Friday, April 20, 2012

Schooner Emma C. Middleton ~ 4 January 1905

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1905:

At 6.30 a.m. a schooner having been discovered ashore on Frying Pan Shoals, 8 miles S. ½ E. of the station, the lifesaving crew launched their surfboat and went to her assistance. She had filled and settled until her decks were awash, with the heavy sea breaking completely over her. To save themselves from being washed overboard the crew, consisting of 7 men, had stowed themselves in the jibs and the mizzen topsail. The two men in the after sail were taken off the wreck without much trouble, but to reach those out on the head booms was more difficult, on account of the strong wind and high sea. The surfboat was anchored to windward of the schooner and dropped down to her as close as safety would permit, and the 5 men were finally reached and taken off the jib boom without accident. The lifesaving crew from the Oak Island station having also sighted the schooner, now arrived upon the scene from their station 14 miles distant, and assisted in transporting the shipwrecked crew to a tug near by, upon which they took passage for Southport. The gale continued, the hull quickly broke up, and the vessel and cargo proved a total loss.

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