Roanoke

A four-masted wooden ship built in 1892 by Arthur Sewall & Co., Bath, ME, as yard no. 94.
Dimensions: 97,84×14,98×8,88 meters [311'2"×49'2"×29'2"], and tonnage: 3539 GRT and 3347 NRT. She was the largest wooden merchant sailing ship at the time of her launch. The keel was made of two tiers of white oak, 16" square; the garboards were 8" thick and the ceiling in the bottom, 14". She was fastened with locust treenails and bolted and edgebolted.

In total her construction comprised:

Rigged with dubbel top-sails and sky sails. The total sail area was 15.000 square yards.

1892 September 20

Launched at the shipyard of Arthur Sewall & Co., Bath, ME, for their own account.

1892-1898

In command of Captain J. Hamilton.

1892 December 18

Grounded off New York, but was able to get off undamaged.

1895 June 20

Left New York to San Francisco but met with severe storms in the South Atlantic and lost three men and had five injured when she put into Rio de Janeiro where she remained for six weeks while the injured were attended to. San Francisco was reached after 87 days out from Rio de Janeiro.

1897 December 27

New York to San Francisco in 141 days. Three men were killed during the voyage in working the ship and one of nautural causes.

1898

San Francisco to New York in 102 days, 99 days to Sandy Hook.

1898-

In command of Captain Jabez A. Amesbury.

1899 July 27 - November 10

Sailed from San Francisco to Queenstown f.o. in 106 days.

1900 December 9

Grounded in the Chesapeake on voyage from Baltimore to San Francisco and had to discharge 4800 tons of the cargo before she could be refloated.

1901 June 15

Sailed from Norfolk, VA, for San Francisco with a cargo of coal.

1901 November 12

The course was changed for Honolulu when fire was discussed in the cargo. All but 1000 tons of the cargo was discharged at Honolulu.

1902 January 7

Arrived to San Francisco 19 days out from Honolulu.

1904 June 24

New York for Sydney.

1904 August 19

Put into Rio de Janeiro after having been badly damaged in a collision with the British steamer Llangibby just South of the Line. The repairs took 106 days after which she continued her journey to Sydney on December 3.

1905 February 23

Arrived at Sydney after 82 days from Rio de Janeiro or 244 days out from New York.

1905 August 10

Caught fire and was destroyed at the anchorage of Noumea, New Caledonia, with a cargo of 3037 tons of chrome ore onboard. The crews of the four-masted barque Susquehanna and the three-masted ship Arabia helped those of the Roanoke, in all 60 men, to fight the fire.

Updated 1998-08-13 by Lars Bruzelius.

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Copyright © 1996 Lars Bruzelius.