The Marion C. Douglas

One of the strangest lives of any Parrsborough Shore schooner had to be that of the 450-ton tern, Marion C. Douglas. She was built in 1917 at Fox River by George Melville Cockrane at the very high cost of 90,000 dollars.

The ship had a rather undistinguished career until November 25, 1919, when she was discovered by Irish fishermen sailing unmanned off the Scilly Islands with her sails furled and apparently undamaged. She was loaded with lumber and so was in no danger of sinking; but what had become of the crew?

It developed that her crew was safely delivered in Halifax by the SS Suffolk. Captain Sydney Corkum explained that they had been in a severe Atlantic storm and the ship began leaking badly. Then the pump failed and they had to pump by hand.

To make matters worse, they lost their steering and could not make repairs because of the storm. They had jettisoned their deckload of lumber but setting sails made the ship leak even more. Thus unable to navigate and taking on more water than they could pump out, the crew was finally, on the 14th of November, forced to abandon the ship.

For eleven days the hapless schooner had been buffeted to and fro across the Atlantic until she finally ended up near the Scilly Islands. She was towed in and her owner W. N. Reinhardt of Lahave was notified. He immediately dispatched Captain U. E. Woemer to Ireland to settle the costly salvage claim and bring back his valuable ship.

The schooner worked without any misadventures for two more years until 1921 when she was seized by her crew for back wages while tied up in Norfolk, Virginia. By this time Reinhardt was anxious to get rid of her. He sold her to an American company and they renamed her. Now she was registered in Boston as the Cynthia J. Griffin and again worked without incident. Then she became Canadian again. She was sold to Robert Kerr of Parrsboro and renamed Marion C. Douglas.

In 1927 she was sold, again to an American company. She was now shifted to the west coast. She was said to have been the last true sailing vessel to pass through the Panama Canal. Finally late in the year she was abandoned at sea again. No details on the circumstances or cargo are available but she was found by a Japanese vessel off San Diego, California, and towed into port, where she was sold to pay the salvage claim. The three-master, now ten years old, was bought by Los Angeles interests, renamed the Mary Lou and passed from local history.

Another Downshore vessel to have a strange career was the Marshall Foch. Built at Wards Brook in 1919 by Smith Canning, the Foch was a beautiful ship, with exceptionally fine lines. Rated at about 350 tons she was put into the lumber trade to the Eastern States and the West Indies, where after about three years she was noticed by the famous author Zane Gray.

Gray was so impressed with her that he bought her as a yacht and had her rebuilt to accommodate his favorite passtime, deep sea fishing. Zane had the Marshall Foch completely built over. He had her hull sheathed in copper to foil the toredo worm. He had auxillary diesel engines installed, as well as electric lights and refrigeration. He had at least 15 staterooms, several bathrooms and a lounge for his guests, as well as a suite for himself and it was said that he had quarters for a crew of fifteen officers and men. She was then rechristened and named Fisherman.

In December 1924 she sailed for Panama under the command of Captain King of Annapolis, but was later commanded by Captain Alexander Heisler. She was featured in many of Zanes fishing stories and after he was finished with her he sold her to a Southern Pacific Missionary society. It was under their less-competent command that she drifted ashore off New Zealand and became a total loss.

By Ed Gilbert

Research from various sources