 USC&GSCarlile P. Patterson | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  United States | |
| Name | USC&GSCarlile P. Patterson |
| Namesake | Carlile P. Patterson (1816–1881), Superintendent of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey |
| Owner |
|
| Ordered | 1883 |
| Builder | James D. Leary,Brooklyn, New York |
| Cost | $100,000 |
| Launched | January 15, 1884 |
| Sponsored by | Miss Katie Patterson, daughter of the late Capt. Carlile P. Patterson |
| Commissioned | April 1, 1884 |
| Recommissioned | 1918 (United States Navy) |
| Decommissioned | 1919 |
| In service | 1884–1919, 1924–1938 |
| Out of service | 1919–1924 (?) |
| Renamed | Forward, August 15, 1918;Patterson 1924 or earlier |
| Fate | Wrecked, 1938 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Survey ship |
| Tonnage | 604 |
| Displacement | 719 |
| Length | 163 ft (49.7 m) |
| Beam | 27.4 ft (8.4 m) |
| Draft | 14.2 ft (4.3 m) |
| Depth of hold | 10.3 ft (3.1 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Deck clearance | 7 ft (2.1 m) upper deck |
| Installed power | Cross compound vertical steam engine, cylinders 17 and 31 inches × 28 inch stroke, 215 ihp; replaced by 325 hp diesel 1924 |
| Propulsion | 8 ft screw |
| Sail plan | Barkentine |
| Speed | 7–9knots (13–17 km/h; 8.1–10.4 mph) (steam) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 7 |
| Crew | 12–13 officers, 40–46 crewmen |
| Armament | Gatling guns; 2 × 6-pounder guns during naval service |
USC&GSCarlile P. Patterson was asurvey ship of theUnited States Coast and Geodetic Survey in operation between 1883 and 1918. Subsequently, she had a brief period of naval service and fifteen seasons as a merchant vessel before she was wrecked on the Alaska coast in 1938.
Carlile P. Patterson was named forCarlile Pollock Patterson, fourth Superintendent of the Coast Survey and first of the Coast and Geodetic Survey.The New York Times credited the design to CommanderColby Mitchell Chester, USN, at that time Hydrographic Inspector in USC&GS. Naval architectSamuel Hartt Pook, U.S. Naval Constructor, was credited with supervising the drawings. She was built of wood in James D. Leary's yard atWilliamsburg (Brooklyn) New York. Frames were white oak with cedar tops; planking, beams and lower deck were yellow pine, the upper deck was white pine. Her hull was fitted with iron diagonal braces, and five watertightbulkheads (three wood, two iron). Power was a cross compound vertical steam engine (one source reports 356 hp, 265 kW, another source says 215 ihp, 160 kW; this difference may represent different calculation or measurement methods) and she could carry 133 tons of coal as fuel. Her machinery was constructed byNeafie & Levy of Philadelphia. She was rigged as abarkentine with doubletopsail yards; standing rigging wasgalvanizedcharcoal-iron wire. Her boats were two steam launches, two cutters, two whaleboats, and a dinghy. Her deckhouse, 13 ft × 62 ft (4.0 m × 18.9 m), included the engine and boiler rooms, galley, pantry, and a drafting room. She carried aSigsbee piano-wire sounding machine, state-of-the-art for deep-water hydrography, holding five miles of wire. LieutenantRichardson Clover, USN, supervised construction and became her first commander.[1][2][3]
Carlile P. Patterson departedHampton Roads for the west coast on July 30, 1884. She traveled by way of theStraits of Magellan, with stops atMadeira,Rio de Janeiro,Montevideo,Punta Arenas,Valparaíso,Callao,Panama,San Diego, andSanta Barbara. She arrived at San Francisco February 13, 1885, and immediately began preparations for her first season of surveying.[4] She left for Sitka April 26 and began survey work May 27.
Carlile P. Patterson was primarily used as a survey vessel off the coast of Alaska and numerous Alaskan features were named by the assorted crews of the steamer.[5] She also served in other west-coast locations and in the Hawaiian Islands. On November 2, 1899 she was damaged when hit by the ferryCity of Seattle while at anchor, receiving $1,200 in damage.[6] In 1914, she found and rescued 26 members of the crew ofUSRC Tahoma after that ship struck an uncharted reef in theAleutians and sank.[7]
In 1918,Carlile P. Patterson was transferred to theUnited States Navy for use as a patrol ship during the last months of World War I. She was renamedForward on August 15, 1918, and performed both patrol and hydrographic duties in Alaska and off the Mexican coast.[8][9] Subsequently, she was returned to the Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1919. The Survey judged she was no longer strong enough for offshore use, and too slow for cost-effective hydrographic work, so she was sold.[10] She was out of service several years.
In 1924, the Washington Tug and Barge Co. soldCarlile P. Patterson to C.K. West Co. of Portland Oregon who converted her to a motorship for operation along the Oregon coast; the steam engine was replaced with a diesel, probably the four-cylinderBolinder engine she had in 1930. It was probably at this time or a year later that she underwent a substantial rebuilding. Her deckhouse, bowsprit and eventually also her mizzenmast were removed, her bow was reshaped, and the fore and main masts were replaced with, or reduced to, pole masts. A stern deckhouse and superstructure were constructed. These changes are evident in the photos of the 1938 shipwreck (this article and external links) and in a 1930 photo taken at Herschel Island.[11][12][13]
In 1925,Patterson was purchased by the Northern Whaling and Trading Company. From then through 1936 she operated as an Arctic trading ship under CaptainChristian Theodore Pedersen, operating between San Francisco andHerschel Island with stops along the Alaska coast.[14] Subsequently, she was sold to the Alaska Patterson Co. which operated her for freight service.
Patterson was wrecked December 11, 1938, going ashore in surf and blinding rain 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Cape Fairweather in theGulf of Alaska, near the mouth of Sea Otter Creek. She was en route from Kodiak to Seattle when she went aground. The first mate was washed overboard and lost trying to launch a lifeboat and a crewman drowned in the swollen creek while attempting to rig a lifeline to get the crew to shore. The 18 survivors remained in the vessel until the tide went out, then reached the beach where they subsisted on supplies dropped from airplanes. Two men were flown out by Alaska pilotSheldon Simmons who made a daring float plane landing in the creek. The remaining men hiked out toLituya Bay with a guide, Nels Ludwinson, left by Simmons's plane. Ludwinson was a local trapper who had been jailed for drunkenness and let out early for the job. These man were picked up by Navy planes and the Coast Guard cutterHaida.[15][16][17][18][19]
Most of the cargo was salvaged by barge the next spring.[19]Patterson was reportedly beaten to pieces by the surf.[20]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1938 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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