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 Unknown
Wreckage (ID: UNK-3_10-20-04)
Location: immediately at base of Ramp
23, Hatteras Island.
GPS coordinates: N/A
How To Find It: Take Ramp 23 onto the beach and look
dead ahead.
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 This
single beam was lying straight ahead as you drive over Ramp
#23 in October, 2004. The ramp can be seen in the background
right above the hood of the 4WD in the photo. The inset shows
detail of a rusted spike and patches of pitch on the beam, identifying
it as part of a wreck, and not just a board washed up onto the
beach from a building or pier.
Individual beams like this, such as the
previous beam marked ID: UNK-1_10-16-04 on page 2, are easily
moved or buried in storms. It is very likely these smaller pieces
of wreckage may not be found in a few weeks. Certainly it is
likely a winter storm could move or bury them before spring.
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Unknown
Wreckage (ID: UNK-4_10-20-04)
Location: at high tide line approx. 1.3
miles south of Ramp 23, Hatteras Island, very close to wreckage
site UNK-1_10-16-04 (on previous page 2).
GPS coordinates: (as of October, 2004) N
35.50843 W 075.47374
How To Find It: Take Ramp #23 onto the beach and turn
south. Go approx. 1.3 miles and look for wreckage at high tide
line.
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What
appears to be a single beam could well be much more than is
visible in these photos. Only the pegs and metal spikes gave
this site away. Someone had taken the precaution of laying a
plank across this piece of wreck to help keep fishermen from
driving over it with their 4WD's. The plank was moved for these
photos, and then replaced for safety.
 
This site is at the edge of the surf,
and may cover with sand or become more exposed at the whim of
the tides. The next time this is visited, it might be discovered
it was only the tip of the iceberg of some old hulk buried in
the sand, or it may be gone from sight completely. That's part
of the fun and mystery, and frustration as well, of searching
for these visible wrecks along the Outer Banks.
These photos were taken about an hour
before high tide, so it should be visible about any time except
peak high tide.
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 Unknown
Wreckage (ID: UNK-5_10-20-04)
Location: at high tide line approx. 2.2
miles south of Ramp #23
(or 2 miles north of Ramp
#27), Hatteras Island.
GPS coordinates: (as of October, 2004) N
35.49697 W 075.47640
How To Find It: Take Ramp #23 onto the beach and turn
south. Go approx. 2.2 miles and look for wreckage at high tide
line.
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 |
| Taken
one day apart, the bottom photo shows tips of 3 ribs and
more beam exposed, especially to the right end, as compared
with the top photo. |
 |
Wreck
site "UNK-5_10-20-04" is at least 40 feet long, found in the
edge of the surf at high tide. A fisherman nearby said that
more of the beam had been visible the previous day, and that
overnight the tide might uncover more of it. The next day this
site was revisited, and sure enough, a little more of it was
visible. This time it was obvious the long beam had horizontal
ribs associated with it, as there were three rib tips now visible.
There is surely more of this wreck under
the sand, and only time will tell if it will be uncovered more,
or completely buried again as the waves wash over it at the
edge of the surf.
The orange and yellow objects in these
photos are ropes and lines washed up by the surf, which are
entangled with the metal spikes on the wreckage. |
 Update
- While the beam itself was more visible at the end of December,
2004, ten weeks after this was first photographed for CarolinaOuterBanks.com,
the ribs that had been showing at first were no longer above
the sand. These two new photos of this site give some sense
of the length of these beams when compared with the person in
the photos. The left image shows the full length of the beams,
while the right image shows more detail of only the north half.
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Unknown
Wreckage (ID: UNK-6_10-20-04)
Possibly a piece from the 1915 shipwreck of
the Loring C. Ballard
Location: at dune line approx. 1.5 miles north of Ramp
#27, Hatteras Island.
GPS coordinates: (as of October, 2004) N
35.48971 W 075.47813
How To Find It: Take Ramp #27 onto the beach and turn
north. Go approx. 1.5 miles and look for wreckage at dune line.
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A
single plank from a wreck sits atop the sand near the dune line
as shown in these photos. The plank was about 15 ft. long, with
rusted spikes all along it's length. There were no other obvious
pieces associated with it.
This piece probably floated to the high
tide line and the park ranger beach patrol moved it out of harms
way next to the dune line where no 4WD's would be likely to
run over it. This plank will probably be covered by blown sand
before a storm comes along severe enough to float it off to
some other location. This is but one of eight small and large
wreckage sites found along a single 4.2 mile stretch of beach
between Ramps 23 and 27 in October of 2004.
Update: This is possibly a piece from the "J. Henry
Wreck" site located only 500 ft. away in the surf, which
is believed to be the 1915 shipwreck of the Loring C. Ballard.
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 Unknown
Wreckage (ID: UNK-7_10-20-04)
Location: buried at base of dune approx.
1.3 miles north of Ramp #27, Hatteras
Island.
GPS coordinates: (as of October, 2004) N
35.49710 W 075.47672
How To Find It: Take Ramp #27 onto the beach and turn
north. Go approx. 1.3 miles and look for spikes sticking a couple
of inches out of sand at dune base.
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  "What
wreckage? I don't see any wreck." Is that what you're thinking?
Well, there's much more here than meets the eye. Take a CLOSE
look at the photo at left. Finding pieces of shipwrecks isn't
always as easy as stumbling across a huge section of ship's
hull lying on the beach in plain sight. This certainly wasn't
easy to spot driving up the beach. But after looking at quite
a few shipwreck sites, the pattern of dark dots in the sand,
standing in a nice neat row, becomes a recognizable clue.
Take a close look at the photo at right
and you can see just how easily this site could have been missed,
even standing next to it. There is no telling how much more
hides beneath the sand here. A minute or so of scratching around
in the sand with one hand revealed wood, as seen in the photo
at left. It also broke through a thin layer of sand between
two pieces of wood, and a hole opened up. Sand began trickling
down into this hole, like sand in an hour glass, verifying there
was indeed much more hidden away here.
Perhaps on the next visit to this site
more of this mystery will be revealed. Or, it might be completely
hidden by the sand. At least now with GPS coordinates, the exact
location can be found, even if it is not visible to the eye.
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Unknown
Wreckage (ID: UNK-8_10-20-04)
Location: at dune line 3/10 miles north
of Ramp #27, Hatteras Island.
GPS coordinates: (as of October, 2004) N
35.47531 W 075.48082
How To Find It: Take Ramp #27 onto the beach and turn
north. Go approx. 3/10 mile and look just behind the roped off
area at the dune line for 2 spikes protruding from sand and
a partially buried beam about 20 ft. north of the spikes.
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 |
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| This
beam was located about 20 ft. from two spikes which gave
away the location of more wreckage. |
A
little digging verified these spikes were indeed attached
to more wooden wreckage. |
Two
pieces of wreckage were found in close proximity, one of which
was completely buried except for two metal spikes poking about
3 inches from the sand. Both were just inside the dune area
roped off by the Park Service to keep vehicles out of the dune
area. The beam was mostly covered by sand, and seemed to be
a single piece. The two spikes could be part of something larger.
A minute or so of scooping sand with one hand revealed the spikes
were at least a foot long, and were embedded in wood beneath
the sand. How much more was beneath the sand could not be determined.
This site, like site "UNK-7"
above, could easily be missed, and may become completely covered,
or be uncovered to greater extent over the winter. Only time
will tell. At least, with GPS coordinates available, this location
can be revisited with certainty to see what happens.
Who knows what story of disaster goes
along with these pieces of ship, what woeful tales might be
known if we had any clue what vessel they came from. The sea
gives up its secrets reluctantly, and the Graveyard of The Atlantic
certainly has many secrets to keep. |
Historic
life-saving stations and heroic rescue stories are next.
Continue to Folklore and History - Page
Four > |
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Wrecksite
