Canada(1891)
 Portrait of the shipCanadapainted byAntonio Jacobsen,circa 1895
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name | Canada |
| Owner | Charles Rufus Burgess,Wolfville, Nova Scotia |
| Port of registry | Windsor, Nova Scotia,Official Number 100262 |
| Builder | C.R. Burgess Yard,Kingsport, Nova Scotia |
| Launched | 6 July 1891 |
| Maiden voyage | 1 September 1891 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Broken up,Portland, Maine,1926 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 2,301GRT |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 45 ft (14 m) |
| Depth | 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Crew | 18 men, 4 boys, 3 officers |
Canadawas afull-rigged shipbuilt in 1891 atKingsport, Nova Scotiaon theMinas Basinand was the largest sailing ship operated in Canada when launched in 1891.Canadawas built and owned by Charles Rufus Burgess of nearbyWolfville, Nova Scotia.Despite the decline in wooden shipbuilding, Burgess saw that there was still potential for very large wooden sailing ships to make profits in the twilight days of the wooden sailing ship era. He had built thebarqueKings County,the previous year, the largest four-masted barque ever built in Canada.[2]Burgess planned to makeCanadato be the largest sailing ship ever built in Canada, but damage, during harvesting, to a timber intended for the keel caused her length to be trimmed by ten feet makingCanadaslightly smaller than the shipWilliam D. Lawrencebuilt in 1874.[3]However, as theWilliam D. Lawrencehad been sold to Norwegian owners and renamed in 1883, the shipCanadastill claimed the honour of being the largest sailing ship under the Canadian flag at the time of her launch. Between 75[4]and 150 men[5]were employed in building the ship.Canadawas designed by master builder Ebenezer Cox who was in charge of the Burgess Shipyard in Kingsport where he had built ships since the 1860s and was regarded at the time to have built more ships than any man in Canada.[6]The construction cost $111,000. Her interior included a finely outfitted captain's cabin, finished in walnut, ash and rosewood with a full dining room, office and bathroom. Her launch at noon on July 6, 1891 attracted 5,000 people from all across Western Nova Scotia, brought by multiple special trains run by theCornwallis Valley Railway.It was regarded as the biggest event in the history of the village.[7]A tug took the completed hull ofCanadafrom the launch at Kingsport toSaint John, New Brunswickwhere the masting, rigging and outfitting was completed at the Customs House Wharf. Her immense size attracted hundreds to the Saint John waterfront to seeCanadadepart on September 1, 1891 for her maiden voyage, carrying with a cargo of lumber worth $144,109 bound for Liverpool, England.[8]Classed A1 byLloyd's Registerfor 14 years,Canadamade several fast passages between South America and Australia. However by 1900, the ship was facing stif competition for cargoes from the growing numbers ofgeneral cargo steamships.Canadawas converted to agypsumbarge in 1910, carrying gypsum fromWindsor, Nova ScotiatoStaten Island, New Yorkfor the Gypsum Transportation Company of New York. She was towed a final time from New York toPortland, Mainein 1926 where she was broken up.
References
[edit]- ^Lloyd's Register1906
- ^"The Great Ship Canada",The Dominion Illustrated,September 19, 1891, pp. 274-275
- ^Joey St. Clair Patterson,Hantsport Shipbuilding: 1849-1893,Hantsport: Tug Boat Publishing, 2008, p. 111.
- ^"The Great Ship Canada",The Dominion Illustrated,September 19, 1891, pp. 274-275
- ^"Couple Mark Diamond Anniversary Tomorrow, Recall First Train, Ship Building in" Good Old Days "",Halifax Mail Star,Nov. 23, 1946
- ^"The Launch",The Acadian and King's Co. Times,Vol. X, No. 46 (July 10, 1891), p. 2
- ^"Recall First Train, Ship Building in" Good Old Days "",Halifax Mail Star,Nov. 23, 1946
- ^"The Great Ship Canada",The Dominion Illustrated,September 19, 1891, pp. 274-275
- Record of Canada Shipping,Frederick William Wallace,(Toronto: Musson Books) p. 47