Built as a four-masted steel barque under yard No 346 by Scott Ship Building and Engineering Co., Greenock, Scotland for John Hardie & Co., Glasgow.
June 1897 launched under the name HOUGOMONT, named after the Château d’Hougomont, where the Battle of Waterloo” was fought in 1815.
Tonnage 2.428 gross, 2.239 net., dim. 89.2 x 13.2 x 7.3m.
Her maiden voyage was under command of Capt. J. McNeil from Barry to Rio de Janeiro in 54 days.
He sailed her then to New York, where she after a passage of 56 days arrived on 16 January 1898.
From New York she sailed to Yokohama where she after a passage of 142 days arrived.
From there across the Pacific to Astoria, west coast America, before she headed home via Cape Horn to Falmouth after a passage of 135 days.
Command was taken over by Capt. Charles Lowe, and she left from Antwerp on 28 June 1899, arrived San Francisco on 06 November after a passage of 131 days.
From San Francisco sailed homeward on 05 January 1900 and arrived at Falmouth on 4 May, after a passage of 119 days.
Spring 1901 she made an other speedy voyage from San Francisco to Falmouth. 22 February 1903 she arrived home from San Francisco loaded with 2000 tons wheat and barley in bags, and just under 2000 tons of tinned fruit and salmon in cases. She made the passage from San Francisco to Point Lynas, North Wales in 136 days.
She had orders to discharge at Liverpool, but a strong wind from the south made it impossible to reach Liverpool, not possible to get a tug and pilot, the HOUGOMONT was drifting leeward, and on the 25th he brought her up to Maryport Roads.
26 February the tug BRILLIANT Star got orders from the HOUGOMONT to pick up the ship and tow her to Liverpool, after making fast the tow started, but during the night a heavy storm passed the U.K. and the towline could not hold and parted, the HOUGOMONT was driven up the Solway Firth before sea and wind. Captain Low who had his wife aboard did give distress signals, but not any help arrived.
The next morning at 06.00 am she stranded in Allonby Bay.
While bumping in the surf, she was partly dismasted, and the crew had to climb in the rigging to keep dry, the breakers swept over the ship from stern to bow.
After daybreak she was even drifting farther till she was close to the Grapes Inn, lying broadside in the surf.
Fo’c’sle, mid-ship house and cabin were complete wrecked and everything moveable was washed out, when the hatches did give away the cases of salmon and tinned fruit began to come on the beach.
Not before high tide at 11.00 a.m. the lifeboat of Maryport could reach the vessel, after she rescue the crew, who were at there last gasp from exposure.
The HOUGOMONT was later salvaged by the Liverpool Salvage Association, two 10 inch pumps pumped out the water and on 15 March 1903 she was refloated, and came to anchor in Maryport Roads.
Bad weather set in before anything could be done, and the salvage company afraid that she would drift again on the beach, decided to bring her in at Maryport, and with the help of two tugs she berthed safely in the port.
31 March under tow of the tug RANGER she was towed to Liverpool, where the remainder of the cargo was discharged, before she moved to Greenock for a refit.
18 October 1903 she sailed again from Liverpool for Victoria B.C., where she arrived on 08 March 1904, 139 days from Holyhead.
Her homeward voyage from Tacoma to Dublin was a slow one she made the passage in 161 days.
Command was then take over by Capt. Mc Neil. And she made a fast passage from Port Talbot to Antofagasta in 99 days.
Till 1907 Capt McNeil stayed on board. After a round voyage to South America she sailed to Philadelphia from Hull then to Melbourne, Australia before she headed home and arrived Queenstown in 1907 after a fast passage of 65 days.
Autumn 1907 command was taken over by Capt. J. McMillan, and he took her out to Sydney where she arrived after a passage of 102days from Liverpool. Then she sailed to Newcastle NSW to load coal for Coquimbo, the passage she made in 35 days, after arrival and discharging he was ordered to Tocopilla.
After a week sailing she was near Tocopilla, but due to the strong Humbolt Current and lack of wind she drifted past Tocopilla, unable to anchor the depth of the water right in to the shore was to deep. After drifting four hundred miles to the northward of the loading place, Capt. J. McMillan decided to proceed to Australia, arriving on 27 September 1908 at Sydney.
Christmas Eve 1908 she sailed from Sydney, and after a slow passage she was off Lizard Point on 20 May 1909, and arrived Rotterdam 20 May after a passage of 153 days.
McNeil took again over command.
Not much happened till 1914, when on 22 December 1914 she sailed from London for New York ballasted with chalk. When near New York she was running in dense fog and on 06 February 1915 she stranded on Fire Island. After stuck for 13 days she was refloated without much damage.
From New York she sailed to Melbourne with a general cargo, arrived in Melbourne after a passage of 104 days.
Till the end of 1924 was she owned by John Hardy, then he sold her to the Finish owner Gustav Erikson in Mariahamn, Aland Islands for £3500. She was not renamed.
Under command of Capt Ivar Engelbert Hägerstrand, she sailed 09 March from St Nazaire to Callao where she arrived on 09 July 1925 after a passage of 119 days.
She loaded guano at the Lobos Islands and left from Peru on 26 October and via it Panama Canal she reached London 18 January 1926, after a passage of 56 days from Colon.
From London she sailed to Loderitz Bay, Namibia, then to Port Lincoln, where she loaded grain.
04 May 1927 she arrived at Falmouth for orders; there she received orders to proceed to London where her cargo of grain was discharged.
26 August 1927 she sailed from Hernosand after loading partly at Gefle for Melbourne. On the Portuguese Coast was she dismasted, after she was made fast to a tugboat, she was towed into Lisbon for repairs on 27 October. Sailing out again on 28 November. Arriving in Melbourne on 03 March 1928 after a passage of 96 days from Lisbon.
She was then regular used in the yearly grain race from Australia to Europe.
1932 Her last voyage was from London under command of Capt Ragnar Lindholm in ballast to Port Lincoln, Australia, after a passage of 111 days she was in a position of 535 miles South of Cape Borda
The following comes from a diary kept by Denis Wilen one of the apprentices on board the HOUGOMONT, published in The Times of 09 June 1932.
April 20.-Soon after two bells in the first watch we were hit twice in quick succession by a cyclone. It blew the foremast down, and then the mainmast, followed by the topgallant rigging of the mizzenmast.
Four fellows were up making fast a sail which we often have to take in as it is very old. This upper topgallant yard broke in two, and the four fellows had marvellous escape. There was a great deal of shouting. Hatch covers were thrown off to see if we were making any water and the pumps were made ready for instant use. I was sent to the wheel and others began the arduous job of cutting through the backstays.
About 4 a.m. the topmast rigging of the mizenmast fell with a terrific crash on to the deck smashing the standard compass, a bit of which I have as a memento. The starboard lifeboat was smashed as well. At the same time as the mizzenmast crashed, the mizzen top rigging fell down, and the mizzen boom weighing about half a ton, fell on top of the wheel cabin.
April 22.- The weather moderated a bit and we rigged the main royal yard, which was on the deck, to the stump of the foremast, and rigged the jigger staysail, and several other sails.
April 25.- Quite a nice day for me as, while I was up on the foretop sending down the remains of the bunt lines, I saw in the distance a black spot which could only be another vessel. I gave a yell and everybody tumbled out to have a look. About 11 o’clock she drew alongside and began to speak to us. She was the KOOLIGA of Melbourne. She promised to wireless to Adelaide for which we now steering.
April 28.- We saw the light of a steamer towards evening, and though we tried by every means to signal her it was of no avail. As we passed her at a distance of a mile, the officers must have been dreaming.
April 29.- About 6 o’clock we saw a steamer in the distance and ran up our ensign. An hour later she came alongside. It was the FORRESBANK of Glasgow. Every time we signalled a ship the captain asked to be reported to Clarkson’s London.
Saturday April 30.- For the past three days there has been no wind at all. Grumbles on board are many.
May 1.- This terrible experience is getting on our nerves and no one is anything like cheerful.
May 6.- To-day we saw in the early morning the lights of Kangaroo Island.
After arrival Port Adelaide the owners found the necessary repairs to high, and after stripping all usable parts and fittings, which were brought home by the HERZOGIN CECILIE.
She was then towed by the tug WATO to Stenhouse Bay, Yorke Peninsula a tow of 13½ hours, where she arrived at 08 January 1933. It was positioned south-west of the jetty and sunk with explosives at 11.00 a.m. to provide a breakwater for vessels loading gypsum there.
Till today she is still there in 9 meters of water, bow and stern upright the rest of the vessel mostly collapsed.
Her figurehead you can find in the Ålands Sjöfartmuseum.
Tanzania 1999 370/ sg?, scott?
Sources: The last of the Windjammers by Bassil Lubbock. http://www.bruzelius.info/nautica/Ships ... 1897).html