Black Yachting History: The Captain & The Commodore

I've recently published two stories on Caymanian Captain Culrose McLaughlin and Canadian Commodore Aemilius Jarvis; one in Scuttlebutt Sailing News, and the other on Black Ottawa Scene. From 1921 to 1951, McLaughlin went from mate on a Caribbean turtle schooner to captain in the U.S. Merchant Marine. He was mentored in Toronto by Jarvis from 1921 to 1925.

Culrose McLaughlin (From “Adventures of the Venture” by C.H.J. Snider, 1923)

Excerpt from “Adventures of the Venture” by C.H.J. Snider, 1923.

Aemilius Jarvis was a seven-time Commodore of Toronto's Royal Canadian Yacht Club. The title of this article ("The Captain & The Commodore"), however, is a play on words: Culrose McLaughlin was also reportedly a commodore at at least one point, evidently of J.P. Morgan Jr.'s fleet of pleasure craft in Glen Cove, N.Y. (per C.H.J. Snider in the Toronto Telegram in 1941). (Whether McLaughlin did in fact work for Morgan Jr. is TBC.)

Aemilius Jarvis (From “5,000 Miles in a 27-Tonner” by Aemilius Jarvis, 1921)

Aemilius Jarvis' schooner "Haswell" at Royal Jamaica Yacht Club, where he met (& hired) Culrose McLaughlin. (From “5,000 Miles in a 27-Tonner” by Aemilius Jarvis, 1921)

The Scuttlebutt version of the story has been shared widely in the U.S., Cayman Islands, and Europe. (The Black Ottawa Scene version is an accoutrement to the Scuttlebutt one, with some added details.)

S.S. Twin Falls Victory: Culrose McLaughlin was captain of this U.S. Merchant Marine ship in 1952. (Port Louis, Mauritius – Dec. 1964)

There have been developments as a result of the Scuttlebutt article being published. Subsequently, I plan to write a follow-up to this story for Black History Month 2024, so stay tuned! 

[Update: follow-up has been delayed (awaiting added research from a U.S. institution), but I do hope to have the opportunity to write the follow-up someday.]

You can read the (primary) Scuttlebutt Sailing News version here: Black Yachting History: McLaughlin & Jarvis

You can read the (secondary) Black Ottawa Scene version here: Black Yachting History: Capt. Culrose McLaughlin & Aemilius Jarvis