Graveyard of the Pacific

Jill's Journal: The highlight of our weekend in Astoria, frequently called the “Graveyard of the Pacific,” was seeing a real 105-year-old shipwreck. Seriously, how amazing is this?

The shipwreck is actually on the grounds of Fort Stevens, now a state park. When it was a vital part of the military, Fort Stevens guarded the mouth of the Columbia River during the Civil War and both World Wars. In 1942, a Japanese submarine fired at the fort, making it the only military installation in the continental U.S. to be fired on since the War of 1812. The shipwreck was in the line of fire during that Japanese submarine bombardment, but wasn’t hit.

This area is called the Graveyard of the Pacific because it has claimed over 2,000 sailing vessels! The shifting sands and changing tides have tricked many a sea captain. The recorded death toll is over 700, although it’s estimated many more have actually perished.

The Columbia River is 1,214 miles long and carries sand and silt to where it meets the Pacific. It can be an area of incredible turbulence; during heavy seas, ships can ride 25- to 40-foot swells where the river and ocean meet. The dangerously shifting sands and wild surge have sent ships (and sailors) to the bottom of the ocean ever since American Sea Captain Robert Gray discovered it in 1792.

"A section without parallel in ship disaster." –James A. Gibbs

"…Description can give little idea of the terrors of the bar of the Columbia: all who have seen it have spoken of the wildness of the scene, and the incessant roar of the waters, one of the most fearful sights that can possibly meet the eye of the sailor.” –U.S. Navy Lt. Charles Wilkes, 1841

This is the skeleton of the Peter Iredale. Built in England in 1890, she was 285 feet long and 2,075 tons. She was fashioned from steel plates on an iron frame and had four masts. On her fateful journey in 1906, she left Salina Cruz, Mexico, in late September with a load of ballast. The 27 souls aboard (including two stowaways) were headed to Portland to pick up a load of wheat bound for England. In the early morning of October 25, the crew tried to enter the Columbia River in a heavy mist and rising tide when a squall came up and grounded the ship on Clatsop Spit (which is essentially a massive sandbar).

The Peter Iredale days after being ran aground in 1906.

Red-bearded Captain Harry Lawrence declared the ship be abandoned and the sailors set off rockets to signal for help. In a dangerous maneuver, rescuers saved everyone aboard. One of the rescuers recalled the captain clutched his ship’s log, his sextant (celestial navigation), and a bottle of whisky. Upon arriving on shore, he stood at attention, saluted his ship, and said briskly, “May God bless you and may your bones bleach in these sands.” He then turned to his men with the bottle of whisky and said, “Boys, have a drink.”

When this photo was taken, 19 days after the Peter Iredale wrecked, she was already listing heavily.

Although three of the masts snapped from the impact and debris was scattered, the hull of the ship was in relatively good shape and plans were made to tow her back to sea. However, while waiting a few weeks for weather and ocean conditions to be right, the ship listed heavily to the right and became embedded in the sand. Today, 105 years of wind, sand, surf, and people later, all that remains is the bow and a few ribs and masts.

The odd thing to me about this shipwreck is that there are no information signs or warning signs or anything anywhere around it. It’s just sitting there on a huge beach, rusted and corroded and barnacled. People are touching it, kids are playing in it, and it’s just part of the scenery. It’s an almost surreal scene.

We were there at low tide, so the shipwreck was especially accessible. We could have climbed on it if we wanted to risk tetanus (we didn’t).

“The British bark isn't alone. Remains of more than 2,000 schooners, brigs, barks, sternwheelers, junks, sloops of war, army and navy transports, freighters, trawlers, whalers, fishing boats, and passenger ships are buried beneath the sand and sea within 30 miles of the Peter Iredale.” –Peter Hillinger

Those statistics were so hard to imagine as one peers out at the serene waters and the girls dipped their toes into the chilly water for the last time for a while. We have a loose itinerary for the next few months and don’t expect see the Pacific again for about six months.

I loved this picture. Look how still the thin sheet of water is on the sand. The clouds in the sky are even reflected. What an amazing place.