AH-WR-1021

Defiance

Pinky · United States · Lost 18th century, after 1753 · Cape Ann & the Gulf of Maine

A mid-18th-century cargo pinky that periodically resurfaces from the sands of York Beach, identified through tree-ring dating as the colonial vessel Defiance.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

For decades, a mysterious wooden shipwreck has appeared and disappeared beneath the sands of Short Sands Beach in York, Maine, first noted in 1958. In the 2010s, marine archaeologist Stefan Claesson used tree-ring dating on hull samples and searched colonial notary records to identify the wreck as the pinky Defiance, whose timber was felled in 1753. Researchers believe she was driven ashore in a storm and could not be refloated.

Vessel

Built: 1753
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: 60 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: 18th century, after 1753
Cause: Storm
Location: Short Sands Beach, York, Maine
Water: Gulf of Maine
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Hull skeleton periodically exposed and reburied by shifting beach sand
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 1958
Protection: Recorded archaeological site with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission