Caldwell H. Colt (pilot boat)
{{short description|Boston Pilot boat}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Caldwell H. Colt.jpg |Ship caption=New York pilot boat Caldwell H. Colt, No. 13, painting by Conrad Freitag. }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship owner=New York Pilots |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{USN flag|1887}} |Ship name= Caldwell H. Colt |Ship namesake= Caldwell Hart Colt, inventor and yachtsman |Ship christened= September 13, 1887 by Elizabeth Colt Beach |Ship builder= Samuel H. Pine's shipyard |Ship operator= Thomas Dougherty |Ship original cost=$14,000 |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=September 13, 1887 |Ship out of service= June 30, 1903 |Ship captured= |Ship renamed= |Ship reinstated= |Ship honors= |Ship fate=Sold on June 30, 1903 |Ship struck= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Header caption= |Ship class=schooner |Ship tonnage=TM |Ship length={{convert|75|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|21|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draft= |Ship depth={{convert|8|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship sail plan= |Ship propulsion=Sail |Ship complement= |Ship armament= |Ship notes= }} |
The Caldwell H. Colt was a 19th-century Sandy Hook pilot boat, built in 1887, at the Samuel H. Pine's shipyard in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, for a group of New York Pilots. She was one of the pilot-boats that was in the Great Blizzard of 1888, that was one of the most severe blizzards in American history. In 1903, she was sold to a group of Pensacola, Florida pilots.
Construction and service
New York pilot boat Caldwell H. Colt, was built in 1887 at the Samuel H. Pine shipyard, on Kent Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She had 13 letters in her name, was launched on the 13th, and had 13 members of The Thirteen Club on board during her launch. She had 13 berths in her hold and a crew of 13 men. Elizabeth Colt Beach, age 13, christened the boat. She was 75 feet in length, 21 feet 6 inches beam, and depth of hold 8 feet 10 inches. Her cabin was finished in maple and satin wood.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/78257541/thirteen/|title=Pilot Boat Number Thirteeen|work=The Standard Union |place= Brooklyn, New York|date=13 Sep 1887|page=2|access-date=8 September 2020}} The boat number "13" was painted as a large number on her mainsail, that identified the boat as belonging to the Sandy Hook Pilots. Captain Thomas Dougherty was one of her pilots.{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6e3ozKyO3LEC&q=Caldwell%20H.%20Colt|title=On the Story|publisher=Harper's Weekly, Volume 54|date=2 July 1910|access-date=28 Nov 2020}} She was named in honor of Caldwell Hart Colt, an inventor, yachtsman, and owner of the schooner Dauntless.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/430861165/?terms=%22Caldwell%20H.%20Colt%22%20yacht&match=1|title=Yachting Ripples.|work=The Boston Globe|place= Boston, Massachusetts |date=31 Jul 1887|page=8|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited|access-date=2020-12-05}}
On March 12, 1888, in the Great Blizzard of 1888, the pilot-boat Caldwell H. Colt, No. 13 along with other pilot-bats, was caught up in one of the most severe blizzards in American history. Newspaper reporter William O. Inglis of The New York World, was on the Colt during the storm near Long Island, to write a story about the life of on a pilot-boat in the winter. Inglis describes his experience when great waves poured icy water into the cabin, burned out the stove, and left her with water filled bunks. When the winds subsided, senior pilot James Fairgreaves was able to pump the water from her cabin and sail her into port.
{{cite book|last=Russell|first=Charles Edward|date=1929|title=From Sandy Hook to 62°|location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KBOAQAAMAAJ&q=Caldwell%20H.%20Colt|publisher=Century Co.|oclc=3804485|pages=216–222}}{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52870441/?terms=%22pilot%20boat%20Caldwell%20H.%20Colt%22&match=1|title=Blizzard At Sea|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|place=Brooklyn, New York|date=10 Mar 1946|page=21|access-date=2020-12-05}}
End of service
On June 30, 1903, the pilot-boat Caldwell H. Colt was sold to Captain Frank Dunn, of the Pensacola pilots for $6,000. He sailed the Colt out from New York to Florida.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/352589893/?terms=%22boat%20Caldwell%20H.%20Colt%22&match=1|title=What Transpired Today With Pilots. What was Paid For The New Arrival|work=The Pensacola News|place= Pensacola, Florida |date=30 Jan 1903|page=1|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited|access-date=2020-12-05}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats}}
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Category:Individual sailing vessels
Category:Schooners of the United States