Launch of Down Easter Henry B. Hyde

The ship Henry B. Hyde was a splendid ship and Down Easter, captained by a number of Searsport masters during her career. Launched from John McDonald's Bath shipyard in November, 1884, she had strong Searsport connections: eleven of the fourteen owners were from Searsport, though they owned just under half of the vessel. Considered to be the finest of the Down Easters, she was the fastest three-master of the post-clipper era. She measured 2463 tons with a length of 267 feet. Her typical voyages were New York to San Francisco, then to Liverpool with grain and back to New York. In 1898, she came under the management of Flint & Co. and was put into the coal trade. In 1900 she went under San Francisco management. On February 11, 1904 she went ashore in a heavy gale near Cape Henry, Virginia.