“Ismay”
Ismay was originally built by Captain Orlando Lake in the 1920’s in his back yard on the beach in Sandy Ground. Ismay’s trade was in the Leeward and Windward Islands with occasional trips to Trinidad carrying salt from Anguilla and sheep from Dog Island.
In the 1930’s Captain Lake beached Ismay and ‘stretched’ her in order to enter the profitable trade carrying cane cutters to La Romana, Dominican Republic and returning with sugar, corn and coffee. Ismay was also tender vessel for the lighthouse at Sombrero following Captain Lake’s loss of his other schooner ‘Daffnia’ in a hurricane.
On the first night out to sea on a return voyage from Santo Domingo Ismay’s transom was sheared off by a steel hulled vessel. The Mate, Thomas Richardson from South Hill who was steering the vessel at the time was lost. The always resourceful Captain Orlando Lake shifted the cargo forward to keep the stern above water and headed back to Santo Domingo. The transom was rebuilt and Ismay again headed home.
Like all other schooners in Anguilla, Ismay rivaled Warspite in the La Romana trade. On one occasion of historic proportion in Anguillian folk lore, Ismay and Warspite happened to meet a few miles west of Sandy Island and a race ensued with their redoubtable captains, Orlando Lake and Joe Romney tacking as if it was an August Monday Boat race. This was during Sunday worship at Bethel Methodist Church on South Hill which has a grand stand view of Road Bay. When the vessels came “hard lee” just under Sandy Island, the excitement was too much for the congregation of the Church and during the sermon, one by one, they crept out until the Minister, Rev. George Lawrence, left alone in the Church joined them to witness the race. In a daring tactic Captain Lake sailed dangerously close to the rocky shore, caught the southerly winds and
finally beat Warspite! Captain Romney’s comment: “Captain Carty put me in charge of Warspite to take care of his vessel, not to race boats”.
In the 1940’s Ismay was beached, redesigned to increase her cargo carrying capacity. She then entered the East Caribbean trade carrying salt from Anguilla and livestock from Dog Island to Trinidad and returning with petroleum products and general merchandise.
Ismay was eventually wrecked in Road Bay in hurricane Donna of 1960.
Anguilla Philatelic site.
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