Owner
Registration No.
Official No.
Vessel Name
Place Constructed
Year Constructed
No. of Decks
No. of Masts
Type of Vessel

Length (ft)
Width (ft)
Depth (ft)
Gross Tonnage
Official Closure Year
Place of Closure

Robert Gillespie Reid
123
113009
Ethie
Glasgow, Scotland
1900
1
2
Steamer

155
25
13
440
1919
Martin’s Point, St. Barbe coast

The S.S. Ethie met its tragic end at Martin’s Point near Cow Head and Bonne Bay on the West Coast of Newfoundland in December 1919 during a terrible storm. This vessel was one of a fleet of twelve that was referred to as the Alphabet Fleet as they were all named after towns in their owners, Sir Robert G. Reid’s, native Scotland. (You may read more about this fleet in the document titled, “By the Next Boat”).

This vessel’s connection to Trinity was that she was at one time the coastal boat for Trinity Bay and this port was one of her stops for bringing goods, mail and passengers as Trinity was one of the principal ports for the area.

There is some controversy surrounding the wreck of the Ethie as it was reported in many of the papers that there had been a dog involved in the rescue of the crew and passengers on that fateful day. Read the documents for yourself and see if you can determine fact from fiction.