Historical Context
As one of the oldest existing fishing charters, the Silvia II has participated in many occupational activities. Originally built in 1933 as a fishing vessel, it was built by William Riley Willis and named after the newborn Silvia Willis. The vessel had an active role in World War II as a mailboat, receiving a commendation for its work. Operating out of the Sanitary Restaurant docks, the Silvia II served as a charter until the 1976 Groundhog day storm sank it. Bob Simpson then bought the boat and refurbished it and used it for various jobs, including an educational charter to take families and students on exploratory expeditions. Bob even wrote a book, When the Water Smokes, where he describes the boats many features, history, and adventures. It stands today as the flagship of the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort.
The Silvia II model ship was designed to be a 3/4”-1’ model of the vessel built in 1933, owned by Bob Simpson. The model was built in 2012 and won first place in an international competition hosted by the ship modeling forum of Morehead City in 2014. William “Bill” Kay built the model using sketches and data collected between 2010-2012 and replicated the model exactly as the boat appeared, including repairs and a buick hub cap on the bow samson post. The actual Silvia II sank in 1976 and was resurfaced and refurbished by Bob Simpson, as affectionately described in his book “When the Water Smokes”. Originally, the vessel was built as a fishing trawler but had undergone many changes to adapt it to Simpson’s uses. Simpson helped Kay add small sentimental details that would have been overlooked, including characteristic pieces that encapsulate the Silvia II as it existed in that snapshot of time.
Description of Collection
A collection of artifacts from the Silvia II are donated from Bob Simpson, Bob Graham, and William Kay. There is an assortment of fishing lures in the collection with various uses, along with two fishing rods. One is a child’s size rod and reel 44” long, made of a steel rod and plastic handle and mount. The reel is made of zinc and steel and is labeled “the Expert Casting Reel”. The line is made of thick cotton with three ferrules. The other fishing rod is a Kingfisher rod with faceted bamboo and carved wood grips. The reel has four metal ferrules and minimal line wrappings attached to a shakespeare “Samson 2202” reel with a Pflueger winder handle. A large compass encased in a heavily varnished oak box is included in the collection, made by the Daiko Keiki Seisakusho Company in 1950. The Instrument itself is brass with a glass top, gimballed with printed metal on the face. It is missing a needle that other models of the same type include. The ship’s sign that can be seen in pictures of the Silvia II is the largest piece of the collection, measuring over 85”. It is wood painted brown with white lettering and light blue shadowing. On the left side, it reads: “Capt. Theodore Lewis (Retired) [new line] For Charter”. The ship’s name is in the middle, and on the right is “Day PA. 64327 [new line] Night PA. 64467”. The model ship is the most detailed piece of the collection, donated by its maker Bill Kay. The museum has the model housed in a plexiglass box with a wood bottom, but other sources describe it as having a removable top to view the details inside the cabin. The collection also includes two metal tools used for retrieving hooks lodged within a fish. These tools are not yet catalogued in the museum’s database, so there is not much information on the type, year, or manufacturer of these tools. Lastly, there are 22 transparent photo slides of the ship docked and in action. There are nautical signal flags running fore and aft, but they do not spell anything discernable. Bob Simpson is seen in most of the photos in a yellow shirt, either posing for the camera or showing friends around his boat.
Ownership, Curation, and Conservation
All of the artifacts in this assemblage were gifted by either Bob Simpson, Bob Graham, or Bill Kay. Bob Graham is the current owner and restorer of the Silvia II after Bob Simpson sold it and retired from the fishing charter business. The museum was gifted the prize winning model ship from Kay in 2015. As of now, the assemblage has been housed in the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort. Being fairly well taken care of, the artifacts have not had any conservation work. The model is recorded to be one of two made.
