Wreck of the Peter Iredale August 2019

This 87m (285ft) long barque was built in 1890 by R. Ritson & Co. in Mayport, England for P. Iredale & Porter of Liverpool, England according to Wikipedia. I was not able to find the width of this ship but another barque, the US Coast Guard Eagle, is 90m (295ft) is 71m (234ft) wide. The ship’s namesake lived from 1823 to 1899 and was apparently quite an interesting character.

She was bound for Portland, Oregon from Salina Cruz, Mexico when a storm forced her aground on Clatsop Spit on what is now Fort Stevens State Park. The crew of 27 and a pair of stowaways all survived. An excellent article by Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls Press talks about this event in detail and goes on to say Captain Lawrence and his officers were commended in their efforts to attempt to save the ship.

Her remains are now easily accessible though she is deteriorating rapidly. It is suggested you make haste to visit if you wish to see her in person. This video on YouTube posted by The Oregonian shows the wreck at high tide.

An album of the photos I took (which includes the above photos) on August 3rd and 4th can be seen by clicking here.