Dead Men's Hotel

In honor of Halloween I present to you a true tale of shipwrecks, mysterious dreams and watery graves...http://www.offbeatoregon.com/o1107c-mariners-dream-eerily-predicted-shipmates-deaths.html

Waiting For A Ghost

It was one year ago this weekend I first stumbled (literally) upon the Emily G. Reed shipwreck.  December 5, 2010, is a day etched in my mind as you can see from my journal entry from that fateful day...

Today is an unseasonably warm December day on the Oregon Coast. As I stroll along the beach, I am nearly alone. The few people I do pass have their coats tied around their waists as I do. The sun shines on my face as I think about how many times I have walked across this sand in the past fifty years. It is a familiar, safe and comfortable hike. That was about to change.

Shielding my eyes from the glare of the sun on the wet sand, I see something ahead in my path. Huge square beams are exposed in the sand like the ribs of a skeleton. What in the world could this be? I blink my eyes a few times and continue squinting in the same direction. It appears each timber is nearly 12 feet long and a foot in diameter and they continue 80 feet down the beach.

My mind searches madly for an explanation. I listen as it goes through its checklist trying to make sense of the information coming through my eyes.

These weren’t here yesterday. Check.

Yet, they are buried in the sand so they must have been here for a while. Check.

No one else seems concerned. Check.

The wood looks as if it has been hand hewn. Check.

The huge bolts holding them together are bright orange with rust. Check.

My mind--which is very fertile ground under the most boring of circumstances-- has unleashed itself and is galloping towards some wild assumptions. Its wildest theory is that I have discovered a shipwreck. Not just any old ship, but a pirate ship cast ashore during a fierce storm carrying treasures from the Far East. I glance around for gold doubloons or jewels to confirm my zealous assertions. But find only sand and black pebbles. My mind stays vigilant for Blackbeard, Captain Kidd or Black Bart the Pirate.

Desperate to maintain reality, I explore every inch of this wooden relic. Later, an older couple wanders down the beach and stops briefly. Almost as an aside they say, “Oh, this must be the remains of the “Emily G. Reed.” She was shipwrecked here on Valentine’s Day in 1908. Every 35 years or so, when the winter storms wear down the sandy beach, you can catch a glimpse.” Seemingly unimpressed, they move along down the beach.

I, on the other hand, I am jumping around like a two-year old with a new toy. It IS a shipwreck! What incredible tales of far away adventures lie within? What happened on that fateful day?

Full of excitement at this discovery, I cannot believe during my years in this sleepy coastal town, no one has ever mentioned it. Yet, here I stand here next to her hull, just the two of us on this bright winter’s day.

Now as the winter storms slam down upon the beach, I eagerly check to see if she will show herself to me once more.  I can only hope and wait.

Pirate Scouting, Day Two

The second day of the Pirate Festival brought rain in every form--downpour, drizzle, mist and downright nasty. Knowing that pirates are a hearty breed, I didn't think a little weather would deter them from a festival in their honor. So I took my trusty camera to capture the day in pictures.

No pirates here...

















No pirates here, although this green ship is the one I suspected they traveled in last year...







I waited for the town locomotive to rumble into the station thinking perhaps the pirates had sailed into Garibaldi, dropped anchor and took the train on up. After all, it was bearing their flags.I was disappointed once again...





Hoping the Emily G. Reed shipwreck might hold a clue, I took a look at her resting place (currently well below the sand) and found a flock of rather bored seagulls standing in a formation perfectly outlining her skeleton. But no pirates!

Wet and dismayed, I headed home to dry off.

Permission to Come Aboard

It is time once again for the annual Pirate Festival. Last year, you may recall I was very disappointed because I didn't actually see any pirates at the Pirate Festival just cheesy rides, kettle corn and vendor booths.

So it is with high hopes that I set sail for "downtown" to see if I can spot any buccaneers and report back to you. I am hoping since we now have a town shipwreck, The Emily G Reed, the pirates will be more likely to show up in search of booty and Pronto Pups.

The Fickle Miss Emily

Apparently, even the Emily G. Reed shipwreck wanted to see what all the tsunami sirens were about. She reappeared briefly on Saturday, much to our surprise, as no one had seen her for several months.

The strong winter storms over the past few weeks are most likely to blame (or thank). By Sunday, she was resting beneath the sand once again.

I heard several locals refer to "our town shipwreck" over the weekend. Luckily, I almost immediately realized they were talking about the Emily Reed and not me, after a wild night at the Rockaway Tavern.

This Shipwreck Called Love

It was a dark and stormy Valentine’s Night exactly 103 years ago when the sailing ship, the Emily G. Reed, came aground at Rockaway in a rather spectacular fashion. As the tale goes, the ship broke apart and the captain and his wife survived by clinging to the poop deck until low-tide. Because the couple had been at sea for over 100 days, I would guess the holiday had not been celebrated with chocolates or flowers.

The captain’s wife may also have been a bit cranky because her beloved’s navigational skills were lacking that fateful night. As it turned out, the ship was much closer to shore and farther from the entrance to the port than he calculated. Although it must be noted he later blamed the chronometer for giving him faulting readings.

Imagine for a moment, their Valentine’s conversation as this married couple clung to the splintering timbers for dear life. Do you imagine it was the, "We might not live so I want vow my undying love for eternity" speech?

Or was it more like this, "John, you fool, I can't believe you got the directions wrong again...did you stop to ask the first mate?"

May you sail smoothly on the sea of love this Valentine's Day!

The Shy Miss Emily

Apparently, all the attention on Saturday was just too much for the Emily G. Reed shipwreck. The next morning, this was all that was visible. One timber.

The rest of the shipwreck was covered in sand. It was the oddest feeling, to have seen it there the day before and then overnight, she disappeared (well, mostly) once again.

People were wandering around looking for the shipwreck they had heard about--some only the day before. We directed several folks to this one beam and explained what lies beneath their feet. They looked as us rather skeptically.

For me, it was a very bittersweet experience. She appeared overnight and vanished the same way. I had hoped to see more of her as the winter waves washed away the sand. But instead, they brought back the sand and the mystery.

The Very Popular, Miss Emily

Yikes, it finally happened. The flock of curious tourists descended on our local shipwreck, the Emily G. Reed. More media coverage in Portland and a long holiday holiday weekend resulted in a steady stream of camera-toting, amateur archeologists arriving in Rockaway. Why not...it is a rare occurrence.

We plopped down on driftwood "bench" , soaked up the sun and watched the show. It was a strange feeling as we have had her to ourselves in the past.

Note: another 48 feet or so has been exposed since our last visit bringing the total length to 120 feet.

Fast Ships and Pirates

I am still fascinated with our local shipwreck, The Emily G. Reed. A little further research tells me that she was an American Bark Ship similar to the one in this picture.

These ships were said to be the favorite of pirates as they were very fast. Note: I am also still fascinated with pirates--but that is a story for another time.

Anyway, the community newspaper finally figured out it was a story worth writing about and this article describes a little of the history.
http://tillamookheadlightherald.com/news/article_1877578e-07c9-11e0-8cf2-001cc4c03286.html

Meanwhile, another sunny winter's day on the beach reveals even more of the ship's hull. There is now 72 feet exposed. As you can see by the photo below, the excited crowd of shipwreck enthusiasts has yet to arrive. Fine by me. We are quite happy to examine, ponder and experience such a piece of history all alone!

Emily Shows Herself

The shipwreck we discovered appears, in fact, to be the Emily G. Reed. She came ashore in 1908 during a storm. At 219 feet long, there she lay and was eventually submerged in sand.

She stayed there until 1938, when winter storms washed away the sand and this photo was taken. Once again the Emily G. Reed was covered in sand thanks to Mother Nature.

There was mention in the local paper that the shipwreck was visible in 1954, but no photos were available.

And then again yesterday. Emily showed herself to those of us lucky enough to be there at the right moment. What a gift on a warm, winter's day!

Mystery Beneath Our Feet!

I took a long walk yesterday at low tide. The weather was warm, not a breath of wind and just one other couple on the beach. There were lots of pebbles but nothing else too exciting to report.

This morning, we took another walk on the beach across the same sand. The same sand we have walked crossed hundreds of times--once on the way to our wedding. Today the tide was slightly higher, the pebbles were still there, but so was this amazing sight...a shipwreck!

There--where the day before, I saw only sand--was definitely a section of the hull of a ship. A very old, wooden ship.

The beach was still fairly empty and no one seemed too interested in this incredible find. One couple passed by and matter-of-factly said they believed the ship to be the Emily G. Reed which came ashore in 1908.

My vivid imagination reels with colorful tales of pirates, gold and riches right here in Rockaway Beach. Time to search for the treasure map!!