Wadena
Coal Barge · United States · Lost 1902 · Cape Cod & Nantucket Shoals
A stranded coal barge off Monomoy triggered one of the U.S. Life-Saving Service's deadliest rescue disasters when the surfboat capsized, drowning rescuers and rescued alike.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
The coal barge Wadena grounded on the eastern end of Shovelful Shoal off Monomoy on March 17, 1902. The Monomoy Life-Saving Station crew rowed out in a gale and successfully took five men off the sinking barge, but on the return their surfboat capsized in the breakers. Only one man of the combined group survived; the disaster killed all five barge crew rescued and six of the seven Monomoy surfmen, one of the worst single losses in Life-Saving Service history.
Vessel
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- Wood
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- Towed barge (no independent propulsion)
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Loss
- March 17, 1902
- Grounding
- Eastern end of Shovelful Shoal, Monomoy
- Nantucket Sound, off Monomoy
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- Coal
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- 12
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The Wreck Today
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Position
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- Monomoy Island, Chatham, Massachusetts
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (82/100)
The barge's construction details, tonnage, and full crew roster are not established in the sources reviewed.
United States Lighthouse Society (Keeper's Log)
Official U.S. Life-Saving Service account of the disaster, date, location, and casualty figures.
The New York Times, March 18, 1902
Contemporary casualty report and location confirmation.
