Euterpe

Official Number
none

The Euterpe was an iron four-masted barque built by the Barrow Shipbuilding Company, yard no. 119. She was launched on the 15th March 1884 for B.Wencke & Soehn, of Hamburg, being christened by Miss Gertrude Wencke, daughter of the owner. The Euterpe was a sister ship to the Earl of Jersey.

In her early career the barque made five voyages to Dundee from Calcutta and Chittagong, bringing jute cargoes. She later carried nitrate from Iquique, and worked in the other general trades of the large four-masters, carrying grain from the West Coast of the USA, and coal from Australia and the UK.

The Euterpe blew up and sank on the 8th September 1902, 80 miles west of the Scilly Isles. She was on a passage from Port Talbot to River Pisagua, Chile, with a cargo of 3159 tons of coal, and under the command of Captain Kauffman. Seven lives were lost in the wreck. The survivors were picked up by the British steamer Rydal Hall, which witnessed the vessel founder, and were landed at Las Palmas.

Name
Year Built
Gross Tons
Length (feet)
Breadth (feet)
Depth (feet)
Masts
Figurehead
Stern
Lloyd's Classn.
Euterpe
1884
 2129
290.7 
 42.7
28.9 
4
 
 
 

Sources :

  1. "Portrait of a Shipbuilder: Barrow-Built Vessels since 1873", ed. Nigel Harris ISBN 0 947971 32 7 (published 1989).
  2. Launch reported in the Lancaster Gazette, Saturday, 22nd March 1884.
  3. There is one photo of this 4-masted barque in the Picture Australia collection - note that other photos are of the 3-masted ship Euterpe.
  4. Dundee City Council has a two very good photos (ref. WC0816) and  (ref.WC0817) of the Euterpe at Dundee in 1888. 
  5. Record of American and Foreign Shipping, 1886: Euterpe, iron 4-masted barque, 2052 tons, built March 1884 at Barrow, owned by B.Wencke & Sons, registered at Hamburg, master Capt.F.C.Bramslow, last surveyed at San Francisco, October 1885.
  6. Record of American and Foreign Shipping, 1900: Euterpe, iron 4-masted barque, 2069 tons, built March 1884 at Barrow, owned by B.Wencke & Sons, registered at Hamburg, signal letters RGQB, master Capt.G.Witmuss, last surveyed at Hamburg, September 1895.
  7. Loss reported in the Times, Monday, 15th September 1902, page 4 : reports position of wreck as 49.36 N, 8.13 W, and that seven crew were killed by the explosion, and others injured.
  8. Loss also reported in the San Francisco Call newspaper, 15th September 1902 (see California Digital Newspaper Collection).