W. Starling Burgess COLUMBIA

Sail Number: 3

Type: Gaff Topsail Schooner

LOA: 141’0” / 42.97m – LOD: – LWL: – Beam: 25’0” / 7.62m – Draft: 15’0” / 4.57m – Sail Area: – Hull material: – Displacement: 140 tons – Ballast: – Designer: W. Starling Burgess – Built by: Arthur Dana Story shipyard at Essex, Mass – Original Name: Columbia – Original Owner: – Current Owner: – Year Built: April 7, 1923 – Status: Lost on July 27, 1927 – Gale off Sable Island, Nova Scotia

 

Historical:

Columbia was a gaff rigged topsail schooner of 140 tons, built in Essex, Massachusetts and launched on April 7, 1923. She was designed by W. Starling Burgess and built by Arthur Dana Story shipyard at Essex, Mass., she was built to race the Canadian schooner Bluenose.

Columbia was the final development of the Gloucester fishing schooners which were famous for speed and seaworthiness. Fishermen who plied their trade on the Grand Banks raced these schooners, often in brutal conditions. Shortly after she was launched, Columbia challenged the Canadian legend Bluenose in the International Fishermen’s Cup Races where Bluenose won by a slender margin.

On July 1927, Columbia was lost with all 27 hands in a gale off Sable Island — the largest single loss on one vessel in the history of Gloucester.

 

 

Racing History:

The International Fisherman’s Trophy was awarded to the fastest fishing schooner that worked in the North Atlantic deep sea fishing industry. The fastest schooner had to win two out of three races in order to claim the trophy.
At the hands of her skipper, Ben Pine, Columbia came very close to reclaiming the Esperanto Cup (the trophy from the International Fishermen’s Races) for the US in 1923, but no winner was named.

The International Fishermen’s Trophy race was held off Halifax, Nova Scotia in October 1923 and new rules were put in place preventing ships from passing marker buoys to landward. During the first race, the schooners dueled inshore, the rigging of the vessels coming together. However, Bluenose won the first race. During the second race, Bluenose broke the new rule and was declared to have lost the race. Captain Angus Walters protested the decision and demanded that no vessel be declared winner. The judging committee rejected his protest, which led Walters to remove Bluenose from the competition. The committee declared the competition a tie, and the two vessels shared the prize money and the title. The anger over the events led to an eight-year hiatus in the race.
She won her trials in 1926, but never again took part in the finals.

 

Provenance (The Wall of Remembrance – The Owners, Crew & Notable Guest):

Owner/Guardian:
Captain: Ben Pine