'DE WADDEN' as she would have appeared circa 1935 from The Ship and Boat Collection (1995) Tanner, Matthew. Published by the Merseyside Maritime Museu

Purchase and Commercial Service

- At the time of his purchase of De Wadden in Rotterdam, Richard Hall was expanding his fleet of schooners in Arklow. He was a well-known ship-owner in Liverpool and Arklow, having served his time at sea on Liverpool Square-Riggers.[1][18] He would make many alterations to the ship, mainly consisting of structural changes in the forward hold where crew quarters were built[2], as well as installing a bulkhead forward.[1] The size of the deckhouse around the foremast would also be reduced.[10] All of this contributed to a decrease in her gross and net tonnage, reduced to 239 tons and 159 tons respectively.[13] She would also gain a new callsign, EKIF.[6] She was put into service by her new owner as an Irish Sea Trading Vessel following her registry on October 26th 1922[13], sailing out of Arklow to various Irish and British ports carrying cargoes such as grain, pit props, china clay, mineral ores, manure, timber, and coal [3][1], eventually becoming the last schooner to trade in the British Isles.[4] The Hall family had much experience owning and operating schooners, having owned others including the Cymric and many, many others.[5][18] Her original 125-horsepower SteyWal engine was replaced with an 80hp Bolinder engine purchased from the Admiralty in November 1926 after a major failure in the crankcase[18], and she was later fitted with a 50-hp Kelvin engine to give additional power.[3][15] This meant that in order for both engines to work in unison she had to be given a second propeller, which was placed on her port side. This made her unique in that she had no starboard counterpart[13]. The Kelvin proved to be fairly disappointing thus the port wing screw was only used if necessary. In the late 1930s her bowsprit and and topmasts were shortened[18], and even more so following WW2, the bowsprit being reduced to a stump. Loading and discharging in this time was done with the ship's gear, by use of booms hoisted and rigged with lifting tackle. The shrinkage of the foremast deckhouse allowed for a motor winch to be installed up forward in its own deckhouse, with drum ends on either side to be used in sail hoisting and cargo work. Crew composed of a captain, engineer, bosun, cook,  seaman, and a boy. The ship was well-remembered by those who served on her.[11]

De Wadden was laid up at Arklow for some 4 months between September 6th, 1932, to January 12th, 1933. Layup was a common occurence for Arklow vessels in the early 1930s due to a decline in shipping trade, some even resigned to a section of river full of rotting ships known colloquially as the cemetery. De Wadden, being so modern and only 16 years old by 1933, was spared from this fate[18]. A slurry of voyages were recorded in the years of 1934/35, starting with a departure from Ayr with a cargo of culm bound for the Bennett Mills on Ballinacurra on August 24th 1934. She was later sent by the same agent, Miss Hickey, to the same mills on September 11th 1934 from Dublin with a cargo of 3,286 malt barrels. The schooner would arrive in Ballinacurra on February 1st 1935 on another voyage which embarked at Birkenhead with a cargo of 334 tons of coal for a firm named Japer & Tatten, later embarking for Dublin with a cargo of 3,571 barrels of malt for J.H.  Bennett. On April 5th she arrived in cork carrying 322 tons of coal which she had brought from Garston, departing on the 18th of that month with 3,264 malt barrels for Dublin.

On June 25th she made another visit to Ballinacurra, carrying 335 tons of coal en route from Glasgow before carrying 15 tons of sand to Birkenhead, leaving on July 5th. She was soon back at Ballinacurra on July 13th with 330 tons of coal for M. Hyde, a firm which mainly imported coal and exported timber. The ship departed on July 22nd to Birkenhead with another 15 tons of sand, returning again with another load of 330 tons of coal, this time for Suttons, arriving on August 2nd. She departed for Garston ten days later on the 12th carrying 15 tons of sand for J.H. Bennett. The roundtrip between Birkenhead, Dublin, and Ballinacurra was a frequent one for De Wadden, again taking a load of 330 tons of coal to the latter for Suttons on September 23rd. She would leave the port of Ballinacurra on October 1st, carrying a mere 15 tons of sand (china clay) for Birkenhead; J.H. Benett the buyer. She appeared in Ballinacurra on October 17th, again with coal and then departing for Wexford with 15 tons of sand on the 24th. The call at Wexford was an outlier to load another cargo, the sand was still ultimately bound for England. She disappears from records in November though was at Whitegate in December, likely in wait for cargo from numerous other ports in Cork Harbour. She took leave from Whitegate carrying no cargo en route to Ballinacurra on December 21st, then heading for Dublin on the 28th with a cargo of 3,535 tons of malt.[13]

For an extended record of the ship's voyages beyond 1935, access this wonderful resource: https://niallbrn.wordpress.com/category/maritime-history/

War

- During the Second World War, De Wadden, like other Irish-owned ships, had the word Éire (Irish for Ireland) painted on her side in large white lettering in hopes it would deter attacks from other ships.[13] She was one of few vessels providing a vital lifeline of supplies for the neutral country, even making some trips to Portugal, and managed to survive the war.[3][12] Between August 1941 and January 1942 her engines, of which only the Bolinder still functioned, were replaced by a six-cylinder 150 hp Crossley DR diesel[18][6] which was overhauled at Pomona Dock in Manchester between July 10th and August 10th 1951 during a refit which was her receive a new main deck and bulwarks.[7][16]

Post-War and Retirement

Following the unfortunate passing of Richard Hall, his son, Victor, took ownership of De Wadden. Come the filming for the film 'Moby Dick' in 1954, a handful of Arklow ships, namely the Harvest King and the James Postlethwaite, were used, and De Wadden was at one moment considered to play the Pequod but her owner wished to keep her trading. The ship was involved in a collision with the Belfast steamer Craigolive while discharging cargo on November 10th, 1956, leaving her aft shell plating seriously damaged. She was repaired by Grayson Rollo and Glover Docks Ltd. in Garston, Liverpool and was soon back into service after two months.[17][18]

On May 8, 1958, the ship would make her last trip on the River Blackwater, becoming the last ever merchant sailer to do so, marking the end of river-based transport servicing the catchment. This was because the newly built Youghal Bridge prevented any large sailing ship from passing under it and further upriver. Overall, the ship made 43 passages over the Blackwater between 1936 and 1958. She was known to carry cargo to and from the stonebuilt quays at Killahalla and Cappoquin, as well as Dromana.[2][7][13]

De Wadden met rough weather in May 1959, while on a crossing from the River Mersey to Crosshaven, Ireland, simultaneous to developing engine trouble, forcing her to find shelter at Waterford. She was repaired and arrived at her planned destination trhee days later. She threw a propeller blade in September 1959, stopping at Dun Laoghaire for repairs.[18]

In 1961 De Wadden would be retired from commerical trade as steadily each ship with the capacity for sail was withdrawn, replaced in favour of strikingly modern wholly motor-driven ships. De Wadden became one of three ships with sail left trading out of Ireland by the year she retired, the other two being the schooner Kathleen and May and the ketch Result. De Wadden's direct replacement would be the 1948-built Stevonia, renamed River Avoca.[18]

Captains and Crew

- The ship would have seven captains during the period of Richard Hall's ownership. The first, named Edward Hall, was Richard's brother, whose career at sea ended after falling between the ship and a quay, being severely injured in the event. Her second captain, a man named William Kearon, commanded the ship for five years in the 1920s. He died when a vessel he was commanding during WWII was torpedoed and sunk. Captain George Kearon, a first cousin to William, would follow as captain of De Wadden, serving for a short time before moving to the Julia, handing captaincy to his son, also named George. The Kearon family was plagued by tragedy, having lost two cousins at sea in WWI, then George's transfer with his son leading to his own demise as well as two of his brothers when their schooner Julia was lost at sea on or around February 21st 1931 after departing Greenock for Newhaven with a cargo of pig iron on the 17th of the same month.[13][14] Ted Kearon, another cousin, would be lost while commanding a midget submarine during the attack on the German Battleship Tirpitz in WWII. George Kearon was succeeded by Victor Hall, Richard Hall's son and De Wadden's future owner, and would become her longest-serving captain, spanning the years between 1932 and 1952; he would also go on to help accumulate a lot of the information the Merseyside Maritime Museum has on the vessel today. Her next captain was named James Hagan, one of the best-known Arklow schooner men, previously commanding ships including the barque Cupicia and the schooner Happy Harry. Her final captain under Arklow ownership would be Bobby Price, serving until the ship ceased trading in favour of modern motor coasters and was sold into private ownership in 1961.[1][5]

Billy Knight of Charleton Hill, New Ross, was a cook onboard the ship for three years, and in July 2005 was interviewed by the Irish Independent. De Wadden was a known vessel in New Ross, often visiting on voyages bringing coal before taking malt to Dublin and County Waterford. Billy's interest in the ship began when he was very young, visiting the quay to see what was happening there. In 1947 he finally got the opportunity to step aboard the ship, as a cook. The place was offered to him by the ship's captain, Victor Hall. The food was great onboard, and everyone was looking for a job on her because the captain's extra finances led to better quality onboard as opposed to other ships. Billy would often take a few bags of coal and paraffin oil to bring home whenever the ship was in port, which he described as 'no small perk'. Billy had worked at sea before, on the Brooklands, but as she was made of wood and had no engine, he was discouraged. De Wadden on the other hand, with her steel construction and inboard engine, was perfect. There were still bad nights, but nowhere near as bad as the Brooklands. Billy often had a hard time keeping all the food on the pan, and the galley was very small, not helped by the foremast running right through it. The ship had nowhere to store produce, and a lot of the cooking involved frying. Billy always ensured he had a month's supply of corned beef onboard. The menu of corned beef, sausages, fresh fish, and other fried delicacies was quite reserved, but it was still enjoyed by the crew. Billy often fished for mackerel and other boats would throw some of their catches onto De Wadden if she passed. Common ports of call noted by Billy were New Ross, County Waterford, Dublin, Maryport, Youghal, and Garston. He owed his time at sea to youthful enthusiasm, but once reaching the age of 23 he chose to leave the ship and find a land job. The crew made efforts for him to reconsider, but none worked. Billy was hoping to see the ship again in her Merseyside home, but it is unknown if he ever did.[9]

References

1.  Kearon, J. (1985). Pugh, N. R. (ed.). Liverpool Nautical Research Society Bulletin, Volume 29. pp. 86–87. Retrieved 2023-12-16.

2.  "PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". www.pressreader.com.  Retrieved 2023-12-16.

3.  "De Wadden | National Historic Ships". www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk. Retrieved 2023-12-16

4.  "Conserving Unique and Historic Ships". maritime.org. Retrieved 2023-12-16.

5.  "First World War: Britain's surviving vessels". First World War: Britain’s surviving vessels.  Retrieved 2023-12-16.

6.  "Stichting Maritiem Historische Data - Schip". www.marhisdata.nl. Retrieved 2023-12-16.

7.   "De Wadden". Ships Nostalgia. 2013-03-03.  Retrieved 2023-12-16.

8.  Dusseldorp, Wouter van (2021-01-27). "Nederlandse schoener De Wadden bewaard in Liverpool". Scheepspost (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-12-16.

9. https://m.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/new-ross-news/memories-come-flooding-back-for-seafarer-billy/27426994.html Retrieved 2023-12-22.

10. http://snap.waterfordcoco.ie/collections/ebooks/95152/95152.pdf Retrieved 2023-12-22.

11. http://snap.waterfordcoco.ie/collections/ebooks/95152/95152.pdf Retrieved 2023-12-22.

12. Anderson, John (1948) Coastwise Sail, Retrieved 2023-12-29.

13. https://niallbrn.wordpress.com/category/maritime-history/ Retrieved 2024-06-22.

14. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001874/19310404/053/0003 (1931-04-04) 'Wreck on the Arklow Bank' - The Wicklow People. Retrieved 2026-03-19

15. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001874/19261106/092/0005 (1926-11-06) 'Harbour News' - The Wicklow People. Retrieved 2026-03-19.

16. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000272/19510716/008/0001 (1951-07-16) 'Schooner Docks for Overhaul' - Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2026-03-22.

17. (1956-12-07) Runcorn Weekly. Retrieved 2026-03-22.

18. Rees, Jim & Charlton, Liam (January 1986) ARKLOW - Last Stronghold of Sail. (2nd Edition) Pages 14, 30-33. Retrieved 2026-07-05.