AH-WR-0769

Drumelzier

Freighter · United Kingdom · Lost 1904 · Long Island & the New York Approaches

A British freighter driven onto the Fire Island bar in a Christmas 1904 snowstorm and abandoned as a total wreck.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

The steel freighter Drumelzier ran aground on the Fire Island bar during a snow storm around Christmas 1904. For several days her captain and crew remained aboard amid heavy surf and bitter cold before life-saving crews took them off, and the vessel was abandoned as a total wreck. Part of her cargo was salvaged, but the hull broke up on the bar. A low debris field with an exposed boiler remains today.

Vessel

Built: 1895
Builder: Not established
Yard: England
Material: Steel
Length: 340 ft
Beam: 45 ft
Tonnage: 3625
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: December 25, 1904
Cause: Grounding
Location: Fire Island bar, Great South Bay, Long Island, New York
Water: Atlantic Ocean, off Fire Island
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: Captain Nicholson

The Wreck Today

Depth: 20 ft
Condition: Low debris field with a boiler visible
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 40.65° N 73.15° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Fire Island, Long Island, New York
Region: Long Island & the New York Approaches

General area only: coordinate of Fire Island (near the Fire Island bar) from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.