From the
account book of Daniel Belding
At the NB
Museum at St John
Transcribed here is the
page for pilotage in 1809
As pilot, Daniel
Belding would row out from Little Dipper Harbour to the ship which was likely
hove to in deep water south of Mann Rock. He would board the ship and tie his
own boat on behind. Once aboard, he’d give the Captain his assessment of the
wind, waves and tide which amount to options for the Captain’s choice - move
now or wait for the beginning of the next flood tide. The former might be more
work, but it could get them into St John Harbour faster than waiting to move on
the next flood tide. The captain would tell Belding his choice and then Belding
would give all the orders to bring them into harbour. The pilot really earned
his pay at the harbour mouth itself for the charts of the day show that the
main channel was less than 12’ deep in many places at low water. There were no
dredged channels in 1809. There was a safe and deep channel in all states of
the tide between Partridge Island and the mainland of Carleton or West St John
but the wind and tide would have to be just right. So these were questions the
harbour pilots of the day had to weigh in order to get the vessel safely into
the deep water of the inner harbour. These ships were sail power only – no
engines to correct mistakes. If you made a mistake, you dropped the anchor and
hoped it would hold until conditions changed in your favour. Local knowledge
and skilled seamanship were the keys to being a successful pilot and
shipmasters hired only the ones with the best reputations. Daniel Belding must
have fit that bill.
In
Account of Ships Piloted 1809
|
Month/Day |
Name Ship |
Master |
Draft(ft) |
Amount |
|
April 8 |
Brig Swift |
Raymond |
10 |
£2/0/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 20 |
Brig Little Gerty |
Yarrow |
8 |
£1/4/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 26 |
Brig Jane |
Walker |
10 |
£2/0/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 4 |
Ship No Friend |
Dunn |
12 |
£2/8/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 7 |
Brig Olive Branch |
Kanua |
9.5 |
£1/8/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 8 |
Ship Cosica |
Turnbull |
10 |
£2/0/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 14 |
Industry |
Kloop |
10 |
£2/0/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 22 |
Beaver |
Wilson |
8 |
£1/4/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 4 |
Ship Flora |
Garkin |
11.5 |
£2/6/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 26 |
Brig Ann |
Merritt |
14 |
£2/16/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
July 29 |
Schooner Admira |
n/a |
9 |
£1/7/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 2 |
Brig Nancy |
Rummy |
9 |
£1/7/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 3 |
Ship America |
Calhoun |
15 |
£3/15/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 10 |
Brig Charlton |
Fret |
10.5 |
£2/2/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 14 |
Ship Jane |
Atkinson |
14 |
£2/16/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 26 |
Ship Mary |
Miller |
12.5 |
£2/10/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 27 |
Brig Visiter |
Tyman |
10 |
£2/0/0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nov 10 |
Brig Helen |
Miller |
10 |
£2/0/0 |
18
Vessels piloted for a Grand Total of £ 38/3/0
Prepared from photos of
the pages
In Daniel Belding’s
Account Book
In NB Museum, St John,
NB
Harry MacDonald
RR 2 Gananoque, On
K7G 2V4
613 382 8607
Wednesday, July 13,
2005