Colorful, Legendary Skipper of the TARPON, went down with his ship in a Gulf Storm

Submitted by John Appleyard

One of the cemetery�s more romantic burial figures was a sea captain whose exploits excited local citizens for over thirty years, and whose vessel, the Tarpon, was the area�s only method of movement from Mobile to Carabelle between 1903 and 1937. Tarpon was twenty years old and recently refurbished when Capt. Barrow, acting for the owners of a new shipping line, purchased her.

Captain Barrow�s home was in Pensacola on West Chase Street. With his wife, the former Rosa Reid Campbell, he had seven sons, all of whom survived childhood. All became successful business and professional men. However, it is difficult to describe the captain�s family life, for he was seldom home considering his ship�s regular weekly schedule.

His grandson, Dr. Louis R.

�Because grandfather was gone so much, we seldom saw him except on Sundays. Then the family would often gather for dinner at his house. He was not an outgoing man, but we all respected him greatly. However, one of my memories of those Sundays is that the Captain would retreat for a nap after dinner, and Grandma would always let us know that his hard life made him tired and we were warned to be quiet.

Once his ship�s schedule was solidified, those who frequented the wharves in the port cities could all but set their watches by her visit. As years passed, he was quoted as saying, �God makes the weather, and God willing, I make the trip.� And he did, too! Traffic grew as the vessel�s popularity developed. After a time some of the area�s more cautious seafarers began to worry about Barrow�s bravado. There were two obvious shortcomings, the observers said. For one thing, even as ship-radio communication improved, Barrow refused to add such a feature to his ship. Even when Coast Guard officials and international safety organizations established the Plimsole Line as a safety feature supposedly mandated for all deep sea vessels, Barrow ignored the practice. Some said Barrow felt that his many years of experience and the seaworthiness of the Tarpon made such a feature unnecessary.

In 1908 J. R. Saunders, president and principal owner of the Pensacola, St. Andrews and Gulf Steamship Company, died. Captain Barrow assumed both the company�s presidency and the ownership of the majority of the company stock.

What sort of man was the captain?

As years passed Willis Barrow, generally known as Captain W. G. Barrow, became the stuff of which legends are made. He was six feet tall, sharp of eye, with a neatly trimmed mustache. With the ladies he was courtly and pleasant and his crewmen respected him. However, though Barrow had a smooth tongue in dealing with some, deck hands learned it was unwise to fall from the skipper�s grace as he could be terse and gruff.

Said one observer: �He was often cross and took no guff from anyone aboard his ship. He never hesitated to give a lagging worker a boot in the rear or a tongue lashing, even when his years had passed three score and ten.�

Others who knew him saw a different side. When Tarpon called at Panama City, it was often the captain�s routine to have his mate oversee the offloading while he walked briskly to the local hotel where he would take his lunch. Almost from the beginning he became a favorite with the ladies who worked there. By keeping his ear to the ground, he would often note something one or more of the residents wished to have so on his arrival on the following trip, he would deliver a package with that content with a flourish.

Tarpon�s career included survival in several hurricanes (image at left), and the satisfaction of countless passengers and shippers.

In late August, 1937, Tarpon set sail from Pensacola with little indication that foul weather threatened. But, it did. Off Camp Walton she ran into heavy winds and rain, then with further buffeting the vessel began to take on water. Efforts were made to lighten the ship, but these failed. Tarpon went down nine miles off Panama City. More than half of those aboard were lost. The Captain was picked up on a life raft but died minutes later. His sun blackened remains were brought to Pensacola, where hundreds paid their respects before his burial in St. John�s.

Capt. Willis Greene Barrow is buried in St. John's Cemetery 3 North Section 37.