Helen Miller Gould (schooner)

A well-known mackerel fishing schooner, the "Helen Miller Gould" was a short lived vessel. She marks the change from sail to engine since she was the first large schooner to be fitted with an auxiliary engine.

Early Years

She was designed by Captain G. Melvin McClain of Rockport, Massachusetts, who also designed the Effie M. Morrissey. She was built by John Bishop, during the winter of 1899-1900 at the Vincent Cove yard in Gloucester, Massachusetts. On March 29, 1900, before a crowd of more than 3,000 people she was launched. On board during the launch was Captain Jacobs (King of the Mackerel Killers), Captain G. Melvin McClain, a few other captains, as well as Captain Jacobs daughter who broke the wine bottle in the traditional christening of the ship. Thomas, Gordon. Fast and Able: Life Stories of Great Gloucester Fishing Vessels. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Historic Ships Associates, 1968.]

Later that year, Helen Miller Gould was first installed with a 35 horse power Globe engine installed to supplement her sail power. Then when the bigger, 150 horse power engine was completed, she was installed with that, which increasing her speed up to 8 knots. It was at this time that she started her true fishing career in the mackerel business with Captain Jacobs leading the way. Thomas, Gordon. Fast and Able: Life Stories of Great Gloucester Fishing Vessels. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Historic Ships Associates, 1968.]

Brief Fishing Career

The "Helen Miller Gould' was only around for a year after she was first launched, but during that year, she broke and set records in the mackerel fishing business. With the installation of her 150 horse power engine, Captain Jacobs saw that of auxiliary power on his vessel would result in faster trips, which would also lead to big profits - and that it did.

The following month after launching, two weeks after taking off on April 12, 1900, she arrived in New York with over 200 barrels of fresh mackerel which at that point was selling for nine and ten cents a pound.

The success continued on September 3, when Captain Jacobs brought her back to Gloucester, Massachusetts, with more than three times the barrels of mackerel than their stop in New York. With 720 barrels of mackerel, the "Gould" broke all preexisting records, in that year, stocking $40,660 at a share of $863. Santos, Michael. Caught in Irons: North Atlantic Fishermen in the Last Days of Sail. Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania: Susquehanna University Press, 2002.]

Sudden End

Unfortunately, the success did not continue for very long after breaking that record, and on October 25, 1901 she caught fire. A leak in the gasoline apparatus was the cause and the vessel could have been saved, if it was not for the threat of an explosion. It was at North Sydney, Nova Scotia, that she burned down to the sea. Fortunately for the crew, they made it out with their lives, but lost all their personal belongings that they had onboard. Thomas, Gordon. Fast and Able: Life Stories of Great Gloucester Fishing Vessels. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Historic Ships Associates, 1968.]

References

External links

* [http://books.google.com/books?id=s2mBTh6mCmUC&pg=PA21&dq=caught+in+irons+books&client=safari&sig=6GHh1vSFcuL1sdaDkNIMbbkapd4 Limited View of "Caught in Irons: North Atlantic Fishermen in the Last Days of Sail" (Thanks to Google Books)]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9C01E4DB1E39E733A25755C2A9669D946097D6CF&oref=slogin Article from the day after the "Gould" had caught fire (Thanks to The NY Times Archive)]