August 25, 2008

Peter Iredale Shipwreck - 2008

*Family Photo by random stranger - thank you random stranger!*

When I was younger - we would occasionally visit my father's hometown of Hammond Oregon and then head down the coast a ways to Seaside. I dont have many actual memories of those trips.... but I do remember visiting this old ship from time to time.
It's changed alot over the past 30ish years and it was one of the stops I wanted to make when we took our kids down to the Oregon Coast for our family vacation this year. I wasnt disappointed! I got to spend a week with my family, at the beach, with beautiful sunsets and RUST! I couldnt have asked for a more perfect vacation!


According to Wikipedia - "The Peter Iredale was a 4 masted steel barque sailing vessel that ran ashore on October 25, 1906...it was abandoned on Clatsop Spit near Fort Stevens. The ship was named after Peter Iredale, who not only owned the vessel as part of his shipping fleet, but was also a well known figure in Liverpool, England where his business was headquartered...Sailing from Salina Cruz, Mexico...they were bound for Portland Oregon with 1000 pounds of Ballast and a crew of 27 including 2 stow aways..." Needless to say, it was swept ashore in some knarly winds and remains there today. You can read more about it here.

Now that you know some of the history behind this beauty, here are some of my favorite "Daytime" shots of her and the wonderous power of the ocean to reclaim the ship. You can see the barnacles that thrive on her skeleton, you can see where the waves have carved their names into the steel beams...its a wonderful experience and I encourage you to make a stop there to see her before shes consumed completely in the next few years.



I loved crawling inside her - looking out at the sky and the ocean from within the skeleton of the hull. Its quite awe inspiring to be standing in the shell of what used to be a great ship - that housed various human lives...and to sit and reflect on all of the stories that must have been created inside the walls that used to be there...who were they? I always get a little lost in thought when I visit old houses and places that used to be inhabited by people, years before me...



I went back later in the evening when the kids were all settled in bed and my husband hurried me out the door of the cabin to send me off to get some sunset pictures...Im SO glad I did! I got to take some of the best sunset shots of my life thus far - though Im sure someday Ill find another amazing opportunity.
Ill save those for a seperate blog...They have their own story to tell.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This looks like it was a great time. With the weather we had, I'm glad you did enjoy.
If you love shipwrecks, perhaps you'd like to see our chart:
http://nwlimited.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/dead-reckoning-of-the-pacific-graveyard/

Enjoyed looking at your photos and reading the descriptions!