AH-WR-1460

Annie L. Spindler

Schooner · United Kingdom · Lost 1922 · Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals

A Nova Scotia schooner running whiskey from Saint-Pierre was driven ashore at Race Point in a violent storm on December 29, 1922, her whole crew saved by breeches buoy.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Annie L. Spindler was a Nova Scotia-built fishing schooner turned rum runner, carrying several hundred cases of Canadian whiskey toward the U.S. coast when a fierce storm drove her onto the beach directly in front of the Race Point Coast Guard Station on Cape Cod. Surfmen spotted her only minutes before she struck, and her crew of six survived by lashing themselves to the rigging and being hauled ashore one by one in a breeches buoy. The Coast Guard seized the recovered liquor, though locals managed to spirit away a portion of it first. The wreck became a well-remembered piece of Cape Cod's Prohibition-era rum-running lore.

Vessel

Built: 1910
Builder: Not established
Yard: Nova Scotia, Canada
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail, two-masted schooner rig
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: December 29, 1922
Cause: Storm
Location: Race Point Beach, Provincetown, Massachusetts
Water: Atlantic Ocean, off Cape Cod
Voyage: Saint-Pierre and Miquelon → Nassau, Bahamas (per ship's papers; actually running liquor toward the U.S. coast)
Cargo: Approximately 600-800 cases of Canadian whiskey
Aboard: 6
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 42.06° N 70.25° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Race Point, Provincetown, Massachusetts
Region: Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals

Position approximates the historically reported grounding site at Race Point Beach; no precise wreck coordinates have been published.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (60/100)

The vessel's dimensions and tonnage, and the present condition or location of any remains, are not established in the sources reviewed.

Cape Cod Times / Wicked Local, "Shore Lore: How a rum runner salvaged its cargo"
Narrative of the grounding, rescue, cargo, and aftermath, citing the Barnstable Patriot and other period sources.
TheYearRounder's Guide to Provincetown
Detail on the storm, breeches buoy rescue, and home port of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
Cape Cod LIFE, "Cape Cod Rum Runners"
Background on Cape Cod's Prohibition-era rum-running context.