AH-WR-0055

Carroll A. Deering

Sailing Schooner · United States · Lost 1921 · The Outer Banks

A five-masted schooner found aground and completely deserted on Diamond Shoals in 1921, her crew's disappearance never explained.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Carroll A. Deering was a large five-masted commercial schooner built in 1919. Returning from Rio de Janeiro toward Newport News, she was sighted in distress off Cape Lookout in late January 1921, then found run aground and entirely abandoned on Diamond Shoals near Cape Hatteras on 31 January. Her lifeboats, navigation equipment, and personal belongings were missing, but no sign of her crew was ever found. The case prompted investigations by the Coast Guard, Navy, Justice Department, and State Department, and remains one of the Outer Banks' most famous unsolved maritime mysteries.

Vessel

Built: 1919
Builder: G.G. Deering Company Yards
Yard: Bath, Maine
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: G.G. Deering Company

Loss

Date: January 31, 1921
Cause: Not established
Location: Diamond Shoals, off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil → Newport News, Virginia
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: The entire crew disappeared; no bodies were ever confirmed found and their fate was never established.
Master: Willis B. Wormell

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Broke up on the shoals after grounding; later dynamited as a hazard to navigation
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1921-01-31
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 35.21° N 75.52° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

General area only: coordinate of Diamond Shoals from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.