Mariners: Caithness and the Flying Dragon 2

St George's Cathedral, Cape Town 1850
 by Thomas Bowler

Captain James Ramsey Caithness had buried his first wife - the mother of his first six children, Elizabeth Watson b Ridges - in ‘Scorey’s Vault’ at St. George’s, Cape Town, on 23 January 1851. He was based there from that date until at least January 1855 when his second child by his second wife, Eliza Noyle, was born in January 1855. 

This establishes that James was in the area at the time of the Sea Gull incident during the gale of July 1854. According to press reports at that date he was captain of the Sea Gull and about to depart for Australia with emigrants on board. The gale put paid to that voyage, and though the Sea Gull was refloated, the damage she had sustained being found to be less than initially imagined, she was eventually condemned. This meant James was, temporarily, a mariner without a ship and with a wife and eight children depending on him: stressful times.

As we’ve seen, the clipper Flying Dragon was launched with much fanfare on the Australia run, completing her first passage from the Downs to Melbourne in 76 days (some say less), ‘thus fully bearing out the character published of her’. So speedy was this barque that an unknown lady was moved to express her admiration in verse, comparing the Flying Dragon with an American rival clipper, the Sovereign of the Seas.*

How much greater, then, the general shock and horror when it was announced in the Illustrated London News (and other papers) that on 31 July 1854, en route from Ceylon to London, the vessel caught fire at midnight, 200 miles off the Cape of Good Hope and ran into Simon’s Bay near Cape Town in August, ‘burnt to the water’s edge where she was scuttled’.

The ILN eulogized thus: 

The Flying Dragon was built for the Australian trade by Mr J Pyle [sic,] of North Sand, Monkwearmouth, the builder of the Spirit of the Age and other vessels … celebrated for their superior sailing qualities, for Robert Smith, Esq., of Manchester; and made on her  passage out one of the fastest voyages on record … She was classed A 1 at Lloyd’s … built of East India teak … and one of the most perfect advanced models of beauty in ship-building that ever left this country. 

Fire at sea – in this case, 200 miles from shore – is one of the greatest calamities to be visited on any ship and on those who sail in her. It was nothing short of miraculous that there was anything left of the Flying Dragon to be brought into Simon’s Bay and even more astounding that the crew survived to accomplish that feat. However, that is far from the end of the story.

Ship afire

*Lines on The Flying Dragon by a Lady

'From the English Downs to Philip's Port, in seventy-one days she ran,
Whilst the Sovereign took from Liverpool just eighty days and one.
The Sovereign can no longer boast the empire of the sea,
Since the beauteous Flying Dragon has eclipsed her Sovereignty'

Acknowlegement:

Tom Sheldon for his research and assistance 

Mariners: Caithness and the Sea Gull

It was 1854 and nothing much had changed for Cape coastal mariners despite the historic decision recently taken by Queen Victoria to grant the Colony Responsible Government. 

The opening of the First Parliament was a ceremonial affair held at Tuynhuis, the residence of Governor Grey, who presided. The power of the Cape Parliament was limited: the Governor, appointed by the Queen and the Home Parliament, still called the shots.

More pressing concerns than the newly drawn-up constitution occupied the maritime community. On 15 July 1854 at Table Bay there was a violent gale, said to be one of the most severe in many years, causing havoc when several ships, riding very heavily on an increasing sea, parted their anchors. The barque Canopus, carrying cargo, went ashore at the Castle, and not long after the Wild Sea Mew under Captain Grainger collided with the Sea Gull, commanded by Captain Caithness.

The story was dramatic enough for the overseas press to pick it up and run with it for a few days, though there were differences of opinion as to the precise date of the gale and the name of the Wild Sea Mew (given as White Sea Mew in some accounts). From the London Daily News:

The following is an extract of a log kept at the port-office, giving the particulars of the gale in Table Bay … At 12.10 p.m. the Canopus parted from her remaining bower chain when she immediately slipped the remainder of it and ran ashore a little to the southward of the Castle Ditch. The life-boat was immediately dispatched in charge of Mr Wilson, the assistant port captain, who succeeded in landing the crew in safety…  At 1.45 the schooner Wave Spirit parted her bower cable … At 4 p.m. the ship White Sea Mew parted both her bower cables during a heavy squall from the northward, fouling and taking with her the brig Sea Gull, both of which immediately slipped the remainder of their chains and ran on shore near the Castle Ditch, close to the Canopus [Captain Crosby]. Part of the female passengers and children of the brig [Sea Gull] were landed in the life-boat shortly after she struck, but in doing so the life-boat got stove* and seeing that the remainder of the passengers and the crews of both vessels were perfectly safe in continuing on board, all other efforts to land them that night were given up. 

Both vessels came well up on the beach and remained firmly imbedded [sic] in the sand. Midnight. Still blowing a very heavy gale and tremendous sea setting in on the bay. The officers and crew of the port office establishment with life-boats and all other apparatus in attendance, opposite the vessels, all night. After the White Sea Mew came in contact with the Sea Gull she then fouled the John Knox taking her bowsprit out and doing her other serious damage.**

Further ships caught in the debacle were the Margaret Milne, the Empress, the Euphrosyne, the American barque Silver Cloud, the schooners Prairie and Rachel and the Gitana. Apparently the barometer had given no prior indication that such a severe gale was in the offing. By the following morning it had abated but over 30 cargo and other ships had been sunk and otherwise destroyed. 

The question remains: was Captain Caithness of the Sea Gull James Ramsey Caithness? Reports mention that this brig was bound for Australia with passengers who were already on board when the gale struck. Would James Caithness have been undertaking this type of voyage at this date? More investigation is required before this Master’s identity can be established beyond doubt. 

Ship in a gale

*  stove in, i.e. holed
**  London Daily News 8 September 1854 The Gale in Table Bay. Other reports appeared in the Morning Post 5 September 1854 and the London Daily News 7 September 1854

The Zuid Africaan reported in July 1854: 'For Australia. The Sea Gull Captain Caithness leaves this port today. She takes a full cargo and the following passengers: Cabin: Messrs Harris, Melle, and West and 2 boys; Mesdames Harris and child, Burke and 5 children; Mrs Steuart, Miss Vipond, Miss West, and 40 steerage passengers.' [This was relayed in The Sydney Morning Herald 19 Sept 1854, some time after the event; the planned voyage did not take place as the Sea Gull, though refloated, was later condemned.]

Coastal Ships, Mariners & Visitors: Cape 19th c 6

JAMES RAMSEY CAITHNESS

Overview St Mary's Cemetery: eGGSA

In St Mary’s Cemetery, Port Elizabeth, lies Captain James Ramsey Caithness: his gravestone, despite much weathering, reminds us that he died in August 1860* ‘after a painful illness’. He is not the only mariner buried in this cemetery, nor is his the only Caithness grave. Another is to Douglas Sturgess Caithness (1855-1883), a son of James Ramsey's second marriage.

http://www.eggsa.org/library/main.php?g2_itemId=1060012

Although J R Caithness did not die at sea, the seafaring life eventually took its toll and he had had his share of misfortune particularly during the 1840s.

WRECKS AT ALGOA IN THE 1840s

Algoa Bay was well-known to Portuguese navigators who put in there on their voyages round the Cape: they called it Alagoa, which means lagoon. Either their visits were made in good weather or they were referring to some other feature of the landscape, because ‘lagoon’ conjures up a calm and peaceful vision. Algoa Bay was anything but calm and peaceful when the seasons were changing and the wind was in the south-east.

Surf-boat at Algoa Bay; Illustrated London News

The 1840s were disastrous for ships at Algoa Bay as local newspapers testify. In 1843 a British snow (similar to a brig) Laura, under Captain Crockley, was wrecked on 25 August during a typical south-easterly gale. It became a double drama because the larger brig, Sea Gull, under Captain J Murray, drifting after her cables parted, struck the jetty and cannoned into the Laura. There were five drowned. The Sea Gull had been built in 1841, the Laura in 1824.**

1844 saw the wreck of the schooner Trek Boer at Algoa on her way back from Ceylon, carrying a cargo of rope; a boy was drowned. Her captain, T Cobern, had commanded the Conch in the days before Bell took her circa 1836-7. Trek Boer was an old acquaintance of Bell’s friend George Cato. Colonial maritime circles were an extended family with press reports keeping everyone abreast of who was sailing which vessel, where and for whom – and were they still afloat? One can almost hear the gossipy chats over coffee with the latest edition’s news.

In March of the same year, 1844, Captain James Ramsey Caithness had lost his schooner Mary at Algoa on the way back from Mauritius and four years later the brig Lady Leith then under his command fell victim to Thunderbolt Reef. Such were the vicissitudes of a mariner’s existence. A descendant asks if Caithness was 'accident prone': perhaps that would be a little harsh. The stretch of coast between the Cape and Natal was positively malevolent (the 15th c Portuguese  would  agree). Algoa Bay could be a death trap when the seasons were changing and the south easterlies blowing. Caithness was unlucky but certainly not the only mariner to come to grief. Twice in a lifetime does seem unfair.

Update 12 Oct 2013: further research has since shown that James Caithness lost a total of six ships during his career. See http://molegenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/09/mariners-caithness-ships-and-family.html 

http://molegenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/06/wreck-of-lady-leith-1848.html

The notorious south-easterly gales brought a flurry of wrecks to Algoa Bay in 1846: the Susan, in March (Captain H Ager) - one body washed up, grimly, a fortnight later; the Mona (Captain P Sayers) on 28 October, the same day as the Palestine (Captain Collier) whose crew members were ill; the following day, 29 October, both the barque Resolution (Captain Clark) and the Sophia, a schooner (Capt Sillands). Reports on these wrecks appeared in the Eastern Province Herald.

BELL

William Bell would have been all too aware of these outward manifestations of the risks taken daily by his colleagues and their ships, not to mention by their passengers. In 1842 the Grahamstown Journal, on the topic of immigration, referred in passing to a wreck which had taken place at Mouille Point on 4 September 1841. The vessel was the British barque Prince Rupert under Captain Ramage. She had been bound for New Zealand from London carrying cargo.

'We direct the careful attention of those interested in the subject of Immigration etc.... The following additions have been made to our population this year by immigrants or discharged soldiers: per Conch, the wrecked passengers ex Prince Rupert, 28 [in number].’

Presumably the passengers were grateful to be conveyed by Bell after their escape from shipwreck. History doesn’t relate who paid him for their passage on Conch. Bell, with a wife and growing family, had to earn a living but recompense for his services was not foremost in his mind when the schooner Conch, after a voyage from Table Bay, lay at anchor in Algoa Bay at the beginning of June 1842. Captain William Bell was about to have his moment of glory and to write his name in the history books.

*Caithness, James Ramsey Death Notice
 KAB MOOC Vol No 6/9/92 Ref 8138 (1860) 

** Grahamstown Journal: Thursday September 14 1843: 'This morning the body of the unfortunate nephew of Capt. Crockley (late of the 'Laura') was picked up and will be buried this afternoon. This makes the fourth body recovered, namely the mate of the 'Laura', one seaman and ?. Also the carpenter of the 'Sea Gull'.
http://www.eggsa.org/newspapers/index.php/grahamstown-journal/71-gj-1843-jul-sep

To read the entire series on Coastal Ships, Mariners and Visitors: Cape 19th c start at the first post:
http://molegenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/06/coastal-ships-mariners-and-visitors.html
and continue in sequence. You could also click on June in the Blog Archive at right and select each separate post in the series.

Thank you for reading! This series has been very popular and there is more to come.