Sunday Drive: Shipwreck, 1954 - Long Beach Peninsula, Washington

Although this wreck on Washington State's Long Beach looks like it could have been there for decades when we visited it in July of 1954, the 185-foot barge (formerly the Navy sailing ship "Intrepid") actually went aground during a storm the previous February.

Unfortunately Mother's 1954 trip diary falls silent about the time we spent while we were in Oregon and Washington but I had just turned 7 so I have some memory of this occasion. It was cold, the wind was blowing and I didn't want to be on that deck--you could feel it every time a wave hit the stern. No doubt that's why I was clinging tightly to that stanchion. (I also remember my red rubber boots.)

[All from my personal collection]

Of course I didn't know the name of the vessel but the internet has provided me with more information about the wreck.

[Date: Thursday, February 25, 1954   Paper: Seattle Daily Times (Seattle, Washington)   Page: 47  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004.

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

[INTREPID - Square-Rigger and then a barge on the beach.

Postcards from the archives of the S. P. H. S.©]

And from this undated postcard it's clear my unease wasn't completely misplaced.

[Shipwreck Intrepid Long Beach, Washington Original Vintage Postcard

by CardCow Vintage Postcards]

If you're interested in learning more about this perilous coast, here are several excellent websites: Graveyard of the Pacific; Shipwrecks: Graveyards of the Pacific; and Log of the Saltwater People Historical Society. In case you missed it here's a link to an earlier post about the perils of the Southern Oregon coastline here.



© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.