View source for E. K. Collins (pilot boat)

{{short description|New York Pilot boat}}
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|Ship country=United States
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|Ship name=E. K. Collins
|Ship namesake=[[Edward Knight Collins]]
|Ship owner= New York Pilots: Wm. P. Tornure, John L. Tornure, James H. Tornure, Eugene H. Sullivan, James R. Murphy
|Ship operator= Robert B. Mitchell, James R. Murphy
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|Ship in service=early 1840s
|Ship out of service=January 10, 1856
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|Ship struck=Ran ashore on the outer bar of [[Fire Island]]
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The '''''E. K. Collins''''' was a 19th-century [[Sandy Hook Pilots|Sandy Hook]] [[pilot boat]] built in the early 1840s. She was named for the American shipping magnate [[Edward Knight Collins]]. During a [[winter storm]], the ''Collins'' ran ashore on the outer bar of [[Fire Island]] in 1856.

==Construction and service==

New York pilot-boat ''E. K. Collins,'' was built in the early 1840s. An early report of the ''E. K. Collins'' No. 11, appeared in the ''New York Daily Herald'' on December 17, 1844, which talked about the ''Collins'' with Captain Turner of New York, taking a 3-day cruise and coming to port for provisions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76154602/e-k-collins/ |title=Correspondence of the Herald |work=New York Daily Herald |place=New York, New York |date=20 Dec 1844 |page=3|access-date=2021-04-20}}</ref> She was named for the American ship-owner [[Edward Knight Collins]].<ref name="Russell"/>{{rp|p117}}

She was 89-tons burthen and owned by Wm. P. Tornure, John L. Tornure, James H. Tornure, Eugene H. Sullivan and James R. Murphy. On February 6, 1845, the ''Collins,'' while on pilot duty, went ashore at [[Gowanus, Brooklyn|Gowanus Bay]] because of gale and ice. The next day, she was able to come into New York City.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76156259/ashore/ |title=Particulars Of The Storm |work=New York Daily Herald |place=New York, New York |date=6 Feb 1845 |page=2|access-date=2021-04-20}}</ref>

On February 1, 1848, eighteen miles south of [[Sandy Hook, New Jersey|Sandy Hook]], two pilots, Robert Smith and Andrew Foster, from the pilot-boat ''E. K. Collins,'' lost their lives attempting to board the brig ''Robert Bruce''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76156420/lost-lives/ |title=Melanchology |work=Brooklyn Evening Star |place=Brooklyn, New York) |date=1 Feb 1848 |page=2|access-date=2021-04-20}}</ref>

On December 3, 1852, the pilot boat ''E. K. Collins'' picked up one of the two yawls from the pilot boat [[Yankee (pilot boat)|''Yankee,'']] No. 7, that struck an old wreck and sank 35 miles east of Sandy Hook.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74637849/sank/|title=Loss Of The Pilot-Boat Yankee.|work=Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express |place=Buffalo, New York |date=9 Dec 1852 |page=2 |access-date=March 29, 2021}}</ref>

== End of service==

On January 10, 1856, in a blinding snow storm, the ''E. K. Collins'' No. 11 ran ashore on the outer bar of [[Fire Island]], [[Long Island]], about thirty-six miles from Sandy Hook. Captain James R. Murphy was in command of the helm.  Those that escaped in a [[yawl]] were pilot James R. Murphy, pilot William Roach, and apprentice James Sullivan. Boatkeeper Morris Ellwood drowned when attempting to escape. The apprentice, James Rush, was on the ice covered boat for thirty-two hours before he was picked up by a life-boat. Three of the crew were frozen to death, including Sandy Hook pilot Robert B. Mitchell, cabin boy Wellan "Billy" Williams and the cook. The ''E. K. Collins'' was valued at $4,500. If the [[Fire Island Lighthouse]] had a government life-saving service, they could have rescued the men.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76158142/disaster/ |title=Marine Disasters. The effects of the Late Snow Storm and Intense Cold.|work= New York Daily Herald |place=New York, New York |date=14 Jan 1856 |page=1|access-date=March 29, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76157973/wreck/  |title=Wreck of the Pilot Boat E. K. Collins |work=The Buffalo Daily Republic |place=Buffalo, New York |date=19 Jan 1856 |page= 2|access-date=March 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Lore">{{cite book|last=Allen|first=Edward L.|date=1922|title=Pilot Lore From sail to Steam
|url=https://archive.org/details/pilotlorefromsai00unit/page/12/mode/2up?q=Collins
|location=New York|publisher=The United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Associations|page=12}}</ref><ref name="Russell">{{cite book|last=Russell|first=Charles Edward|date=1929|title=From Sandy Hook to 62°|location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KBOAQAAMAAJ&q=Collins|publisher= Century Co.|oclc=3804485|page=117}}</ref><ref name="Peril">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/76157813/ran-ashore/ |title=A Pilot's Perils. |work=The Marion Times-Standard |place=Marion, Alabama |date=23 April 1890|pages=6|access-date=7 September 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{List of Northeastern U. S. Pilot Boats|state=collapsed}}
{{1856 shipwrecks}}

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[[Category:Schooners]]
[[Category:Pilot boats]]
[[Category:1840s ships]]
[[Category:1856 natural disasters in the United States]]
[[Category:Individual sailing vessels]]
[[Category:Schooners of the United States]]