into Galway Bay on Sunday June 24th 1860, the GALWAY VINDICATOR lavished praise on its long and graceful line: "the masts, funnels and paddleboxes appeared small in relation to her great length, but the overall impression was one of speed."
When the reporter went below decks, he was ecstatic at what he saw. The First Class passenger lounge was "fitted up in the most elegant and substantial manner. The sides are ornamented with walnut wood and bird’s eye maple panelling of the most exquisite workmanship and finish. Between the panels are beautifully executed views of the finest scenery in Ireland painted in oil..."
The journalist’s attention was drawn to the `ladies retiring cabin’ and its `splendid sideboard’, which is a `perfect model of upholstery work.’
In the state rooms the panels are painted white; while "the moulding is entirely burnished gold. Away aft, there is a row of loungers in crimson velvet." There was more maple, walnut and plate glass.
But just when most of the poor people contemplated death either by fire or drowning, a small fruit-merchant ship, the MINNI SCHIFFER, appeared out of the mist and, miraculously, came alongside the sinking ship. Within minutes all the passengers and crew crowded on to the brig, captained by John Wilson.
Of course the GALWAY VINDICATOR once again smelt a rat. As with the case of the INDIAN EMPIRE two years earlier, foul play was mentioned. Rumours of sabotage of the boilers and ship pumps was hinted at. Again nothing was ever proved. Whatever the reason for the sinking of CONNAUGHT, it was another serious blow for the GALWAY LINE.
During my researches I often stumble over shipwreck sites, and I found sparse material about CONNAUGHT.
ENDURANCE EXPLORATION GROUP, Inc., the discoverers of the wreck, was appointed custodian of the wreck by the courts, a precursor to a potential salvage claim.
The wreck is believed, as to the loading list, to contain approximately 10,000 gold sovereigns amongst other cargo. The potential value of the cargo is said to be in the millions of dollars.
In 2012 the ENDURANCE EXPLORATION GROUP, Inc., a company specialising in shipwreck research, survey and recovery, identified CONNAUGHT as one of about 20 shipwrecks that it prioritised to locate. In 2013, after an exhaustive side sonar scan search it identified what it believed to be the wreck of CONNAUGHT in the waters off Boston, noting the highly distinctive side paddles. Subsequent dives with a remote operated vehicle in 2014 were able to retrieve artifacts from the wreck site which positively identified the vessel as a ATLANTIC ROYAL MAIL STEAM NAVIGATION Co. ship.
Based upon the evidence available, the company were able to obtain an order from U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division for the arrest of the shipwreck CONNAUGHT, and for the court to take jurisdiction over the wreck. The U.S. Marshal's arrested the hull fragments collected by ENDURANCE EXPLORATION, and ENDURANCE EXPLORATION was appointed by the Court as substitute custodian of the recovered hull fragment artifacts and any future artifacts recovered from the CONNAUGHT. The court ordered was made in anticipation of a future salvage claim in the event that valuable cargo is recovered.
The precise coordinates of the wreck site have not been made publicly available, but it has been stated in various sources that the wreckage is believed to lie in international waters.
These gallant ships were driven by a mixture of paddle-power and sail, or the more advanced screw-power. These technologies were not fully tested before they were launched in ships full of passengers who, no doubt, put their trust both in God and the weather, rather than the engineers.
Except for its miraculous saving of all lives on board, the sinking of CONNAUGHT reflected the misfortunes of TITANIC, half a century later. Built by the PALMERS SHIPBUILDING and IRON COMPANY in Newcastle upon Tyne, 360 feet long iron hull, was driven by a single steam engine which drove two side-paddle wheels. It was among the giants of the sea in its time, and probably its most opulent. Another reason also was its relative size and opulence compared against other passenger ships at the time it was launched.
As she steamed into Galway Bay on Sunday June 24th 1860, the GALWAY VINDICATOR lavished praise on its long and graceful line: "the masts, funnels and paddleboxes appeared small in relation to her great length, but the overall impression was one of speed."
When the reporter went below decks, he was ecstatic at what he saw. The First Class passenger lounge was "fitted up in the most elegant and substantial manner. The sides are ornamented with walnut wood and bird’s eye maple panelling of the most exquisite workmanship and finish. Between the panels are beautifully executed views of the finest scenery in Ireland painted in oil..."
The journalist’s attention was drawn to the `ladies retiring cabin’ and its `splendid sideboard’, which is a `perfect model of upholstery work.’
In the state rooms the panels are painted white; while "the moulding is entirely burnished gold. Away aft, there is a row of loungers in crimson velvet." There was more maple, walnut and plate glass.
But just when most of the poor people contemplated death either by fire or drowning, a small fruit-merchant ship, the MINNI SCHIFFER, appeared out of the mist and, miraculously, came alongside the sinking ship. Within minutes all the passengers and crew crowded on to the brig, captained by John Wilson.
Of course the GALWAY VINDICATOR once again smelt a rat. As with the case of the INDIAN EMPIRE two years earlier, foul play was mentioned. Rumours of sabotage of the boilers and ship pumps was hinted at. Again nothing was ever proved. Whatever the reason for the sinking of CONNAUGHT, it was another serious blow for the GALWAY LINE.
During my researches I often stumble over shipwreck sites, and I found sparse material about CONNAUGHT.
ENDURANCE EXPLORATION GROUP, Inc., the discoverers of the wreck, was appointed custodian of the wreck by the courts, a precursor to a potential salvage claim.
The wreck is believed, as to the loading list, to contain approximately 10,000 gold sovereigns amongst other cargo. The potential value of the cargo is said to be in the millions of dollars.
In 2012 the ENDURANCE EXPLORATION GROUP, Inc., a company specialising in shipwreck research, survey and recovery, identified CONNAUGHT as one of about 20 shipwrecks that it prioritised to locate. In 2013, after an exhaustive side sonar scan search it identified what it believed to be the wreck of CONNAUGHT in the waters off Boston, noting the highly distinctive side paddles. Subsequent dives with a remote operated vehicle in 2014 were able to retrieve artifacts from the wreck site which positively identified the vessel as a ATLANTIC ROYAL MAIL STEAM NAVIGATION Co. ship.
Based upon the evidence available, the company were able to obtain an order from U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division for the arrest of the shipwreck CONNAUGHT, and for the court to take jurisdiction over the wreck. The U.S. Marshal's arrested the hull fragments collected by ENDURANCE EXPLORATION, and ENDURANCE EXPLORATION was appointed by the Court as substitute custodian of the recovered hull fragment artifacts and any future artifacts recovered from the CONNAUGHT. The court ordered was made in anticipation of a future salvage claim in the event that valuable cargo is recovered.
The precise coordinates of the wreck site have not been made publicly available, but it has been stated in various sources that the wreckage is believed to lie in international waters.
Above and below: CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Archives About MINNI SCHIFFER
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