Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks | Page 47

January 10, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Timeline Tuesday … 1840s

Today’s ‘Timeline Tuesday’ takes us through the 1840s – first Hawaiian Constitution, the ‘Paulet Affair,’ Whaling and Great Mānele. We look at what was happening in Hawai‘i during this time period and what else was happening around the rest of the world.

A Comparative Timeline illustrates the events with images and short phrases. This helps us to get a better context on what was happening in Hawai‘i versus the rest of the world. I prepared these a few years ago for a planning project. (Ultimately, they never got used for the project, but I thought they might be on interest to others.)

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January 8, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Triton

“In the month of July, 1846, the American whaleship Triton, of three hundred tons burthen (under the command of Thomas Spencer,) sailed from the port of New Bedford under my command on a sperm whale cruise, in the Pacific Ocean and elsewhere.”

“Rounding the Cape of Good Hope and successfully encountering the dangers and difficulties which threatens the adventurous keel that ploughs the seas, smoothly and safely avoiding the low reefs which fill that portion of the Pacific through our course lay.”

“In the month of November 1847, we arrived at Maui, and after a stay of two or three weeks at Lahaina, the principal port of the Island, we again made sail, touching at the port of Honolulu, and the island of Kauai for a day or two to procure additional supplies of refreshments.” (Spencer)

“On the 8th of January 1848; about 6 o’clock in the morning, the weather being pleasant, the wind moderate and all hands in good health and spirits, and employed in trying out a whale caught the day previous, raised Sydenham Island (Nonuti, Kiribati,) distant about fifteen miles, bearing NE.”

“Shortly after making the Islands two canoes under sail were discovered steering for the ship and 9 o’clock they came alongside, bringing for sale cocoanuts and various articles which the natives informed us formerly belonged to the American whaleship Columbia, wrecked upon this Island about two years since.”

“After making such purchases from the natives (who were about twenty in number) as I required I took the two canoes in tow, braced forward the yards and stood along on my course. … more canoes would come alongside … “

“In one of these canoes I found a Portugese by the name of Manuel, whom I allowed to come on board, who spoke very good English. In conversation with him he stated that he had been discharged at the Islands about 10 or 11 months since, from a French whaler, and that he had also sailed in the American ship Nantucket of Nantucket.” (Spencer)

Having made landfall off Sydenham Island in the Kingsmill Group, Captain Spencer and some of the crew were lured ashore by a renegade castaway who, with the assistance of the natives, detained them on shore, seized the ship.

“Then it was they informed us that the ship was taken, and that all on board had been killed – Manuel and some of the natives being among the number – and that now they were going to kill us.”

“As soon as this intelligence was made known to us, four of the stoutest natives picked me up, and others seizing upon the crew, we were forced apart, as we supposed, never to meet again. I was carried to an island, distant about 900 feet from the main island, and placed in a large house.” (Spencer)

Held prisoner on shore, Captain Spencer was about to be executed by the natives when “In an instant, an old chief woman sprang towards me and tabooed me, patting me first rapidly on the breast and then on the back, repeating at the same time some words, as fast as possible.”

“The natives attempted to take her from me, roaring with rage for their prey; but her husband immediately interfered, and
gave me his name – that of Cogio – by which I was, during my stay on the island always called.”

“Thus was I saved from a certain and speedy death by the moral heroism of a poor, benighted native woman, who risked her own life and reputation, and all, to save from perishing one of a race she had been taught to regard as an enemy.” (Spencer)

After a number of attempts to escape, during which the hapless captain and crew stole canoes and paddled out to sea in pursuit of passing ships who set sail away as fast as they could, believing them to be hostile islanders, the castaways were rescued by the Alabama out of Nantucket. (O’Connor)

“After a pleasant passage of six weeks, I arrived, on the 15th of March, at Honolulu, on the Island of Oahu, where I have found kind friends to sympathize with me; and, while I live, the emotions of my heart will, I trust, testify to it.”

“As soon as I arrived, I wrote to the US Consuls at all the different ports that the Triton would be likely to touch at, and was daily expected here. About the 25th of March I received news or her being at Tahiti, and intending to come to these islands for men, boats, &c., every vessel that hove in sight I anxiously watched, but no Triton arrived.”

“At length, on the 10th of June, I heard she had procured an outfit, and, had left Tahiti bound to the coast of Kamschatka, under the command of the mate. Since that time, I have not heard from her. I am still here, waiting for her arrival at this port.” (Spencer) (The Triton was recovered and continued as a whaler, but was later crushed in ice in Yukon Territory on October 8, 1895.)

Deciding at length to give up the sea, he started a ship’s chandlery on Queen Street, which under his guidance served as the headquarters of the Pacific whaling fleet.

In 1853 he was joined by his brother, Charles Nichols Spencer, and by 1855 William L Lee, the close friend of Charles R Bishop, reported that Captain Spencer was ‘making more money than anyone else in town.’

He was fluent in Hawaiian and was known everywhere by his Hawaiian name, Poonahoahoa. It was later to be said of him, and of his brother Charles, that ‘they were on terms of social and political intimacy with the last six Hawaiian sovereigns.’”

“In 1861, in the full tide of success, Thomas Spencer sold the Queen Street chandlery and moved to Hilo, purchasing the house and sugar plantation at Amauulu (Puueo.)” He also became United States commercial agent and consul at Hilo and was later made a Knight Companion of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I. (O’Connor)

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triton

Triton-Kiribati Stamp

Captain Thomas Spencer

Nonuti-Sydenham Island

January 6, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Pauka‘a Lighthouse

The US Lighthouse Service had the earliest impact on the maritime histories of Alaska and Hawai‘i. In 1716, the first North American lighthouse was established, but it was not until 1852 that the first light towers were built on the West Coast.

When the US bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, a light was already established at Sitka. In 1898, just over 20 years after acquiring Alaska, the US annexed Hawai‘i. The territorial government was first responsible for aids to navigation. (USCG)

Between 1824 and 1848 Hilo became a significant center for foreign activities, primarily as a result of the establishment of religious mission stations by American missionaries.

Passengers and cargo landed at Hilo in the surf along the beach until about 1863, when a wharf was constructed at the base of present day Waiānuenue Street.

By 1874, Hilo ranked as the second largest population center in the islands, and within a few years shortly thereafter Hilo with its fertile uplands, plentiful water supply and good port became a major center for sugarcane production and export.

Hilo Bay is partially protected by a reef located in 10 to 20 feet of water (later named Blonde Reef after Lord Byron’s vessel, HMS Blonde, which successfully anchored there in 1825.) (The Blonde had carried the bodies of Liholiho (who was born in Hilo) and Kamāmalu back from London, where they died from measles during a visit there.)

Several sites were suggested for the first light to mark Hilo Bay, but the one finally selected was on the shore at Paukaʻa, two-and-a-half miles north of Hilo. The light was erected and first lit on August 13, 1869.

The local sheriff was responsible for overseeing Paukaʻa Light, and in 1871 he sent a report to the Hawaiian minister of the Interior. “I visited the lighthouse yesterday and find that the Chinaman in charge is very negligent in his duties, not trimming the light properly. I showed him the proper way and tonight it shows finely from here.” (Lighthouse Friends)

In 1873, the light structure nearly blew over in a strong wind, prompting the sheriff to send another report to the minister. “This is a very valuable light to vessels coming into Hilo and it should not be allowed to go out of repair; $100 will put it in good condition. I have lately bought an excellent safety lamp for it, which throws a light visible at sea from 10 to 12 miles.”

Incoming vessels from abroad were being charged three dollars for lighthouse dues, and the sheriff requested that some of the collected money be used to elevate the light to make it more visible.

To justify his proposal, he included the following account of an exchange he had when requesting payment of the lighthouse fee. “One captain when charged for lights wanted to know where the lighthouse was and said he had not seen anything around that looked like a lighthouse.”

In 1890, a new Pauka‘a Light was built on the bluff above the original site. Adding the height of the bluff, the new Pauka‘a Light had a focal plane of 159 feet. After the Lighthouse Board took control of Hawaii’s lights in 1904, a thirty-eight-foot mast was erected in place of the tower.

The government wharf at Waiākea was constructed at Kalauokukui Point between 1897 and 1899, and was upgraded in 1902. Hilo Bay was still unprotected from high winds and storm surges that caused ships to break loose from their moorings and risk grounding.

Early sailing directions into Hilo bay were: “From Eastward – Give Leleiwi Point a berth of 1 mile in rounding it and steer 280° true (W 1/8 N mag) for 4 ½ miles, heading for Pauka‘a light until ½ to ¾ mile from shore …”

“… then steer 184° true (S ½ E mag,) keeping this distance offshore and taking care to pass westward of Blonde Reef whistling buoy. Anchor southward of the black can buoys, marking the south-westerly edge of Blonde Reef, with the Hilo Sugar Company’s mill bearing 279° true (W mag,) in 7 to 8 fathoms.”

“From Northward.—After rounding Pepe‘ekeo Point steer 184° true (S ½ E mag,) keeping ½ to ¾ mile offshore and taking care to pass westward of Blonde Reef whistling buoy, anchor as directed in the preceding paragraph.”

“Dangers – The lead is generally a good guide on the south side of the bay, but the shoaling is abrupt to Blonde Reef and the reefs around and eastward of Coconut Island.” (Coast Pilot Notes on Hawaiian Islands, USGS, 1912)

The present pyramidal concrete tower, exhibiting a green flash every six seconds at a height of 145 feet, was placed at the point in 1925. (Lighthouse Friends)

In the late 19th century, the growing sugar industry in East Hawai’i demanded a better and more protected port, and a breakwater was constructed on Blonde Reef to shield ships from rough waters as they entered Hilo Harbor.

In 1908, construction began on a breakwater along the shallow reef, beginning at the shoreline east of Kūhīo Bay. The breakwater was completed in 1929 and extended roughly halfway across the bay. In 1912, contracts were awarded to construct Kūhiō Wharf, to dredge the approach to the new wharf, and to lay railroad track into the new harbor facility.

Between 1927 and 1928, the approach to Pier 3 was dredged and the pier was widened. In 1929, the 10,080-foot long rubble mound breakwater was completed.

Contrary to urban legend, the Hilo breakwater was built to dissipate general wave energy and reduce wave action in the protected bay, providing calm water within the bay and protection for mooring and operating in the bay; it was not built as a tsunami protection barrier for Hilo.

In fact, in 1946, Hilo was struck by a tsunami generated by an earthquake in the Aleutian Islands; it was struck again in 1960 by a tsunami generated by the great Chilean earthquake – both tsunami overtopped the breakwater and Hilo sustained significant damage, including to the breakwater.

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Paukaa Lighthouse-1904 (LighthouseFriends)

Hilo_illustration,_c._1870s

View_of_Hilo_Harbor,_circa_1901

Hilo Harbor-1890

Hilo_Black_Sand_Beach

Hilo Wharf, Hilo, Hawaii island-PP-29-4-002

Hilo Landing, Hilo, Hawai‘i, early 1890s

Paukaa-Lighthouse

Paukaa_Lighthouse

Paukaa_Lighthouse (LighthouseFriends)

Paukaa Lighthouse (LighthouseFriends)

Hilo_Breakwater-(USACE)

Hilo Bay-Paukaa Lighthouse-GoogleEarth

January 5, 2017 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Hunnewell and the Missionaries

“It is indeed with a kind of melancholy pleasure I have sat down to write. There is a satisfaction in reflecting on the endearing relation which you sustain towards me that I would not part with for worlds; but when I consider the distance that separates us and the time that has and will elapse before we meet my feelings are overpowered.”

“Instead of becoming habituated to your absence by length of time I seem everyday less reconciled to it & “still alone” seems stamped on everything around me.” (Susannah Hunnewell to her husband James, November 6, 1820)

For all but seven months of the first eleven years of their marriage, James Hunnewell was living in the Pacific, Susannah was in Charlestown, Massachusetts.

On Monday, December 8, 1817, James Hunnewell, officer of the brig Bordeaux Packet, agreed with Andrew Blanchard, master, to remain at Honolulu after the sale of the vessel. (Thrum)

He would dispose of the balance of her cargo and invest and forward the proceeds. This was the beginning of the long business career of Hunnewell connected with the Islands, and his first act in settling there. (Thrum)

“The name … James Hunnewell was early associated with the commercial interests of these Islands, and his long and useful life was marked by such constant goodwill to my kingdom, that I shall always cherish his memory with sincere regard.” (Kamehameha V to Hunnewell’s son; Thrum)

Hunnewell first came to the Islands aboard the ‘Packet’ in October 1816. He agreed to stay and traded his boat and cargo for sandalwood, “We were the only traders on shore at Honolulu that had any goods to sell.” There was no currency at the time, so they generally traded for sandalwood. (Hunnewell, The Friend)

After trading sandalwood in China and then back to the northeast, Hunnewell returned to the Islands in 1820 on the ‘Thaddeus,’ “This was the memorable voyage when we carried out the first missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands.” (He was the person who first announced to the missionaries, that the Tabus were broken, and idolatry abolished. (The Friend, July, 1870))

He stayed … “it was urged by some of the chiefs that knew me on my previous voyage that I should remain instead of a stranger to trade with them.” (Hunnewell)

On January 7, 1822, a small group gathered to print the first work from the press, “Lesson in Owhyhee syllables.” Keeaumoku, a Hawaiian Chief, who had learned the alphabet, was given the honor of striking the first impression off the press, after which Loomis printed the second and Hunnewell the third.

It is a sheet four by six inches, headed “Lesson I,” beneath which are twelve lines, each having five separate syllables of two letters. This was certainly the first printing at the Hawaiian Islands, and probably the first on the shores, of the North Pacific Ocean.

The first printing press at the Hawaiian Islands was imported by the American missionaries, and landed from the Thaddeus. It was not unlike the first used by Benjamin Franklin, and was set up in a thatched house standing near the old mission frame house (but was not put in operation until that January 1822 pressing.) (Hawaiian Club, 1868)

Later, in 1825, he negotiated with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, “to take the missionary packet out, free from any charge whatever on (his) part for sailing and navigating the vessel – provided the Board would pay and feed the crew, and allow (him) to carry out in the schooner to the amount (in bulk) of some forty to fifty barrels”. (Hunnewell)

Hunnewell decided to return home on the continent (November 20, 1830) and left his partner in charge; Hunnewell thought he would come back to the Islands, but never did. Hunnewell decided to remain at home – the company he formed, was later known as C Brewer (one of Hawaiʻi’s ‘Big Five’ companies.)

Kekela, born at Mokuleʻia, Waialua, Oʻahu was a beneficiary of Hunnewell’s generosity – Kekela attended and graduated from the Lahainaluna Seminary, at the expense of Hunnewell. In recognition of his great obligation to his benefactor, he adopted his name and was ever known as James Kekela.

On December 21, 1849, he was ordained to the Christian ministry, being the first native Hawaiian clergyman, and became the pastor of the native church at Kahuku, Oahu. (The Friend, May 1, 1920)

Later, Kekela saved an American in the Marquesas; President Abraham Lincoln learned of the dramatic circumstances of the rescue and had presented a total of 10-gifts to the rescuers.

Most interesting among the gifts was a large gold watch the President gave to Kekela (a similar watch was given to Kaukau, Kekela’s associate in the rescue.) The inscription on it is translated from Hawaiian as follows:

“From the President of the United States to Rev. J. Kekela For His Noble Conduct in Rescuing An American Citizen from Death
On the Island of Hiva Oa January 14, 1864.”

Here’s a link to a prior post on the Kekela watch:
http://wp.me/p5GnMi-iz

“This discourse was delivered by the Rev. James B. Miles, pastor of the first parish church, Charlestown, Mass., and is commemorative of Mrs. S. L. Hunnewell, widow of the late Captain James Hunnewell. This friend of Oahu College, and of Hawaiians, died May 2nd, 1869, and the death of his beloved wife followed on the 20th of February, 1870.”

“If Mr. Hunnewell had survived a few months longer, their golden wedding would have been celebrated; but now both have passed away. They were long united in their lives, and in death they were not divided.” (The Friend, July, 1870)

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Captain James Hunnewell-(MissionHouses)

Brig_Thaddeus-Friend19341101

Brig_Thaddeus-model at Mokuaikaua

Hiram_and_Sybil_Moseley_Bingham,_1819-head of Pioneer Company

William Pitt Kalanimoku (c. 1768–1827) was a military and civil leader of the Kingdom of Hawaii-Pellion

Reproduction_of_Mission_Printing_Press

Kekela_Watch

Kekela_Watch-(honoluluadvertiser)

December 21, 2016 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Millionaires Cruise

Matson Navigation Company’s long association with Hawaiʻi began in 1882, when Captain William Matson sailed his three-masted schooner Emma Claudina from San Francisco to Hilo, Hawaii, carrying 300 tons of food, plantation supplies and general merchandise.

That voyage launched a company that has been involved in such diversified interests as oil exploration, hotels and tourism, military service during two world wars and even briefly, the airline business. Matson’s primary interest throughout, however, has been carrying freight between the Pacific Coast and Hawaii. (Matson)

They started carrying people, too; via ship was the only way to get to/from the Islands. With increasing passenger traffic to Hawaii, Matson built a world-class luxury liner, the S.S. Malolo, in 1927.

At the time, the Malolo was the fastest ship in the Pacific, cruising at 22 knots. Its success led to the construction of the luxury liners Mariposa, Monterey and Lurline between 1930 and 1932. Matson’s famed “white ships” were instrumental in the development of tourism in Hawaii. (Matson)

Then, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce had an idea for a goodwill mission. “This good-will mission Around the Pacific is one of the most ambitious enterprises ever fostered by the Chamber of Commerce and has become of national, if not international, import.”

“It will be a good will mission in a literal sense because in its wide scope it embodies many purposes which will make it a tangible expression of good will from San Francisco and the nation, of which it is an important part, toward the other nations which fringe the wide stretches of the Pacific”. (Neale; San Francisco Business, April 10, 1929)

“The goodwill mission making the three months voyage on the Malolo will comprise component groups of business and professional men representing every line of constructive, commercial, industrial, social, professional and civic activity in San Francisco.”

“Briefly, the voyage will take three months. It will be made on the Malolo, known as the “Queen of the Matson fleet.” The itinerary includes stops at Yokohama, Tokyo, Nikko, Kobe, Kyoto, Peking, Shanghai, Hongkong, Manila, Saigon, Bangkok, Singapore, Batavia (Jakarta,) Soerabaya (Indonesia,) Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Suva, Pago Pago, Hilo and Honolulu.” (Neale; San Francisco Business, April 10, 1929)

“All of this was focused under the leadership of Mr. Charles C Moore. … He is a man, in San Francisco, of international mind and contact; he is a man of wide experience and vision; he is a man of dynamic energy; he is a man of tremendous idealism, practical idealism …”

“… he is a man who felt that he could discharge a duty here around the Pacific, having met the peoples of the world at the time of the great exposition, having had contacts with them all during these years.”

“We started out with the idea that we would get all of these people from San Francisco. We failed, fortunately. We thought we would get them all from California. We failed. The trip was on too grand a scale. The scope and character and cost of that trip was almost a million dollars – $900,000 to be exact – and so we appealed to the United States Chamber of Commerce.”

“We wanted it to be strictly a business trip. We secured representatives from twenty-six states and two territories. Practically every man aboard that boat was a business man, or interested in business problems.”

“The ladies on board the boat were either of the families, or they were business women, or women that sympathized most deeply and furnished a splendid background to the idealism of this particular trip.” (Neale; San Francisco Business, January 8, 1930)

On September 21, 1929, the SS Malolo sailed from San Francisco on the first leg of its Pacific cruise. Some 325 passengers were all acknowledged millionaires, specially selected by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and Matson Navigation Company, owners of the SS Malolo. (McPhail)

This was to be the most luxurious cruise ever offered, aboard the world’s newest luxury liner. Because of the affluent passengers, the ‘Around Pacific Cruise’ was also dubbed the ‘Millionaires Cruise.’

They all started that way, but economic conditions changed into the cruise. The Great War had been won, stocks were soaring, speedy new cars and fancy electric products were all the rage, prohibition was ignored, and clothing and hairstyles were wild and loose and sexy.

Just 38 days later, on Black Tuesday – October 29, 1929 – the American stock market crashed and their lives were forever changed. (McPhail)

On Wall Street investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. Many went from fat cats to paupers. (Grace)

In the aftermath of Black Tuesday, America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression (1929-39,) the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world up to that time.

The cruise continued across the Pacific, then to Hilo, Honolulu and home. “The Around The Pacific Good-Will Cruise was completed upon the return of the SS Malolo on December 21st (1929). This cruise is one of the outstanding achievements of the Chamber, and has established San Francisco’s leadership in Pacific trade.” (San Francisco Business)

“To sum up our trip briefly, I would like to say that in this trip we had a great vision of America’s place in the Pacific. The problems of all of these countries are our problems. If they are not solved it is going to wreck us as well as them.”

“The interests of the United States are bound up inextricably in this entire Pacific area. Our economic future is bound up there. The United States will realize more and more that the great future of this country is in the Pacific …”

“… and to properly meet the problems of the Pacific area, and of these Pacific countries, is a matter of vital interest to us and we must apply, in every possible way, all of the resources which we have to this end.” (Neale; San Francisco Business, January 8, 1930)

There was another outcome of the cruise. Typically ships were used as transportation to a destination, where passengers would disembark and stay at luxury hotels at their destination.

The Malolo was so luxurious that it was a destination in and of itself. It established a trend of cruising, where passengers could see far off places, and remain on board in luxury (in many cases those destinations did not have adequate land-based accommodations and would otherwise be bypassed.)

In the last 10-years, demand for cruising has increased 68%. Today (2016 estimates,) over 24-million passengers cruised the seven seas on nearly 450-ships, generating nearly $120-billion in total economic impact. (Cruise Lines International Association)

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