Alberta

Alberta at St Peter Port, Guernsey

Alberta was built to replace the Stella in 1900 by John Brown and was a twin screw steamer of 1,193 tons. Her maiden voyage to Jersey was on 2 June 1900. She was taken out of commission in 1929 and sold to a Greek firm in 1930 after completing 75,000 miles and carrying 700,000 passengers.

A refit in 1908 saw the addition of a poop deck with two lifeboats, followed in 1913 by the addition of two further lifeboats to comply with new regulations. In 1915 further alterations saw the bridge moved behind the foremast and the removal of the wheelhouse.

The only major incident to befall Alberta was when she hit rocks off Guernsey en route from Southampton, but the damage was not serious. She was renowned as a fast vessel and in August 1929, shortly before she was sold, she could still outrun the four-year-old St Julian between Guernsey and Jersey.

Alberta passes through St Helier pierheads in 1903