I've Never Seen a Real Shipwreck Before!

While camping this summer at Fort Stephens, my husband and I learned that there was an old shipwrecked boat called Peter Iredale. As I did my research I found out some really awesome things about this boat and I learned that part of it was still there located on the beach about 2 miles from Fort Stephens in Astoria, Oregon.

It is within walking distance of the campground but not knowing exactly where it is, we drove down to the site to view and it was incedible. I love history, so to see this old ship still there on the beach where millions of people have walked is just very fascinating to me.

According to the research, the Peter Iredale was a four-mastered steel sailing boat than ran ashore on October 25, 1906. The ship was name after the owner and well know figure in Liverpool, England. The ship was actually built in 1890 and it weighed aproximatly 2075 tons.

The ship set out and sailed from Salina Cruz, Mexico and was bound for Oregon with a crew of about 27 people and 2 stowaways From my understanding, as the ship sailed toward Oregon, the fog grew thicker and the winds picked up pretty good and that is how the boat came ashore.

Plans were made for the boat to be removed once the weather got better but as the winds and rain continued it cause the ship to embed into the sand making it impossible to move.

I didn't know this until today, but the rudder is sitting in the parking lot of the Columbia Maritime Museum. I think next time I go there I will definitely visit the museum and see the rudder to shipwreck of the Peter Iredale