Two channels (Pollock Rip Channel and Great Round Shoals Channel) converged in Nantucket Sound at Cross Rip and a need for a pattern of light vessels marking a passage on through Vineyard Sound made this area "lightship alley". This channel had the most prolific number of light vessels in the World. The "Monomoy Passage" route was heavily used by coastwise shipping to avoid an offshore passage seaward of Nantucket Shoals, but was subject to prolonged periods of heavy fog in the spring and summer months.
Two lightships serving the Monomoy Passage had direct impact on Harwich Port over the years. Most notably were the HANDKERCHIEF Shoal lightship and the STONEHORSE Shoal lightship marking two important locations in Pollock Rip Channel. Crew and supplies were transferred to these two lightships from a very small Coast Guard Station and berthing area that was maintained at the Snow Inn property on Wychmere Channel. The responsibility of getting men and supplies to POLLOCK RIP light vessel belonged with Chatham Coast Guard Station and a similar relationship existed between CROSS RIP light vessel and Brant Point Station. However, all these lightships were serviced and relieved by an alternate light vessel from the Lightship Annex at Woods Hole.
There are plenty of people here in Harwich Port, in their sixties and older, who recall seeing and hearing (when conditions were just right) the eerie sound of the Handkerchief light ship (fig. 1) foghorn signal, a large air diaphragm horn (a 17" Leslie typhon).
The 101' two story lightship proudly marked the southwest corner of its namesake shoal 4.5 miles SSW of Monomoy Point and just 10 miles from Harwich Port and easily within eye sight from Wyndemere Bluffs until June 7, 1951. It was replaced with a lighted whistle buoy which was later changed to an unlighted nun buoy #14. During the same time, Light Vessel (LV) Stone Horse (fig 6.) lay hidden by low lying Monomoy Island just seven miles from "The Port", but its diaphone sound (a 6" mushroom type air horn driven by two 40 HP kerosene engines) was routinely heard on foggy days from Herring River to Chatham until 1963. George Rockwood Jr. of Davis Lane, Harwich Port recalls there was no sound so penetrating from seaward as that of the 7 mile distant Pollock Rip lightship (fig 8.) which used an air diaphone using 4-way multiple horns.
| Fig ?. Size comparison of an average size lightship verses Monomoy Light Tower an existing structure.
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81 year old Charles "Chick" Kendall was nine years old at the time of the sinking of the Nantucket Lightship LV-113 and remembers hearing about the grizzly collision that occured May 15, 1934. Lightships were a famliar sight at the Kendall family Harwich Port summer cottage with a clear view of Monomoy at the top of the bluff on Wah-Wah-Tahysee Road. From this vantage point he vividly recalls regularly seeing all three lightships on a clear day. Somehow he says Monomoy Island seemed lower at the time and the lightships could be seen over its bluffs. However, the simple test of standing anywhere along Wyndemere Bluff in Harwich Port, with an eye elevation of about 25' above sealevel, the lightkeepers house and tower (47' above sealevel) at the Point are easily seen with the naked eye near the tip of Monomoy. Geographical Range of visibility tables give a range of 14.4 nautical miles at low tide. Considering the relative size of the Hankerchief lightship was near three times the overall size and painted bright red and at an equivalent height above sealevel, it is very clear that all three lightships were easily within geographic range of visibility.
Young Charles Kendall was shaken by a nightmare created by the newspaper story of the 630 ton lightship being rammed by the 47,000 ton SS. OLYMPIC (sistership to TITANIC). OLYMPIC was in route from Liverpool to New York, in the shipping lanes near Nantucket Shoals in heavy fog. Ships ibound from Europe would get within range of the lightships by following shipping lanes, and then latching on to their radio homing signal and following it in. A lookout on the incoming vessel would then keep an eye peeled for the lightship and adjust the ship's course to avoid collision. Four men went down with the ship, 7 survivors being picked up by OLYMPIC. Three of the survivors died later of injuries and exposure. In 1936, in reparation for this disaster which made headlines world-wide, the British Goverment paid $300,956
for construction of a replacement lightship LV-112. At 149' it was the largest such vessel ever built.
In 2004, the bell was recovered by divers from the wreckage of the LV-117.
| Fig 2. The Stone Horse Lightship LV-53 (built 1893 West Bay City,MI) laid off the tip of Monomoy 17 years until 1951 when it was replaced by LV-101. Photo credit Watson Small.
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A report in March 1902 logged 500 vessels passing around Cape via the lightships within one 24-hour period.
At that time it was estimated that 50,000 vessels passed the
Pollock Rip lightship annually. Of course, all this traffic meant the area was target rich for collision
or shipwreck. During the passage around Cape and more than 1,100 vessels were lost in Cape waters
between the 'Backside' and Nantucket Sound during this period. Fifty years later, half as many vessels passed this way (between September 1st and December 1952, 6,060 vessels were logged by lightship captains passing around the Cape).
In contrast, by 1968 it was reported that only an average of ten vessels per month passed by the Pollock Rip
Lightship, pictured in figure 9. This fact shows the impact on coastal shipping other forms of transportation
of freight and passengers as railroad, trucking and air travel were having. Further, improvements in navigation technology as radar and LORAN made navigation in fog reliable. Eventually, the need for expensive lightships in shipping lanes became obsolete.
Lightship duty was not only tedious but fraught with hair-raising danger. Ships were frequently rammed and pulled off station by ice or storm. Many sank on station with the loss of all lives, but often crew members made the most of fair weather during their ten day duty cycle. The longevity of many of these vessels in a under funded service was often remarkable owing to repair and many vessels served more than 60 years.
Ships frequenting Pollock Rip Channel regularly would "lay too" or anchor in the protection of Chatham Bay as there were no safe harbors from Provincetown to Monomoy Point on the Cape's "Backside". Consequently, sailig ships and and Harwich Port were no strangers. Research done by the Sidney Brooks Scholars
at the Brooks Museum, Harwich, Massachusetts published in 1998 proved out there were 627 vessels owned and operated by Harwich sea captains between 1872- 1900.
All of these vessels depended on the Sound lightship channel for passage in the northeast (the only alternative was to sail well outside the dangerous shoals of Nantucket island using the Great South Channel) and
all these passed the Handkerchief shoal Light Vessel #4 (fig.4) close aboard at some point. The temptation to do business at Harwich or pay a visit home was often a factor in the stop over.
Many of these vessels as large as 200 tons landed at the wharves in Harwich Port at Bank Street
or a deeper spot close to shore at South Harwich off Red River at Deep Hole Wharf (off Old Wharf
Road) where there was 9 feet of depth close to the beach to unload or await a change of wind or weather before departing again for New York,
Providence, or Downeast.
| Chartlet 1. Section of 1933 Nantucket Sound chart showing South Harwich area a 9' at MLW hole was close by the shore in the area where commercial wharves existed until World War I. Note chart drawn prior to Wychmere Breakwater construction 1933 WPA Project.
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Enlargement of the 1906 chart (fig.6) clearly shows the
two wharves on the shoreline at Harwich, one being the H.Kelley wharf serving the lumber yard
on Sea Street, and the South Harwich wharf just west of Red River belonging to 'Kendrick and
Bearse Company' at that time, who owned two schooners Florine Nickerson and the Emma Chase. However there were
several other Sound-front wharves in Harwich Port which served the delivery of dry goods, lumber, coal and fish to the Cape community. An earlier map (fig.9) of Harwich Port shows the waterfront
as yet a busier place with six wharves identified by various owners: H.Kelley & Co.(Sea Street); T.B.Baker Wharf (Bank StreeT); Valentine Doane Wharf (Snow Inn Road); Caleb Small Wharf, Commercial Wharf, and L. Eldridge Wharf (all at the end of Old Wharf Road).
The Stone
Horse LV#101 (fig.5) and Handkerchief LV#98 (fig.1) were served from an active Coast Guard station at Wychmere Harbor, shown on the right side of photo in figure 3. At
the same period the Pollock Rip lightship LV#114 was served from USCG Station Chatham. There are a few fishermen and boaters left alive who remember sailing pass the Handkerchief lightship
(located where N'14' is today). Leaving from Wychmere
Harbor it was actually on a path of 203°M to Nantucket Harbor entrance while the Stone Horse was just around the corner off the tip of Monomoy. The Handkerchief Shoals Lightship was retired in 1951.
Very early on, the Lighthouse Board decided it made sense to identify each lightship by color throughout Nantucket Sound. Pollock Rip was painted red; Handkerchief was straw colored; Shovelful was green; Cross Rip was straw colored with a red stripe; Succonnesset was red with white squares. Eventually the Lighthouse Board set the standard for all lightships to be painted red with white letters indicating the corresponding shoal.
| Fig 3. USCG station at Harwich Port that served Stone Horse and Handkerchief lightships was located at the north end of the Snow Inn dock on Wychmere Harbor Channel. Several vessels are identified. Photo credit Bill Lee.
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In his late teens, Tod Lee, who grew-up as a waterfront kid and later became the Town of Harwich
Harbormaster in 1968, recalled frequently delivering newspapers and magazines to the crew of the
Stone Horse lightship LV#53. Tod's father Bill Lee, when he had first moved to Cape Cod, had
been a warrant officer at Coast Guard Station Chatham and was active reserve. Young Tod would
often coax his way onto the 26 foot service launch that went out to the ship for partial crew exchange
on alternate weeks. He also remembers pulling alongside the LV Stone Horse onboard the family
65' Bahamian motorsailer LUCAYO, to drop books and milk with his Dad who owned the Lee Ship
Building Company (begun in 1933) and later had an interest in Harwich Port Boat Works (1938). An innovator, Bill Lee is also remembered
to have begun another business in S.Harwich which served the important needs of much of the Lower Cape, the Red River Ice Plant (1940).
More research needs to be done to determine when the Wychmere Harbor station began.
The station was closed immediately after the end of WWII. I read somewhere that the USLSS may have also kept a surfboat team at Harwich Port this would have been a valuable dispatch point for vessels in distress in Nantucket Sound. Nine valuable USLSS stations were strategically situated from Monomoy Point and ran the backside to Race Point.
| Fig ?. Base of the Mack Monument obelisk at CG Station Chatham commemorating the rescue of surfman Seth Ellis of Harwich from a "watery grave". He died at a ripe old age (77).
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Surfman Seth Ellis of Harwich Port, the father of Harwich Harbormaster (1958-1967) Joseph Ellis,is remembered as the sole survivor of the famous Monomoy station surfboat which was heavily manned by a crew of mostly Harwich lifesavers. Tragically, their lifeboat was overturned by waves during an attempted rescue of the crew of the schooner barge WADENA which had grounded inside of the Shovelful lightship in March 1902 (this position later renamed Stone Horse lightship beginning in 1916). This spot is immediately off the tip of Monomoy. A monument at the Chatham Coast Guard Station is dedicated in the memory of these lost souls and Capt. Elmer Mayo who saved 44 year old surfman Ellis. In a rare act, a bill rider authorized the US Lighthouse Department to build five homes in Harwich and one in Chatham. One for each widow and families of the six surfmen who lost their lives. One such home, that can be seen at 34 Oak Street Harwich Center, was built for the widow of Edgar C. Small and is referred to as the Monomoy Disaster House.
The question that may be asked is how important were these lightships?
Author Joseph C. Lincoln points out in his book Cape Cod Yesteryears (1935) the incredible numbers of vessels that continued to use the Lightship channel, regardless of the Cape Cod Canal. With "lightships at every shoal" "and in the vicinity of Monomoy, a savage tide to figure upon and to guard against" non auxiliary sailing vessels
| Fig 4. Earlier Handerkerchief Shoal Lightship #4 stood guard 58 years on station 10 miles off Harwich Port, until 1916. Click photo and note the 958 lbs ships bell on the forward mast, the ships only fog signal.
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cleared the Cape via its 'backside', presumably because unreliable wind and annoying towing fees to get through the Canal made it worth the extra risk .
Pollock Rip Channel runs east west through Nantucket Sound. The 1912 'United States Coast Pilot - Atlantic Coast - Part III' lists a total of nine lightship positions guarding the channel, showing the way with sound and lights, through Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds.
In 1912, the Pollock Rip to Newport channel lightship list (east to west) was as follows: Pollock Rip Shoals Light Vessel No.13; Pollock Rip Shoals Light Vessel No.47; Shovelful Shoal (later called Stone Horse) Light Vessel No.3; Handkerchief Light Vessel No.4; Cross Rip Light Vessel No.5; Succonesset Shoal Light Vessel No.6; Hedge Fence Light Vessel No.41; Sow and Pigs Light Vessel No.99; Hens and Chickens Light Vessel No.42; Brenton Reef Light Vessel No.39.
The Channel once dog-legged between Monomoy Point and Pollock Rip was somewhat straightened through dredging around 1925. Even with the event of the opening of the Cape Cod Canal (1914) which rerouted a lot of traffic, ships sailing around Cape Cod inevitably passed through this area. It was not until after 1928, the federal government purchased the canal, and the US Army Corps of Engineers oversaw its widening allowing two-way traffic. The canal provides a 32-foot-deep channel north-south shortcut siphoning some 30,000 vessels each year from using "the lightship channel" to get around Cape Cod.
| Fig 5. Light vessels at Cross Rip had several disasters over the years being rammed, pulled off station by ice or storm. In 1918, the LV-6 was wrenched from its mooring anchor by heavy ice flow and was seen pulled out to sea past Great Point and presumed lost at sea with all hands.
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In 1891, Gustav Kobbe wrote about his experience on a visit to the Nantucket Shoals lightship LV-1 for Century Magazine (the National Geographic of its day). The story Life on the South Shoal is a firsthand account of how lightships, unlike lighthouses which warned others of danger, were used by other vessels close aboard as a guide to the safe (deep) water. This is a graphic yarn that leaves us understanding the importance of lightships to the safety of shipping in an era of relatively primative navigational aids. Due to the frequency of vessels transiting the area, lightships for all the carnage they received saved countless lives.
| Fig 6. The Stone Horse Lightship built 1916 (Wilmington, Delaware) was a sentinel at Stone Horse Shoal for 12 years until it was retired in 1963. Photo credit Sidney Moody.
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One story from LV#53 (fig.2) gives us a little insight to the life of the crew. Motor Machinist Mate Dave Murphy was aboard the Stone Horse Lightship in 1947 located just over a mile south of the tip of Monomoy. Dave and the crew would motor ashore to Harwich Port for supplies at Eldredge's Market, the mail plus the exchange of four crew from the Wychmere station. Rounding the point at Monomoy they would DR a course to port. Fishing at the lightship consisted mainly of sand sharks so another type of fishing became popular. At night when the radio waves bounced off the ionosphere the crew would make contact with other Coast Guard Vessels around the world. The best catch was another Coast Guard vessel, an ice breaker ship in the Antarctic.
Murphy's lightship crew also found the service launch or the lightship's own 16 foot dory would make for some fine striper fishing on the other side of Monomoy during Spring, Summer and Fall. One December 22nd while returning to the ship with mail and Christmas groceries they met with a nor'easter and ended up riding a swell over the dunes right into the small pond ( Powderhole ) where they secured the boat and spent 5 days in the lookout station just staying warm and dry. They eventually enjoyed a belated Christmas dinner aboard the ship.
Lightship LV-101 served at Stone Horse Shoal from 1951-1963.
An earlier lightship, one of four that served at the Handkerchief Shoals, Lightship LV-4 stood duty off Harwich Port a record 58 years (1858 - 1916) and used a 958 lbs hand operated bell as a fog signal. One can only imagine the endless monotony of each crew member on his four-hour anchor watch striking the ships bell for five seconds every minute in thick weather (considered rain, fog, snow, sleat).
Short list of Commanding Officers of Hankerchief Shoals Lightship LV#4 (a 67 year career)
1858-?: ???
? - 1884: Stephen Howes, Keeper
1886-1890: A L Ellis, Asst Keeper
1890(1 mo. ): Charles E Ireland, Asst Keeper
1890-1893: A L Ellis, Keeper
1893-1902: A L Ellis, Master
1903-1904: Theodore B Brown, Mate
1906-1907: James B Frizzel, Mate
1907-?: Josiah P Hatch, Mate
?-1914: Ebenezer F Kelley, Mate
| Fig 7. Section of the 1906 George Eldridge chart 'Vineyard Sound to Lt. Ship Chatham' showing the northeast corner of Nantucket Sound and Pollock Rip channel Lightships
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1914-1915: Walter D Chase, Mate
1915: Seth N Baker, Mate
1915: M F Rogers, Mate
1915-1918: William Kelley, Mate
History of Service of LV-4
1858, Oct 1, placed on Handkerchief Shoal (MA)-
Passing vessels collided with this vessel in 1874 Sep 6; 1876 Aug & Oct 10; 1880; 1881; 1883 (2); 1885; 1887 Jul; 1890 Sep; 1899 Aug 15; 1899 Jun 6; 1902 Jan 27, Mar 18; 1903 Sep 15; 1907 Mar 12. Except for 3 instances of coal barges under tow, all involved sailing vessels. In 1885, records state "she has suffered more from collision than any other lightship in the district." Investigations concluded these accidents were "invariably" caused by vessels failing to allow for tidal current while attempting to cross the bow of the lightship.-
1874, Nov 17: parted chain, sailed to Hyannis awaiting replacement-
1875: Carried off station by moving ice, slipped chain and put to sea, off station 12 days-
1879, Jan 4: broke adrift in heavy gale, off station 18 days-
1884: Logged 21,109 vessels passing station during the year - 4 full rigged ships 212 barks, 281 brigs, 18,221 schooners, 148 s1oops and 2,247 steamers-
1898: Nov 27, dragged halfway to Cross Rip in gale back on station Dec 4-
1899: Feb 13, dragged 1 mile southwest of station, off station 2 days-
| Fig 8. Pollock Rip Lightship stationed 3.5 miles east of Monomoy Beach.
Between 1849 and 1969 eight different light vessels served at this dangerous open water station.
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Light Vessels (LV and WAL) - Record of Pre-WWII Shipbuilding
Lightship assignments
Lightship Index
Stone Horse LV-101 is now a museum piece at Portsmith Naval Museum
| Fig 9. Life onboard a lightship - Ward Room recreation
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During the period 1820 -1983, 116 lightship stations were established by the United States at one time or another. This figure includes those stations that were renamed and moved to a different position to better serve the same purpose, and those taken over later by Canada. The number of stations existing at any one time peaked in 1909 when 56 lightships were maintained. By 1927, 68 stations had been discontinued, replaced by lighthouses or buoys, taken over by Canada, or considered unnecessary.
In 1939, the mission of the Coast Guard was expanded to include responsibility for ATON, and resources of the former Lighthouse Service were transferred at that time. Lightship officers and crews, as well as other civilian employees, were offered two choices- integration into the Coast Guard with military rank commensurate with existing salary; or retention in civilian status under Coast Guard command. Exercise of these options resulted in about a 50-50 split. For lightships, many operated initially with either an all-military or an all-civilian complement. This later gave way to a mix of military and civilian personnel. The mixed crews were in evidence well after World War II and a few of the Lighthouse Service civilian employees were still active into the 1970s.
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Fig 10. Chart showing location of he lightship anchorages of Nantucket Sound and Vineyard Sound over a total of 141 years of service.
Fig 11. Commercial impact of vessel landings. Two earlier more detailed maps of Harwich Port showing the busy commercial wharves along the shoreline of Nantucket Sound at Sea Street, Bank Street, Snow Inn Road, and Old Wharf Road (S.Harwich).
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