J.W. Westcott II - Photos
J.W. Westcott II
The J.W. Westcott II in 2022
The J.W. Westcott II was built in 1949 for the J.W. Westcott Co., and has been serving mariners for 77 years.
The J.W. Westcott Co. delivers "mail by the pail," where mail is put into a bucket and hauled up the side of passing freighters - while they're in motion.
In 1970, the J.W. Westcott II handled about 1 million pieces of mail. But as freighters grew larger - up to 1,000 feet long - the number of them on the Lakes shrank. That meant fewer deliveries. In 2025, the Westcott Co. was still averaging about 6,000 runs from April through mid-December and handling about 400,000 pieces of mail.
The J.W. Westcott II ponies up to the venerable Lee R. Tegurtha to deliver mail to its sailors.