Castagna
Bark (or Barque) · Italy · Lost 1914 · Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals
An Italian iron bark bound from Montevideo to England with a cargo of guano was driven ashore near the Marconi wireless station in a killing snow gale.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
The Italian iron bark Castagna, 843 tons, was on a voyage from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Weymouth, England, with a cargo of guano when a blinding snowstorm and northwest gale drove her ashore near the Marconi Wireless Station in South Wellfleet on February 17, 1914. Life-Saving Service crews from Nauset and Cahoon's Hollow rigged breeches buoys, but exposure had left many sailors too weak to work the lines; Capt. Giuseppe Gavi was washed overboard, four men froze in the rigging, and one died en route to shore in the lifeboat. Eight of the thirteen aboard survived.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Iron
- Not established
- Not established
- 843
- Sail, bark rig (three masts)
- Not established
Loss
- February 17, 1914
- Storm
- Near the Marconi Wireless Station, South Wellfleet
- Atlantic Ocean, outer Cape Cod
- Montevideo, Uruguay → Weymouth, England
- Guano
- 13
- 5
- Giuseppe Gavi
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Marconi Beach, South Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
The New York Times, February 18, 1914
Confirms date, casualty figure, and rescue outcome.
Tonnage, hull material, rig, captain's name, crew size, date.
Chip Bruce, 'Light from the Castagna' (family history account)
Narrative detail on the rescue and eyewitness recollection.
