The historic blizzard that hit Cape Cod on January 23 and 24, 2005 was truly a Hundred Year Storm, to use the language of the National Weather Bureau. It hit within one day of a blizzard 100 years prior that the Register described as “a howling blizzard from the northeast, with winds reaching a velocity of 70 miles. The blizzard, with blinding snow, crippled train service and blocked traffic in general for 24 hours. …In several sections of the Cape the snow was piled ten feet high.”.

But, at this point, the similarities end. An event took place, occurring off of Bass Hole near Lone Tree Creek, which lasted well into May before the ordeal was over. What was the crisis? It was the grounding of the five masted schooner Harwood Palmer, one of several vessels that ran into trouble during that fateful blizzard.

The Harwood Palmer had left Boston on January 24th, without any knowledge that it would be an extremely long and hazardous trip before she reached Newport News, Virginia. Just after clearing Boston harbor, the captain and crew found that they were in the middle of a storm. Unable to sail through it, they anchored about seven miles northwest of Provincetown, hoping to ride out the storm there.

Unfortunately, the anchor chain broke and the crew tried to get closer to the lee shore of Cape Cod. They anchored her in 14 fathoms of water just outside Provincetown harbor, and everyone felt much better. But, after several hours of strain on the remaining anchor and chain, it parted, just as the first one had, and the vessel drifted toward Barnstable harbor.

The Harwood Palmer was a prime target for the storm. It was riding light, having unloaded most of her coal in Boston. This meant that the 2,885 ton vessel was floating higher in the water, and could come closer to the shore. To understand the size of this vessel, some comparisons are in order. The clipper ship Belle of the West, built in East Dennis 50 years earlier, was slightly over 1000 tons burthen. The Mayflower, of Plymouth fame, was a mere 180 tons. This indeed was a giant sailing vessel that floated toward the Yarmouth flats.

And closer she came, finally grounding on the 25th at 5:30 PM on the Yarmouth flats off of Lone Tree Creek. The Harwood Palmer drew 11 ½ feet of water when lightly loaded; she ran aground in the high seas at a point where there was only 8 or 9 feet of water at high tide. Remarkably, she grounded almost perfectly upright, looking like a vessel which was anchored.

Lone Tree Creek shown in relation to Sandy Neck and the Bass Hole.

The Harwood Palmer was not the only vessel to have problems. The Alice May Davenport came ashore at what is now Mayflower Beach, not far from where the old Nobscusset Inn used to be. The AM Davenport, was brand new, having been launched only the week before in Bath, Maine. Another schooner, the Nellie Easton went aground off of Provincetown at 10 AM on the morning of the 25th.

The captain of the Harwood Palmer, James E. Creighton, left the 15 man crew and reached shore on Friday morning, taking the morning train to Boston to report to the owners. Undoubtedly, he was nervous, as there was no insurance on the vessel.

Sightseers were thrilled, being able to see both four and five masted schooners aground within a mile of each other. Soon, sightseers began appearing at the Harwood Palmer during low tide.

The problem of how to free the vessel was a costly one. While undamaged, it was grounded so that even at the highest tides it needed another 3-4 feet of water to float. Ice further complicated the process. The Register had a field day reporting on the Harwood Palmer episode and there were news releases in virtually every issue until the ship was finally freed. These news reports speak volumes, and some are quoted below.

February 4 – “Tugs and apparatus came into the harbor Friday to the assistance of the Palmer. It is said that an attempt is to be made on the flood tide today or tomorrow to pull the vessel off of the flats.”

February 11 – “Stuck in the middle of the ice crescent that hugs the shore of Cape Cod bay, the four-master Davenport at Dennis, and the five-master Palmer at Yarmouth look like ships of northern explorers as viewed from a distance. Cut off both shoreward and seaward by broad fields of ice, the beleaguered ships bid fair to remain helplessly aground for days, perhaps weeks to come.”

March 11 – “Little Eddie and Raymond Cash made their first visit aboard ship this week. On invitation of one of the crew of the Palmer, their mother reluctantly allowed them to go, with the assurance that they would be tenderly cared for and that no danger would come to them. They took dinner and returned, highly delighted by their initial “sea” trip. Many visitors have inspected the Palmer. There is a well-beaten path over the ice which leads to the vessel. The vessel is a fine type and the craft is fitted with all the conveniences of home and many of the luxuries. It is seldom that one of these floating palaces makes a winter visit to our shores…. Reading matter and other tokens have been carried to the crew, which they appear to appreciate.”

March 25 – “The twin engines on board the schooner Palmer have been put into requisition this week. Tuesday they pulled the vessel 60 feet, when the hauser broke. The high tides prevailing this week have encouraged Capt. Creighton to believe he would be able to have the vessel off by slow stages, without the use of a tug. 25 men have been at work digging around the vessel. Five additional seamen arrived Saturday and went aboard. The work of Thursday, however, was unrewarded, as no perceptible progress was made. The new ten-inch manila hauser gave way under the strain. The vessel has moved 180 feet in all from her former position.”

May 13 – “The steam dredger completed the work of digging a channel in which the Harwood Palmer will seek to pick her way into deep water on the high tides on or about the 20th.”

May 20 –“PALMER AFLOAT – The magnificent schooner Harwood Palmer, which has been on Yarmouth flats since the January storm, was released from her position this week. The canal which was dug proved adequate to float the big vessel. The Palmer, at the time of this writing, is about a mile off here in deep water. After putting aboard supplies and securing the remainder of crew she will proceed to Boston. The tug was here to assist in the final efforts this week, which was successful.”

May 27 – “The Harwood Palmer spread out her white sails last Saturday morning and sailed forth from Barnstable Bay at between 8 and 9 o’clock. She tacked off Sandy Neck and put out into the Bay. The Davenport, formerly ashore at Dennis, has already made a round trip to a coal port. Many people in the vicinity watched the progress of the vessel from shore, from the time of the hoisting of the five sails to the time she sunk in the horizon.”

The total cost of the rescue effort was more than $12,800. Included in this amount were the seven anchors used on half-mile hawsers, as well as the costs of the tug and dredge. The cost of lost revenue while grounded is unknown. Sadly, only twelve years later in 1917 the Harwood Palmer was shelled by a German uboat off the coast of France. The crew was rescued, but the ship eventually sank.

Without television and radio, the saga of freeing the Harwood Palmer must have been the hot topic of conversation and one has to wonder if there was betting on the date and time the Palmer would be free. We’d bet that there was at least one!

Researched and written by Duncan Oliver.