|
By the Next Boat: Published by the Johnson Family Foundation By the end of the 1800s a formal coastal boat service was put into operation with a government subsidy. This system of boats operated for more than fifty years and was the lifeline for many outport communities as they were a means of transportation for goods and people and a means of communication as the coastal boat always brought the mail and news from neighbouring communities. In 1898, the first of Reid’s famous “Alphabet Fleet”, the S.S. Bruce went into service in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, over the first quarter of the twentieth century, the Reid Company operated fourteen ships in the coastal service. Bowring Brothers, another service provider, had two ships, the S.S. Portia and the S.S. Prospero. In 1923, Reid’s railway and coastal services were taken over by the Newfoundland Railway Service which was created and operated by the Newfoundland Government. A year later Bowring’s ships were added. This was in existence until Confederation with Canada in 1949 and the operation was taken over by Canadian National Railways. As the province changed and new technology came on stream such as roads, electricity, telecommunications etc. the service changed and by 1982 the coastal boat service, as it was, came to an end. Today there still is a coastal boat service operated by the Provincial Government to Labrador and they let contracts to private vessel owners to service the communities on the South Coast of the province that have no road connections. Robert Gillespie Reid had 12 vessels in his “Alphabet Fleet”: Argyle, Bruce, Clyde, Dundee, Ethie, Fife, Glencoe, Home, Invermore, Kyle, Lintrose and Meigle They were all named after towns in Reid’s native Scotland. The letter “J” is not included as there was no suitable town that began with the letter “J”. He also owned the S.S. Virginia Lake and the S.S. Sagona. Most of the “Alphabet Fleet” was lost in various storms however we will focus on the Ethie as she served Trinity. Argyle – length 155 feet, 439 gross tons built by A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow, Scotland, 1900. Operated in Placentia Bay. Sold 1941 and lost near Cuba on July 14, 1946. Bruce – length 237 feet, 1,155 gross tons built by A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow, Scotland, 1897. Lost near Louisburg, March 24, 1911. Clyde – length 155 feet, 439 gross tons built by A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow, Scotland, 1900. Operated mostly in Notre Dame Bay. Sold to Crosbie and Co. 1948. Lost Williamsport on December 17, 1951. Dundee – length 155 feet, 439 gross tons built by A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow, Scotland, 1900. Operated in Bonavista Bay and went aground on Grassy Island, Gander Bay on December 25, 1919. Ethie – length 155 feet, 439 gross tons built by A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow, Scotland, 1900. Lost at Martin’s Point, St. Barbe coast on December 11, 1919. Fife - length 155 feet, 439 gross tons built by A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow, Scotland, 1900. Lost of its first voyage in the Strait of Belle Isle on November 14, 1900. Glencoe – length 208 feet, 767 gross tons, built by A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow, Scotland, 1899. Sold June 1959 and scrapped at Sorel, Quebec. Served mostly on the south coast. Home - length 155 feet, 439 gross tons, built by A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow, Scotland, 1900. sold 1948 and sank at Jersey Harbour, Fortune Bay, 1952. Invermore - length 250 feet, gross tons 975, built by Barclay, Curle & Co. Glasgow, Scotland, 1881. Lost Brig Harbour Point in Labrado, July 10, 1914 Kyle – length 220 feet, 1,055 gross tons built by Swan Hunter, Newcastle, England, 1913. Sold 1959 and ran aground in Harbour Grace in 1967. Lintrose – length 255 feet, 1,616 gross tons built by Swan Hunter, Newcastle, England, 1913. Sold to the Russian government in 1915. Meigle - length 220 feet, 836 gross tons, built by Barclay, Curle & Co. Glasgow, Scotland, 1881. Purchased and renamed by the Reids in 1913. Between 1932 – 1933 was a prison ship. Went ashore in St. Shott’s in July 1947. |
| Back to Documents |