AH-WR-1121

Wanderer

Whaling Ship · United States · Lost 1924 · Buzzards Bay & Vineyard Sound

The last square-rigged whaling bark (or barque) to sail from New Bedford dragged anchor and wrecked off Cuttyhunk Island in a 1924 storm, symbolically ending the city's whaling era.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Documented Likeness. Drawn from surviving builder's plans or clear photographs of this vessel. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Built in 1878 at Mattapoisett and famous for her starring role in the 1922 film Down to the Sea in Ships, the whaling bark Wanderer was the last square-rigged whaler to sail from New Bedford. On her final voyage in August 1924 she anchored off Cuttyhunk Island to wait out an approaching storm. Her anchor dragged overnight and she was driven onto the rocks and destroyed, with no loss of life. Her wreck, now scattered in shallow water, is remembered as marking the symbolic end of New Bedford's whaling industry, and her mizzen mast stands today as a flagpole in Mattapoisett's Shipyard Park.

Vessel

Built: 1878
Builder: Not established
Yard: Mattapoisett, Massachusetts
Material: Wood
Length: 116 ft
Beam: 28 ft
Tonnage: 303
Propulsion: Sail, bark rig
Owners: Gifford and Cummings, New Bedford

Loss

Date: August 26, 1924
Cause: Storm
Location: West side of Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts
Water: Buzzards Bay approaches / Vineyard Sound
Voyage: New Bedford, Massachusetts
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 20 ft
Condition: Completely broken up; small artifacts remain wedged among the rocks.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 41.42° N 70.94° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts
Region: Buzzards Bay & Vineyard Sound

Position as published by Hunting New England Shipwrecks.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)

WBUR News, "Remembering the wreck of New Bedford's last great whaleship"
Build history, film appearance, and narrative of the final voyage and loss.
Hunting New England Shipwrecks (wreckhunter.net)
Dimensions, tonnage, date and location of loss, coordinates, and wreck condition.
New York Times, August 27, 1924, "Last of the Whalers Wrecked in Storm"
Contemporary account of the wrecking and crew's escape.