19th Century Cork Sutton Mariners, Sailing Ships and Crews

6. APPENDIX: ASSOCIATED TOPICS

America: the yacht

(Appendix: Deasys of Clonakilty ; Urania, the schooner)

Fig. 45.

The America won a famous race around the Isle of Wight on 22 Aug 1851, attended by Queen Victoria. Henry Decie purchased the restored yacht, renamed Camilla , on 30 Jul 1860 and all 64 shares were transferred to his name on 6 Aug 1860. Henry’s grandfather, Rickard Deasy, had owned the well- known Clonakilty brewery and his deceased father’s name had been Timothy Deasy, while his uncle, Rickard Deasy Jr (b.1812) became the Irish Attorney General in 1860. Henry sailed the Camilla to Richmond, Virginia and then on to Savannah, Georgia in 1861 and sold her to the Confederates after the outbreak of the American Civil War. He stayed on as captain and sailed undercover with British colours as a successful blockade-runner for the South. He returned to Queenstown, Cork on 23 June 1861 with two Confederate officers, Captain James North and Major Edward Anderson, who disembarked and proceeded to Liverpool with 600,000 dollars to purchase ships and munitions for the Confederate Navy war effort. Henry Decie maintained his cover by participating in sailing races in Queenstown and the Isle of Wight. He raced Camilla in the 1861 Queenstown regatta on 28 June 1861 against William Wise’s 140 t Urania (the schooner) of the Royal Cork Yacht Club (registered in Cowes at that time), William Deane Seymour’s 63 t La Traviata of the Queenstown Yacht Club and C M Smith’s 66 t Echo of the Royal Cork Yacht Club. Camilla was listed at 215t for this race and

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