Schooner George S. Marts ~ 16 April 1887

New York Times, April 19, 1887

Schooner H.P. Blaisdell ~ May 18, 1876

The Baltimore Sun, May 12, 1875

Freighter Isle of Iona ~ 13 December 1914

The route from Cuba to Baltimore was one that passed by the Diamond Shoals. Special care had to be taken during the northward journey because the Gulf Stream propelled a ship along at a clip faster than normal. Ground speed could exceed a vessel’s cruising sped by several knots.

     When a dense fog closed in on the Isle of Iona, obscuring the sun and the stars whose observation is mandatory in order to fix a ship’s position, Captain Quack’s only recourse for approximating his location was dead reckoning: a “guesstimate” calculated by multiplying engine revolutions by wind speed and direction and predicted drift. Thus, as darkness fell on December 13, the Isle of Iona was moving north faster than Captain Quack reckoned.

     Instead of calling for a turn to starboard in order to round the dreaded shoals, he plowed straight ahead into the breakers on the south shore of Hatteras Island. All agree that the sea was rough, but according to different reports, the tide was either low or flood. The time was approximately 10:40 p.m. Coston flares informed those aboard the freighter that their plight was known to those on shore and within minutes both the Hatteras Inlet and the Durants life-saving stations were galvanized for action. By 10 a.m. the following day, all 27 men were brought to shore but the Isle of Iona eventually broke up where she lay.

Schooner S.S. Lewis ~ September 9, 1876

Baker's wrecking schooner S.S. Lewis ashore at Hatteras -

Feared total loss

Steamer Magnolia ~ 3-4 October 1877

Believed to have been the same storm observed over St. Vincent and Grenada on September 21, this long-lived and violent hurricane crossed the Gulf of Mexico and moved inland near New Orleans, Louisiana on October 2. It moved northeastward across North Carolina just east of the mountains, causing a terrific storm in the vicinity of the Albemarle Sound. The attendant floods carried away all bridges and wharves in that area and seriously damaged crops remaining in fields. The steamship Magnolia foundered off Hatteras, and ships were wrecked all along the Atlantic coast northward to New England.

Schooner Susanna ~ April 1889

Evening Bulletin, April 12, 1889

Steamer Thames ~ 6 April 1869

Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1869:

While on its regular run between Galveston and New York the 560-ton passenger steamer Thames rounded Cape Hatteras on April 6th and headed north along the coast. When still within sight of the lighthouse on the cape, a cry was hear from amidships: “FIRE!” By the time Captain Pennington could organize his fire-fighting crew, the flames had spread so quickly that there was no hope of bringing them under control. All hands—9 crewmen and 9 passengers—were driven from the cabin.

     The Captain ordered the three aft boats removed from their davits and carried forward. Then, with passengers and crew gathered on the bow, he headed his vessel into the wind, toward shore. But the flames continued to spread and soon Pennington was driven from the pilothouse, leaving the vessel in an unmanageable state.

     The three boats were quickly lowered over the side and the passengers and crew crowded into them. By then the Thames, which was engulfed in flames, was abandoned in the sea off Hatteras. Two of the boats reached shore that night. The third, containing the ship’s cook, two cabin boys, a seaman, and a coal heaver, either drifted to sea or overturned on Diamond Shoals, all 5 being given up for lost.

Schooner Wm. P. Cox ~ 8 October 1880

Wilmington Morning Star, Wilmington, NC