Staten Island and Raritan Bay Oyster /Clamming Sloops
Lydia Van Name
I was called The Lydia. My owners named me Lydia Van Name. I was born in Tottenville, Staten Island, New York in 1879. I was a working girl. Not one of those sleek, high ratio tramp sloops that hung around yacht clubs. I was a real working girl, that I was, “you betcha”.
I was heavily built; 40’ on deck, a plum bowed, gaff rigged, center boarder. Had a beam, (darn it), of over 15 feet and a long bowsprit for my forestays and jib. My freeboard was about 4’ loaded with clams or oysters’ Hey! It was about 4’feet without a load. I was busty as hell and had a nice rounded butt…er…I mean stern.
As I said, I was a big girl. I had numerous sisters, some of whom were sailed by black skippers and crews from Sandy Ground on Staten Island. They were originally from Snow Hill, Maryland. Two of my sisters, Fanny Fern , owned by Francis Henry, Independence, owned by Robert H. Landin, both 30+ footers and Pacific, a big 40 footer like me owned by Dawson Landin. White captains owned around 10 or 12 other sloops. We were on the Raritan Bay for over 100 years from the 1850’s to the 1950’s. First we harvested oysters and when they ran out due to pollution, we reverted to the clamming business.
But enough of that. This story is about Lydia; yeah, that’s me. I was really the bell of the ball. You should have seen me dancing over the bay, all sails, including the gaff topsail, bone in my teeth, throwing a rooster tail like you’ve never seen. Yes sir, I was some lady.
About 1920 or so some unthinking character violated me by putting an engine into my womb. Can you beat that? Shows what those commercial sailors were coming to. Now instead of rounding up or coming in slow, with the gaff scandalized, they lower my beautiful sail outside in the bay and come to the dock under power. Those jerks still managed to scrape me up by hitting the piers.
In my day, I remember excursion liners about 250 feet long, 3 decks, black or orange stacks plowing the bay. They put in to Staten Island’s South and Midland Beaches and to the Terra Marine Hotel at the end of Arbutus Ave. Later in my life, they sailed to Keansburg and Atlantic Highlands N.J. Later our home ports were Belford and Perth Amboy, New Jersey and Tottenville, New York.
My work day: Before I was given an engine I was up and ready before the crack of dawn. The crew came ahead, one made coffee on my wood/coal fired shipmate stove, others cleaning out my hold of left over oysters and broken shells or mending sails and gear. We then went out to the Grounds, which was the lower Raritan Bay off Princes Bay. We would set our dredges, pull up the centerboard, drift down wind, anchor and pull in the catch. Engines changed all off that. We used the engines to get out to the clamming grounds, but not to work. Seems like the game warden had something to say about using any propulsion other than sails or oars. The engine was used with a power take off for hauling the dredges. The crew sometimes towed a yawl boat to help set dredges. Early in my life, I was also used for fishing and freighting from port to port or runs to NYC. My day ended after dark. I hope my crew loved me as I loved them.
We stopped working all together in the late 1950’s. I was retired. Think that’s great—huh? No way! After working 80 years or so, I just sat, tired and sick. I didn’t know how good I had it while working. I was acquired by a good guy, Tom Aspinwall, from Staten Island. Unfortunately, I was allowed to sink, never to be raised again.
My grave is at the south end of Amboy Road and the Arthur Kill River, about ½ way between Amboy Road and Bentley Yacht Club. I am resting peacefully with my old friends; a Chesapeake schooner, various barges, a wooden tug and other assorted relatives.
Come and see me. Shed a tear. Two fingers of Johnny Walker Black would be nice.
Tom Hyland
September 6,2008
Reference to black captains from Lois A.A. Mosley’s SANDY GROUND MEMORIES
