Governor Parr
{{Short description|Historic derelict ship}}
{{for|the Nova Scotia governor|John Parr (colonial governor)}}
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|+ {{Infobox ship image |Ship image= |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country= |Ship name= Governor Parr |Ship namesake= |Ship owner= A.F. Davidson (1918-1920), V.C. Henschell (after 1921) |Ship operator= Captain A.D. Richards |Ship registry= |Ship route= Buenos Ayres, Argentina via Ingramport, Nova Scotia |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder= W.R. Huntley & Sons |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched= November 30, 1918 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship identification= 141163 |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship fate= Ghost ship (ultimate fate unknown) |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type= Schooner {{Infobox|child=yes | label1 = Masts | data1 = 4 | label2 = Signal letters | data2 = T N W D }} }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header=yes |Ship tonnage= 912 |Ship displacement= |Ship length= {{cvt|200|ft}} |Ship beam= |Ship height= |Ship draught= |Ship draft= |Ship depth= {{cvt|18.6|ft}} |Ship hold depth= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion= |Ship sail plan= |Ship speed= |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship troops= |Ship complement= |Ship crew= |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament= |Ship armour= |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship aircraft facilities= |Ship notes= }} |
Governor Parr was a four-masted schooner built in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia in 1918. Built by W.R. Huntley & Sons for Archie Davidson and Captain Angus D. Richards, she is claimed to be the "most handsome schooner built in Atlantic Canada" and was also the last schooner built in Parrsboro.Nova Scotia Archives, "Schooners: Workhorses of the Sea," copyright 2013. http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/schooners/archives.asp?ID=77 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061204104105/http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/schooners/archives.asp?ID=77 |date=2006-12-04 }} (accessed 13 February 2013). She was named after early Governor of Nova Scotia John Parr.Parker, John P. Sails of the Maritimes: the story of the three-and four-masted cargo schooners of Atlantic Canada (Great Britain: Hazel Watson & Viney LTD, 1960), 147.
Governor Parr met an unfortunate fate on October 3, 1923 while carrying one million board feet of lumber from Ingramport, NS to Buenos Aires, Argentina. During this voyage she lost her mizzen and spanker in a storm. Captain Angus Richards and one seaman lost their lives during the incident. The remainder of the crew were rescued by S.S. Schodack.
The damage incurred by Governor Parr was significant to the masts and deck of the ship; however, she did not sink. Instead, she remained afloat and drifted throughout the Atlantic. Several attempts were made to either destroy or tow this derelict to shore, but all failed. On January 1, 1924, the American Coast Guard's USCGC Tampa attempted to tow Parr towards Halifax, NS. Parr broke away from the tow line on January 2 in a heavy gale. Tampa had to give up this attempt to return to shore to refuel.Maritime Museum of the Atlantic Niels Jannasch Library, file 24400-60: Governor Parr, New York Maritime Registers.
Governor Parr was sighted for many years after her 1923 abandonment but managed to remain afloat and cover large spans of the Atlantic Ocean. She remained a derelict and a "menace to navigation," drifting as far as the Canary Islands. Her ability to make this journey without a captain or a crew demonstrates high-quality shipbuilding. The ultimate fate of Governor Parr is unknown.
References
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External links
- [https://novascotia.ca/archives/Schooners/archives.asp?ID=77 Image of Governor Parr]
{{Shipbuilding in Atlantic Canada |state=expanded}}
{{1923 shipwrecks}}
Category:Individual sailing vessels
Category:Maritime history of Canada
Category:Maritime incidents in 1923
Category:Sailing ships of Canada