The Loss of the Sloop, Perseverance
So many boats have been claimed by the sea that it’s impossible to document them all!
Here are some I’ve researched and written about that sank tragically:
The Syria, Pride of Tortola, RMS Rhone, Kite, the Faith, Come Back, Spider, Fancy Me, the Islander, the Edgewood, the Malakka, and To Windward.
There’s even more that I’ll probably never know about.
Unfortunately, the sloop, Perseverance met the same fate and has been long forgotten.
Finding a small clipping in the old newspapers is all we know about her.
Her Brief History
Her route was predominantly between the Danish and British Virgin Islands as well as occasional visits to St. Maarten.
She was largely a passenger-vessel, but I’m sure carried cargo from time to time.
From arrival reports, it appears that she first sailed the seas around 1896.
With a name like Perseverance, it can be difficult to track her exact history since several boats had the same name.
On a trip from St. Croix to St. Thomas for instance, she transported a full cargo of iron for the McDougal Company, but this may be the Danish sloop, Perseverance, operated by Captain George that sunk in a storm in 1906.
In 1912, the little sloop met her demise.
Here are the details from the newspaper.🗞
Struck by a Squall
“The boat Perseverance of Virgin Gorda, owned and managed by Henry Stephens left St. Thomas on Saturday morning bound for Virgin Gorda. ~ March 16, 1912
She was struck by a squall off Casey Bay, otherwise known as Caneel Bay on St. John and capsized.
The owner and two boys with him, fortunately, reached the shore after a pretty trying swim.”
Although the vessel was lost, thankfully her captain and crew survived, a rare occurrence in those days. ⚓️
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