Aquatic
Brig · United Kingdom · Lost 1893 · Buzzards Bay & Vineyard Sound
A British brig wrecked on Cuttyhunk's Sow and Pigs Reef in a 1893 gale, and the rescue attempt cost five island lifesavers their lives.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
The brigantine Aquatic, registered at Saint John, New Brunswick, drove onto Sow and Pigs Reef off Cuttyhunk during a February gale in 1893. A Massachusetts Humane Society volunteer lifeboat crew from the island put out to save Aquatic's men, but their boat capsized in the surf. Five of the Cuttyhunk rescuers drowned; only one man, Joseph Tilton, survived the ordeal. The Massachusetts legislature later voted a relief payment to the families of the dead.
Vessel
- 1885
- Official No. 88690
- Not established
- St. Martins, New Brunswick, Canada
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- 361
- Sail, brigantine rig
- Not established
Loss
- February 24, 1893
- Storm
- Sow and Pigs Reef, off Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts
- Buzzards Bay approaches / Vineyard Sound
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 5
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (62/100)
The vessel's own casualties, dimensions beyond tonnage, and precise wreck position are not established in the sources reviewed.
Massachusetts Acts and Resolves, 1893 (State Library of Massachusetts)
Names of the drowned rescuers, date, and location of the wreck.
Naval Marine Archive (Canadian Collection), ship record for Aquatic
Registry, tonnage, rig, and wreck date.
OnCape Magazine, reprint of Falmouth Enterprise account by George A. Hough Jr.
Narrative of the wreck night and rescue attempt.
