Royal W. Healy’s Experiences of His Life at Sea
(I started going to sea in Square-rigged Sailing Ships)
In 1900 I shipped out of Puget Sound in the full rigged ship “Saint David” (she was a three skysail yarder) with a full cargo, and deck load of heavy timbers for the Transvaal. We made the passage from Puget Sound, around the Horn and the Cape of Good Hope to Lourence Marques, Delago Bay, Portugese East Africa. We made the passage in 128 days (the only land we sighted in that time was Pitcairn’s Id. where we lay to for several hours, off the S.E. corner of the Id. while a whale-boat of the Islanders came off to trade).
Three Skysail Yarder
The Boer War was on at that time and Lourenco Marques was the nearest port to the Transvaal and there was a railroad from there to Pretoria. Discharging our timbers was a slow tedious process, we anchored in a mosquito infested mangrove slough. We had a donkey engine aboard, and the crew hove the long heavy timbers out through the bow ports into the water while a shore gang of Zulus rafted and took them ashore. After discharging our timbers, we proceeded, in ballast, for New Castle Australia.
Lourence is mosquito infested and has the worst type of malaria to be found anywhere. We ran well to the So’the’rth, into the cold weather, in the Indian Ocean, to pick up the Westerly Gales, then ran our Easting down, passing through Bass Strait, between Australia and Tasmania then up to New Castle, N.S.W. At the time we left Lourenco Marques we weren’t bothered too much with the malaria but when we got into the cold weather, it hit us good and long before we reached New Castle. We were running under short canvas as we didn’t have enough men left to handle the sails. I left the “Saint David” at New Castle on termination of articles and went up country.
At that time Queen Victoria was on the throne, the old King Edward was the Prince of Wales and King George, the present queen Elizabeth’s Grand-father was the Duke of York. The Duke of York and his wife came to Sydney in the Royal Yacht, “Ophir”, to make and declare Australia to be a Common-wealth. The Royal Yacht, “Ophir” , was excorted by war ships of various nations. The United States sent the Cruiser “Brooklyn”.
In 1901 I shipped from New Castle N.S.W. on board the Novia Scotia full-rigged ship “Gloos-Cap” (she also carried three skysail yards) with coals for Manila. We made the passage between the Solomon Ids. and the Bismarks, west of Yap, through Balantang Channel and down the west coast of Luzon, to Manila, where I quit the “Gloos-Cap”. (while we were east of Balantang Channel we managed to become involved in the centre of a typhoon at the same time that we had a fire in the cargo.)
I was in Manila in 1901 when the U. S. Coast and Geodetic S. S. “Pathfinder” (the first Pathfinder) arrived in the Philippines to take up the Coast Survey work in the Islands. I joined her and was on her on her first trip out of Manila bound for her first working grounds, the Ids. of Romblon, Cebu, Leyte and Samar. The Philippine Insurrection was on there and my first duty was as armed guard, covering the Triangulation and Topographic parties while they were on the beaches. After that it was all Hydrography.
I spent the years from1901 to 1912 in the Philippine, Chinese and Japanese waters in the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey S.S. “Pathfinder”, U.S.S. “Romblon” and U.S.S. “Marinduque”, the liner “Rubi” running between the ports of Hong Kong, Manila, Ilo Ilo and Cebu, the U.S. Army Troop Transport “Meade” and the horse and mule Transport “Dix” running between San Francisco, Honolulu, Midway, Guam, Manila, Nagasaki (for coal) then Honolulu and San Francisco. In the Transport “Dix” after putting our 600 horses and mules and freight ashore at Manila we would run light to Nagasaki and load a cargo of coal which we would put in the Navy coal pile at Honolulu.
We were making Nagasaki, for coal, during the Russian, Japanese War and were in Nagasaki after peace was declared and when the Russian ships came in to pick up the Russian Prisoners from Nagasaki.
During the latter part of 1912 I was on the Standard Oil Company’s tanker “Maverick” covering the ports from Honolulu to Vancouver, B.C.
In 1913 was in U.S.S. “McArther” and U.S.S. Gedney in Alaska and Puget Sound.
In 1914 was in the S. O. Tanker “El Sundo” covering the ports from Ketchiken, Alaska to Honolulu, and the U.S.S. “Explorer” in Alaska and Puget Sound.
In 1915 was in the U.S.S. “Explorer”, U.S.S. “Gedney”, m.v.”King and Wings” in Puget Sound and Alaska.
1916 was in the U.S.S.”Explorer” in Alaska and Puget Sound.
1917 was in the U.S.S. “Explorer in Alaska and Puget Sound until November 15.
1917 when I resigned from the Explorer and the next day joined the U.S. Shipping Board S.S. “Chattahoochee”, a 12320 ton, former Hamburg American Line freighter at Seattle, as chief mate and remained on her until torpedoed and sunk the night of March 23 rd, 1918 off Penzance, England.
Returned from Liverpool to New York on American Line S.S. “St. Paul”, enrolled in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force and served as Executive Officer of the U.S.S “Nanshan” with several periods of temporary command.
USS Nanshan
(AG-3: dp. 5,059; 1. 295'8"; b. 39'; dr. 21'3"; s. 11 k.; cpl. 45; a. 1 6-pdr.; cl. Nanshan)
Nanshan was launched in 1896 by Grangemouth Dockyard Co., Grangemouth, Scotland, for merchant service as a collier in the Far East; purchased at Hong Kong 6 April 1898 from Frank Smythe; and placed in service the same day Capt. E. H. Stovell of the British Marine Service in command.
Acquired by the Navy as a supply ship for Commodore George Dewey's Asiatic Squadron, Nanshan sailed from Hong Kong 24 April 1898 with the squadron, remaining outside the harbor during the Battle of Manila Bay 1 May. She coaled Dewey's victorious ships until Manila was occupied 13 August, and continued to serve in the Philippines and on the China Station. Aside from a brief period out of service at Cavite Navy Yard for upkeep 29 March 1906 through 1 February 1907, Nanshan served in the Far East until 10 May 1913, when she returned to San Francisco to coal ships along the coasts of California, Mexico, and South America. Placed out of service at Mare Island 31 March 1914 for repairs, Nanshan was placed in full commission 1 August 1914 with her first Navy crew. SuppIy missions ranging from Alaska to Hawaii continued until 1 February 1918, when she sailed for Hampton Roads, Va., via the Panama Canal.
This cargo trip ended with her return to Mare Island 16 May when she resumed her usual operations, which included in July 1919 an emergency mission to Kodiak and the Pribiloffs bringing badly-needed food. Between 5 December 1919 and 3 December 1921, Nanshan served as a target repair ship. She decommissioned at Mare Island 18 January 1922 and was sold 29 July 1922 to John A. Bereovich Co.
Eligible for Manila Bay Medal:
Ben W. Hodges, U. S. N., Lieutenant
Nanshan moored pierside at Mare
Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., circa July-August 1914. Based on Nanshan's
new paint job she must have just gotten out of dry dock. She was in dock #2 at
Mare Island from 8 to 15 July 1914.
US Navy photo.
Specifications:
Displacement 5,059 t.
Length 295' 8"
Beam 39'
Draft 21' 3"
Speed 11 kts.
Complement 45
Armament one 6-pdr
Propulsion system unknown
In September 1919 I joined the U.S. Shipping Board S.S. “Endicott” at Seattle, as chief mate and made a round trip through the Japanese and Chinese Ports far as Manila and return.
From March 18th 1920 to April 30th 1942 (22 years, 1 month and 13 days, without a break) I was on the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey S.S. “Surveyor” performing the duties of Pilot and Navigator, with the title of Mate, working in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea, during the Summer, and off the Oregon and Washington Coasts and approaches to Puget Sound, during the winters.
USS Surveyor in Alaska
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