AH-WR-1265

North Carolina

Sailing Vessel · United Kingdom · Lost 1880 · Bermuda

An iron barque that ran aground on New Year's Day 1880 and sank weeks later during a botched refloat attempt, later studied as a possible archaeological 'crime scene'.

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Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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 Scotland in 1876, the iron-hulled barque North Carolina was en route from Baltimore to Liverpool with cotton, bark (or barque) and fuel when she detoured to Bermuda for rudder repairs. She ran aground on a western reef on January 1, 1880, and sank on January 27 when an anchor broke free during an attempt to refloat her, tearing open the hull. The wreck's unusual circumstances later prompted archaeologists to investigate whether the loss was deliberate.

Vessel

Built: 1876
Builder: Macmillan & Son
Yard: Scotland
Material: Iron
Length: 205 ft
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 533
Propulsion: Sail, three masts
Owners: Patton, Vickers and Co. of Liverpool

Loss

Date: January 1, 1880
Cause: Grounding
Location: Western reef, approximately 8.5 miles west and 5 miles south of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse
Water: Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda reef platform
Voyage: Baltimore → Liverpool
Cargo: Cotton, bark and fuel
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Sources reviewed do not report casualties.
Master: Captain Alexander Buchan

The Wreck Today

Depth: 25-45
Condition: Upright, bow and stern fairly intact with collapsed midsection; bowsprit, rigging and deadeyes preserved.
Orientation: Upright
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Buoyed under the Bermuda Dive Sites programme, 300m no-fishing limit