Black Watch (full rigged ship)

Black Watch was a large full rigged ship built by Windsor shipbuilder Bennett Smith in Windsor, Nova Scotia, the last ship built by Smith in Windsor.

Construction

Bennett Smith was the foremost owner,designer and master shipbuilder in Windsor. He ran a shipyard inherited from his father on Smith's Island,at the intersection of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. With his brothers he built 27 ships in Windsor,the final one being the full rigged,1318 ton Black Watch. The ship cost $50,000.00 to construct and was launched in May 1877 to great fanfare. Upon completion of Black Watch, Smith closed his shipyard,reportedly over a wage dispute with his employees. Smith continued to invest in shipbuilding, mainly in St. John, New Brunswick and was a principal in the Avon Marine and Shipowners Insurance Company.

Career and Loss

Black Watch sailed from Windsor on 6 June 1877 bound for New York in ballast (heavy material placed in hold for stability). On board were a crew of 23 under the capable leadership of the veteran Captain Newcomb, who along with Smith held shares in the ownership of the vessel. Having taken on a cargo of oil, she sailed for Bremerhaven, Germany on the 17th of July,1877 arriving on the 20th of August. The ship left Germany in ballast(700 tons of stone and sand) on 10 September to cross the Atlantic and return to New York. Disaster struck as the ship attempted to navigate the waters between Shetland and Orkney in the north of Scotland. Black Watch was driven onto the rocks off the southwest point of Fair Isle[1] while attempting to navigate the channel at night in misty weather.

As recorded in the wreck report, Newcomb who held a financial interest in the ship as well as the responsibility for his crew, was negligent in attempting passage of a channel he was unfamiliar with. The court determined that if the Captain was unable to obtain clear and concise instructions, as he claimed, for navigating through the Scottish islands, he had no right to have undertaken such a difficult and perilous passage. The court's final determination was that the accident was an error in judgement and Newcomb's certificate was neither suspended nor revoked.[2] Black Watch was wrecked on the craggy coast of Fair Isle on 19 September 1877, four months after she was launched in Nova Scotia on her maiden voyage. The crew,the ships provisions as well as the sails and any salvagable hardware were all saved. Today a detailed mural of Black Watch is painted on the old Hants Journal building on Gerrish Street in Windsor as a proud reminder of the community's shipbuilding heritage.

References

  1. ↑ "Black Watch: Shalstane, Fair Isle, Atlantic". Canmore - The online catalogue to Scotland’s archaeology, buildings, industrial and maritime heritage. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  2. ↑ "Black Watch Wreck Report 1877", Plimsoll.org

External links

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