AH-WR-0922

Noonday

Clipper Ship · United States · Lost 1863 · San Francisco & the Northern California Coast

A Gold Rush-era clipper that struck an unmarked rock off the Farallones in 1863, giving Noonday Rock its name; found by NOAA sonar in 2014.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

The clipper ship Noonday, built in 1855 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, was nearing the end of a passage from Boston to San Francisco when she struck an uncharted rock off the North Farallon Islands on New Year's Day, 1863. The rock, later named Noonday Rock, opened her hull and she sank in about 40 fathoms; her crew escaped safely. NOAA researchers located and confirmed the wreck site in 2014.

Vessel

Built: 1855
Builder: Fernald and Pettigrew
Yard: Badger's Island, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Material: Wood
Length: 197 ft
Beam: 38.5 ft
Tonnage: 1177
Propulsion: Sail, full-rigged ship
Owners: Henry Hastings & Co., Boston

Loss

Date: January 1, 1863
Cause: Grounding
Location: Near Noonday Rock, north of the Farallon Islands, approaching San Francisco Bay
Water: Pacific Ocean
Voyage: Boston, Massachusetts → San Francisco, California
Cargo: General cargo valued at roughly $450,000
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: 0
Master: Captain Henry

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Located in 2014 by NOAA, buried under mud and silt on the seafloor.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 2014
Protection: Within Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary