SS Pacific (1849)

PACIFIC

The Pacific was a built of wood, American passenger steamer, was built in 1849 and 1856 on a voyage from Liverpool to New York fell under not exactly unclear circumstances.

She was one of a series of sister ships of the Collins Line, which were built with the aim to outdo the rival Cunard Line. This was only for a short time, as during the Crimean War many ships of Cunard Line have been obliged to transport tasks. In addition to the Pacific, the Collins Line and others still had the Arctic, the Baltic and the Atlantic; later the Adriatic came about.

Construction and remodeling

The Pacific was built in 1849 at the shipyard Jacob Bell in New York. The hull itself was 13.7 m wide, with the wheel arches, the width 22.3 m. The two machines were from the Allaire Iron Works in New York. They were designed so that the failure of one of the two machines, the two side paddle wheels could be driven solely by the second machine. A daily consumption of 75 to 85 tons of coal was provided ( he was later on average at 87 tons). The coal was brought to the boilers by a mechanically operated bucket of the bunkers.

The wooden ship had except his steam powered, three masts, and could reach a speed 12-13 knots. Like her sister ships drew the Pacific itself through great comfort for the passengers. These included not only steam heating in the cabins and a French chef on board, but also the very high freeboard, which protected against splash water, and the layout of the ship, the more convenient handling characteristics ensured as at that time common. In addition, there was a smoking room, bath rooms and a hairdresser on board. The Pacific was initially intended only for 200 passengers in first class, 1851, 80 additional seats second class were created. Presumably, in 1853 one of her masts was taken.

Trips

The ship was launched on May 25th or 26th 1850 in New York under the command of Captain Ezra Nye on its maiden voyage to Liverpool, where it arrived on June 7. On this route, it was still used and achieved in the period from 11 to 21 September 1850 offers course record from Liverpool to New York. It replaced from the Asia by the Cunard Line and was awarded the Blue Riband for an average cruising speed of 12.46 knots. Another record drove the Pacific from 10 to 20 May 1851 in the opposite direction; this time she reached a speed of 13.03 knots, beating the Canada of the Cunard Line. Both records were, however, soon surpassed by sister ships of the Pacific:

Loss

Shortly after the loss of her sister ship after a collision with the steamer Vesta, the Pacific was brought into the dock, to make them safer. After this Dockaufenthalt she was reinstated to their regular line. On January 23, 1856 disappeared on the way from Liverpool to New York. At least 45 passengers - including six women and two children - and 141 -man crew were probably on board ( other information go of up to 240 people on board off). It was hoped still relatively long, that the ship had been delayed only by the wintry weather, but found no trace of the Pacific. In 1991, in the Irish Sea about twelve miles north- west of Anglesey discovered at a depth of 44 m, the nose section of a sunken ship that was assigned due to their construction and size of the Pacific. A downfall so close to the starting point of the trip would be only by a fire to explain a boiler explosion, or other extraordinary event on board. From other side, there is doubt that it is the Pacific in the near Liverpool discovered wreckage: In 1861 was recovered on the Uist Islands near Scotland in a bottle with the following content:

  • On board the Pacific, from L' pool to N. York. Ship going down. Great confusion on board - icebergs all around us on every side. I know I can not escape. I write the cause of our loss friends did not live in june suspense. The finder of this will please get it published. William Graham [ Übs: On board the Pacific, on the road of L [ iver ] pool to N [ ew ] York. The ship sinks. Great confusion on board - all around us are on each side of icebergs. I know that I can not escape. I write on the cause of our disappearance, so that our friends do not remain in uncertainty. The finder of this message may invalidate the contents please publicly. William Graham ]

A passenger with this name could actually be found on the passenger list of the Pacific, as Jim Cooper was able to demonstrate in an article for the U.S. magazine " Barnstable Patriot". While it can not be definitively ruled out that it is a forgery in the bottle, as they were often distributed on such occasions, but the coincidence of the name can at least open to doubt as to the identification of the wreckage in the Irish Sea. Cooper leads also to as evidence of the correctness of his iceberg theory that no debris finds had been reported to the British coasts in the area of ​​Anglesey - discovery in January 1856, which is unusual given the size of the ship and timber construction as well as the proximity to the mainland. General were the most widely drifting this year after South icebergs fallen victim to 1856 many ships.

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