Enoch Turley
Pilot Schooner · United States · Lost 1889 · Delaware Bay & the Approaches
A veteran Delaware Bay pilot schooner, launched in 1842, swept away and lost with all hands in a gale off the capes in 1889.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Enoch Turley was a two-masted pilot schooner built in Baltimore in 1842 and named for a respected Philadelphia harbormaster. For decades she carried Delaware Bay pilots out to meet incoming ships, surviving the catastrophic Great Blizzard of 1888. In April 1889 she was caught in a powerful gale off the Delaware capes and lost with all hands, including pilot Charles D. Schellenger. Her loss was widely reported in Philadelphia and Delaware newspapers of the day.
Vessel
- 1842
- Not established
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Wood
- 73.5 ft
- 18.67 ft
- 47
- Sail
- Delaware Bay pilots, including Charles D. Schellenger and partners
Loss
- April 6, 1889
- Storm
- At sea off the Delaware capes
- Atlantic Ocean, off Delaware Bay
- Delaware Bay pilot grounds
- Not established
- Not established
- All hands were lost, including pilot Charles D. Schellenger; an exact crew count was not confirmed
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position withheld to protect the site
- Cape Henlopen, Delaware
Checked Wikipedia, philahistory.org, and intuitive-investigations.com accounts; the pilot boat vanished at sea in an 1889 gale after last being sighted heading toward Hampton Roads, VA, and no wreck site or coordinate has ever been established.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (68/100)
The exact number of crew lost and the vessel's final position are not established in the sources reviewed.
Historic Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Preservation Corporation, Philahistory.org
Vessel history, pilot service, and loss narrative
