Isaac Webb (pilot boat)

Pilot Boat, No. 8
History
United States
Name	Isaac Webb
Namesake	Isaac Webb, shipbuilder
Owner	N. Y. Pilots
Operator	Augustus Van Pelt Henry Seguine Stephen H. Jones
Builder	Webb & Bell shipyard, Brooklyn, New York
Cost	$8,500
Launched	October 31, 1860
Out of service	July 27, 1879
Fate	Sank
General characteristics
Class and type	schooner
Tonnage	96 TM
Length	70 ft 0 in (21.34 m)[1]
Beam	20 ft 0 in (6.10 m)
Depth	7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Propulsion	Sail

The Isaac Webb was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat built in 1860 by Webb & Bell for the New York and Sandy Hook pilots. She received a reward by the Board of Pilot Commissioners of New York for saving three sailors from the wreck of the bark Sarah, that was caught up in a hurricane. The Webb was shipwrecked in a dense fog at Quonochontaug Beach, Long Island in 1879. She was replaced by pilot boat Columbia.

Construction and service

Pilot boat Isaac Webb No. 8.

Eckford Webb, son of Isaac Webb teamed up with George W. Bell and created the Webb & Bell shipyard at Milton Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The shipyard launched the 96-ton pilot-boat Isaac Webb, for the New York and Sandy Hook pilots on October 31, 1860. Captain Augustus Van Pelt was in command of the boat.^[2][3]

In 1860, the Isaac Webb, No. 8, was one of only twenty-one New York pilot boats in the Sandy Hook fleet.^[4]: 159 On October 10, 1860, New York Sandy Hook Pilot Augustus Van Pelt, of the pilot boat Isaac Webb, No. 1, signed a statement along with other pilots, that he was satisfied with the representation he had received from the New York Board of Commissioners of Pilots.^[5]

The Isaac Webb is listed in the Index to Ship Registers from 1861-1879 with Captain Augustus Van Pelt and Captain Freeman as masters of the boat. The N. Y. Pilots were listed as the owner.^[6]

On January 17, 1866, pilots Henry Seguine and Stephen H. Jones were on the Isaac Webb when he encountered the Mary A. Boardman, from Morehead City bound to New York that was grounded on the Romer Shoals. The pilots were able to save the twenty-three passengers on board. Captain Jourdan, of the Boardman, presented the ensign of his vessel to Pilot Seguine as a memento for heroic efforts.^[7]

On August 5, 1867, Henry Seguine from the pilot-boat Isaac Webb, No. 8, wrote a letter of thanks to the American Seamen's Friend Society, for use of a library that was placed on board the vessel for the benefit of the crew.^[8]

On September 18, 1870, Henry Seguine on the pilot-boat Isaac Webb, encountered a hurricane and came across the bark Edward of Maitland, Nova Scotia, which was leaking with nine feet of water in her hold. She was abandoned by her captain and crew. The pilot boat Hope, No. 1 had already arrived and tried to pump out the water. Through the night, the bark gained more water, but the Hope did not want the Webb to help because they thought she would sink. Seguine believed they could have saved her with the assistance of both boats.^[9]

On October 14, 1871, the pilot-boat Isaac Webb, while cruising discovered the British brig Wexford in distress. She towed the brig for nine days and brought her into the New York harbor. She was promised $2,500 for the services for towing the brig to port safely. The amount was contested and a settlement was reached for $1,000.^[10][11]

The Webb rescued the crew of the whaling bark Sarah, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, on October 16, 1878, forty miles south of Block Island with three survivors. Twenty-two of the crew perished. The Sarah had been caught up in a hurricane and was lying on its side, a floating wreck. The Web transferred the survivors to the F. S. Negus, No. 1 that carried them to Stonington, Connecticut.^{[4]: 272 [12]} The Board of Pilot Commissioners of New York, voted to give a reward of $150.00 to the pilot-boat Isaac Webb for saving the three sailors from the wreck of the bark Sarah.^[13]

End of service

On July 23, 1879, the pilot-boat Isaac Webb, No. 8 was reported as being on a cruise with Captain Van Pelt on board. In late July 27, the Webb went ashore in a dense fog at Quonochontaug Beach, Long Island. The Coast Wrecking Company was sent to assist her. She was shipwrecked and was a total loss. She was valued at $8,000 and was covered by insurance.^[14][15] The Pilot Boat Columbia, was built to replace the Webb.^[16]

See also

• List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats

References

1. "Messrs. Webb And Bell, Foot Of G Street". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 1860-08-12. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
2. "Eckford Webb, later Webb & Bell, Greenpoint NY". Retrieved 2020-09-21.
3. "Greenpoint Ship Yards". Brooklyn Evening Star. Brooklyn, New York. 1860-11-13. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
4. Russell, Charles Edward (1929). From Sandy Hook to 62°. New York: Century Co. OCLC 3804485.
5. "The New York Pilots. To The Editor Of The Herald". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 10 Oct 1860. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
6. "Index to Ship Registers, 1861". research.mysticseaport.org. Mystic seaport. Retrieved 2020-02-23.
7. "Disturbing Shipwreck. Loss of Steamer Mary A. Boardman". The Pittsburgh Daily Commercial. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 17 Jan 1866. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
8. Annual Report Of the American Seamen's Friend Society, Issues 33-42. 1861. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
9. "The Recent Heavy Gale at Sea-Ships in Distress". The New York Times. New York, New York. 22 Sep 1870. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-09-24.
10. Benedict, Robert Dewey; Benedict, Benjamin Lincoln (1875). Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the District Courts of the United States Within the Second Circuit. p. 119.
11. "Providence, R. I." The New York Times. New York, New York. 1871-10-24. p. 9.
12. "Lost In A Hurricane. The Bark Sarah, of New Bedford, Capsized When One Day Out". New York Herald. New York, New York. 1875-10-18. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
13. "The Board of Pilot Commissioners". Fall River Daily Evening News. Fall River, Massachusetts. 1878-11-01. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
14. "Suburban Notes". New York Daily Herald. New York, New York. 31 Jul 1879. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
15. Allen, Edward L. (1922). Pilot Lore From sail to Steam. The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations. p. 41.
16. "The New Pilot Boat Columbia, No. 8. A Description of the Vessel, The Event Witnessed by a Large Assemblage". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. 1879-11-15. Retrieved 2020-09-14.