August 25, 1893
The yacht Feiseen established a new speed record for steam-powered, propeller-driven vessels during a race against the fast-paced passenger steamboat Monmouth in New York Harbor. Originally measuring 78 feet and nine inches (24 meters) in length, Feiseen was launched that past spring at City Island in the town of Pelham, New York. (This area of Pelham is now part of the Bronx.)
Feiseen had been built for business executive William B. Cogswell, the founder and first president of the chemical manufacturer Solvay Process Company. This vessel was constructed by Benjamin Franklin Wood, who would be eulogized at the time of his death in 1921 as “one of the best-known boat and yacht builders of the Atlantic coast,” and jointly designed by William Gardner and Charles D. Mosher.
Mosher was among the people on board Feiseen during her record-breaking race in New York Harbor. On the Sunday after this race, the New York Times gave a detailed description of the event. The newspaper reported, “The fast steam yacht Feiseen, owned by W.B. Cogswell of Syracuse, started from Zebe’s Pier of South Brooklyn, Friday afternoon, and met the steamer Monmouth of the Sandy Hook line, which is considered the fastest passenger steamer in New York Harbor, off Liberty Island on her 3:45 trip to the Highlands, and it was seen by everyone on board that a race was on hand.”
Feiseen ultimately reigned supreme in the race, outpacing Monmouth in that 7.3-mile (11.8-kilometer) competition and in the process setting a new water speed record of 27.5 knots or 31.6 miles (50.9 kilometers) per hour for that category of vessels. “The Feiseen beat the world’s record which was held by the Russian torpedo boat Adler,” reported the Pennsylvania-based Times Leader. “That boat made a mile in slack water at the rate of 27.4 knots or 31.1 miles [50.1 kilometers] per hour, while the Feiseen steamed against a flood tide for seven and a quarter miles [11.8 kilometers].”
On November 1 of that year, Feiseen was purchased by the Brazilian government. This steam yacht was subsequently lengthened another nine feet (2.7 meters); renamed Inhanduay; and converted into a torpedo boat. This vessel’s speed record stayed intact until being broken in 1897, when Turbinia – a pioneering turbine-powered steamship designed and built by mechanical engineer Charles Algeronon Parsons – traveled at 34 knots or 39 miles (63 kilometers) per hour off southern England’s coast.
The accompanying picture of Feiseen was taken in 1893 by the prolific maritime photographer John S. Johnston (circa 1839-1899).
Photo Credit: Public Domain
For more information on the steam yacht Feiseen, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feiseen
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