Hougomont (barque)

Not to be confused with Hougoumont (ship)

Hougomont was the name of a four-masted steel barque built in Greenock, Scotland in 1897 by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. She was used for transport and schooling ship for young sailors until 1932 when a squall completely broke her rig on the Antarctic Ocean and she was sunk as breakwater near Stenhouse Bay in South Australia. In 1924 she was purchased by Gustav Erikson's shipping company in Mariehamn, Åland, Finland.

History

Hougomont was unfortunate and damaged on several occasions while out at sea.^[2] In 1910 nine men were flushed overboard when a rouge wave hit her stern in a hurricane. Five men were flushed back onboard by the next wave, but the remaining four were never seen again. In November 1927 her rig sustained damage in the gulf of Biscay, and she took refuge at the port of Lisbon where she was repaired in order to continue her voyage to Melbourne. In 1931 several of her sails were torn to shreds in a storm near Cape Horn.^[3]

On April 20, 1932 at 01:00 she was dismasted by a squall in a storm on the Antarctic Ocean 850 km south of Cape Borda in South Australia. She was at the time on her 111th day at sea, carrying deadweight, on her way to the seaport in Spencer Gulf, west by Adelaide.^[4] The wreckage of the damaged rig battered the ship severely and it took the crew 30 hours to free her from it. She was coincidentally spotted by a steamer that wirelessly telegraphed about the distress to Adelaide, and the steam tug Wato was sent to assist. However, by the time the Wato had reached Hougomont, the crew had managed to build a jury rig and she was slowly sailing forward. Her captain refused all offers of assistance from the tug as he wanted to avoid the rescue fees.^[3]

19 days later, on May 8, she reached port Semaphore in Adelaide. It was estimated that she was damaged beyond repair, so everything valuable on her was removed and shipped to Mariehamn on the Herzogin Cecilie in December. In January 1933 she was tugged by the Wato to Stenhouse Bay where she was scuttled and used as breakwater.

She had a crew of 24 men and her last captain's name was Ragnar Lindholm.[5] The name Hougomont is derived from Château d'Hougoumont where the Battle of Waterloo was fought. While seaworthy she sailed to Peru, Florida, Canada, Australia, England, Ireland and Sweden among other destinations.^[5] She had two sister ships, Nivelle (stranded in 1906) and Archibald Russell.

Today she lies 9 m underwater in Stenhouse Bay. Her stern and prow are still standing somewhat upright, but most of her hull has collapsed. Her figurehead, a blonde lady dressed in a white gown, is displayed in Åland Maritime Museum in Mariehamn.^[6]

Technical facts

Weight: 2428 t
Dimensions: 89 x 13,2 x 7,3 m
Material: steel
Date of launch: June 3, 1897
Dead weight: 1200 t (sand)^[3]

References