Alma A. E. Holmes

History
United States
Name:	Alma A. E. Holmes
Owner:	Joseph Holmes
Launched:	1896
Fate:	Sunk after collision, October 10, 1914
General characteristics
Type:	Schooner
Tonnage:	1,200 tons
Length:	202 ft (62 m)
Beam:	41 ft (12 m)
Draft:	18 ft (5.5 m)
Sail plan:	Full-rigged ship

The Alma A. E. Holmes was a four-masted schooner that was used to transport coal. She sank on October 10, 1914 following a collision with the steamer Belfast.

The ship

The Alma Holmes was a 1,200 ton wooden hulled ship built in 1896 in Camden, Maine and named after the daughter of owner Joseph Holmes. She was 202 feet long, with a 41-foot beam and an 18-foot draft.

The wreck

On October 10, 1914 the Alma Holmes carried coal from Norfolk, Virginia intended for Lehigh Coal Yards in Salem, Massachusetts. While off the coast of Marblehead, Massachusetts in thick fog, she was hit on the starboard side by the steamer Belfast which smashed straight through the wooden hull of the Holmes. The Belfast had dug so deep into the hull of the Alma Holmes that the captain decided not to reverse until the crew had disembarked. After all crew members had been rescued, the Belfast reversed and in one minute's time the Alma Holmes sank. No one was killed during the episode.

She lies in 160 feet (49 m) of water at approximately 42°26′6″N 70°44′54″W / 42.43500°N 70.74833°WCoordinates: 42°26′6″N 70°44′54″W / 42.43500°N 70.74833°W.

External links

• "Hunting New England Shipwrecks". wreckhunter.net.
• "Alma EA Holmes". northernatlanticdive.com.
• "Wreck of the Alma A. E. Holmes". cptdave.com.