New Bedford, MA Schooner J. W. CAMPBELL Wrecks, Apr 1896
NINE FISHERMEN LOST.
Schooner Campbell of Gloucester Sinks Off Long Island.
STRUCK BY A SUDDEN SQUALL.
Terrific Blow Came Without the Slightest Warning - Seven Survivors Picked Up After They Had Spent a Night and Day In an Open Boat Without Food - Like a Tropical Storm.
Nine Gloucester fishermen were lost off Long Island on Friday night, when the fishing schooner J. W. Campbell of Gloucester was sunk in a squall. The seven survivors arrived here last night to tell the story. They were brought into port by the Gladiator from the schooner Norman, which picked them up after they spent an entire night and day in an open boat without food. The names of those lost are:
CAPTAIN ROBERT SMITH.
JOHN M. MCGUIRE.
A. L. MCCORMEY.
Squall Came Without Warning.
The sinking of the Campbell was remarkable in several respects. The fatal squall was one of the most sudden and terrific in the memory of the surviving seamen. It was all over in about a minute. It happened so quickly and there was so little warning that there was no time to avert calamity or provide for escape. As it was, it seems remarkable that there was a single survivor. The escape seemed but a trick of fate. When the squall struck her, the vessel careened under the terrible blow and all realized that their lives were in danger. Seven of the 16 sailors quickly clambered up the masts. No sooner had they done so than a second and far more powerful gust of wind seized the craft and seemed to lift it bodily out of the sea. Then, as if in a mighty grasp, the vessel was wrenched and given a sudden twist with such violence that the masts snapped off even with the deck like toothpicks and were hurled far away from the reach of the vortex made by the ship as she fell back into the water and sank like a piece of lead. This is the story as told by the survivors. They left New York at 8 o'clock Friday night and the squall struck them soon afterward. There was not the slightest warning. The wind was blowing only about two knots and everything seemed favorable for a smooth trip. After the squall had subsided the moon came out and by its light the seven survivors who still clung to the masts in spite of the awful shock of being thrown through the air and striking the water as they did, were able to find a dory in which they climbed after bailing it out. All night long and all next day they drifted helplessly about the sound without food or water. Then they were picked up by the schooner Norman and later were transferred to the tug Gladiator, which brought them to this port. They lost everything except the clothes they had on their backs.
The Evening News, Lincoln, NE 20 Apr 1896