Sooloo

A wooden full-rigged ship built in 1861 by John Taylor, East Boston. Dimensions: 167'0"×31'9"×23'0" and tonnage: 784 92/95 tons OM or 962,76 tons NM.

1861 May 1: Launched at the shipyard of John Taylor, East Boston, for Silsbee, Pickman and Allen, Salem. Assigned the official American Reg. No. 23292. Employed in the Manila hemp trade.
1861-1862: In command of Captain Charles H. Allen Jr. (1830-1910).
1861 June 1 - November 8: Sailed from Boston to San Francisco in charter for Nath'l Winsor and Co. in 160 days.
1862-1873: In command of Captain Daniel H. Hutchinson (1826-1889), Yarmouth, NS.
1864 June 15 - July 21/23/26: Sailed from Melbourne to Calcutta in ballast in 36 days. Believed to have been the fastest passage to date. [Two different dates are given for her arrival to Calcutta. If she made the passage in 36 days the arrival should have been on the 21st]
1866 August: Grounded on a reef off Java on voyage from Manila to Boston. Was able to get off and reach Batavia where she was repaired.
1873-1876: In command of Captain John H. Shatswell, Ipswich, MA.
1876-1884: In command of Captain Allen.
1884-1887: In command of Captain Powars.
1887 May 2: In collision in a fog with the schooner Messenger of Saco, ME, but was able to sail under jury rig to Gay Head from where she was towed to Boston.
1887 October 20: Sold to the Boston Tow-Boat Co., Boston, MA. Cut down to a schooner rigged barge.
1892 November 14: Wrecked on Pollock Rip Shoal.

References:

Square-rigged ships, general references.
Napier, Rob: Sooloo (II) of Salem, History and Research for Building a Model.
Nautical Research Journal Vol. 34-35 (1989-90). pp 145-152, 191-198, 35:20-27, 64-73, ill.
Napier, Rob: A Timeline for Sooloo.
Nautical Research Journal Vol. 41 (1996). pp 159-163.

Updated 1997-06-07 by Lars Bruzelius