AH-WR-1856

Elva L. Spurling

Fishing Schooner · Lost 1922 · Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals

Boston fishing schooner Elva L. Spurling sank off Nauset after a fogbound collision in 1922; fourteen crew survived and one died.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Elva L. Spurling was a 79-foot auxiliary fishing vessel built at Essex in 1904 and based at Boston. On August 1, 1922, she was inward bound with 45,000 pounds of groundfish when collier Lake Flournoy struck her amidships on the port side off Nauset during fog. She sank in less than three minutes. Patrick Powers was killed; Lake Flournoy rescued the fourteen other crew members and returned to Boston around midnight.

Vessel

Built: 1904
Builder: Not established
Yard: Essex, Massachusetts
Material: Not established
Length: 79 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 74 tons; measurement basis unspecified
Propulsion: Not established
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: August 1, 1922
Cause: Collision
Location: Off Nauset, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: 45,000 pounds of groundfish
Aboard: 15
Lives lost: 1
Master: George Perry

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Nauset, Cape Cod
Region: Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals

Off Nauset locality fits existing Cape Cod region; no surveyed position supplied or coordinates inferred.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (82/100)

Loss documented in historical transcription; original newspaper not independently inspected. Hull material, builder, surveyed position, depth and present remains not established.

R. Sheedy, Down to Sea — The Elva L. Spurling (August 2, 1922 account)
Complete narrative: auxiliary vessel Essex 1904, 79 feet, 74 tons unspecified basis, Boston; Captain George Perry; inward bound with 45,000 pounds groundfish; Lake Flournoy struck port side off Nauset during fog; sinking under three minutes; Patrick Powers killed, fourteen others rescued, collier returned Boston. August 1 derived from yesterday under August 2 heading; fifteen aboard derived from casualty/rescue totals. Original newspaper not independently inspected. No material, builder, surveyed position, depth or modern remains established.