"The past actually happened but history is only what someone wrote down." A. Whitney Brown.

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San Juan Archipelago, Washington State, United States
A society formed in 2009 for the purpose of collecting, preserving, celebrating, and disseminating the maritime history of the San Juan Islands and northern Puget Sound area. Check this log for tales from out-of-print publications as well as from members and friends. There are circa 750, often long entries, on a broad range of maritime topics; there are search aids at the bottom of the log. Please ask for permission to use any photo posted on this site. Thank you.

28 December 2022

WRECK; GRACE ROBERTS ~~1887

 GRACE ROBERTS


ON 10870
269.91 G.t. Barkentine
129.5' x 32.' x 9.'
Blt Port. Orchard, WA. 1868
Home Port in 1886 was listed as San Francisco.
Wrecked Oysterville, WA.
8 Dec. 1887 Capt. M. Larsen


GRACE ROBERTS

Photo by Charlie Fitzpatrick.
From the archives of
the Saltwater People Historical Society©

      The American barkentine stranded two miles south of Leadbetter Point, 8 Dec. 1887, without loss of life. The vessel, commanded by Capt. M. Larsen, was feeling her way along the coast in a thick fog when she drifted into the breakers, knocking several holes in her hull. The crew had to take to the boats. Shipbreaker Martin Foard purchased the wreck for a small sum and salvaged the cargo and equipment. The ROBERTS was built at a cost of $30,000. It was said that the owners of the barkentine had run the vessel hard, overlooking badly needed hull repairs which may have caused her to bilge on the sands. Parts of her barnacle-encrusted remains could be seen on the peninsula as late as 1953. They are the oldest visible ship's remains in the Pacific's Graveyard.
Above text from:
The Pacific Graveyard. James A. Gibbs, Jr. Binfords and Mort, 1950

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