AH-WR-0062

Lofthus

Bark (or Barque) · Norway · Lost 1898 · Florida's Atlantic Coast

An iron-hulled barque, once painted with false gunports against pirates in the East Indies, wrecked off Manalapan, Florida, in 1898.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Built in 1868 in England as the barque Cashmere, the ship was painted with false gunports to discourage pirate attacks while trading in the East Indies. Sold to a Norwegian firm and renamed Lofthus, she was later put to work in the Atlantic lumber trade. In 1898 she wrecked in a storm off Manalapan, Florida, near Boynton Inlet. Her iron hull remains a shallow, popular dive site today.

Vessel

Built: 1868
Builder: T.R. Oswald
Yard: Sunderland, England
Material: Iron
Length: 222.8 ft
Beam: 36.7 ft
Tonnage: 1277
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Liverpool Shipping Company (as Cashmere); later Norwegian owners (as Lofthus)

Loss

Date: January 1, 1898
Cause: Storm
Location: Off Manalapan, Florida, near Boynton Inlet
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Lumber
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 20
Condition: Iron hull structure remains visible close to shore.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve; National Register of Historic Places