notforsale

Ever wondered how the BOWSPRIT of the PETER IREDALE shipwreck, tucked away out of sight, exposed to the elements at Fort Stevens National Historical Park in Hammond, is faring? It’s falling apart, and is pictured in its prime, and now.

In case you’re wondering, TheFreeDictionary.com defines a bowsprit as “A spar, extending forward from the stem of a ship, to which the stays of the foremast are fastened.”

An article in the Jan. 9, 1963 Eugene Register-Guard (http://tinyurl.com/bowsp1963) gives the history of the bowsprit rescue:

“The bowsprit from the old wreck of the Peter Iredale was reclaimed from the sands of the Pacific Ocean Tuesday by a group of Astoria men using heavy equipment, including a high-pressure pump.

“The bowsprit was lost from the hulk of the wrecked landmark in a storm in November 1961. Various civic organizations talked of trying to recover it from the sand, but eventually it was covered completely.

“Sunday, DUDLEY GOFF of radio station KAST discovered the tides had uncovered it again. Tuesday, volunteers brought in a pump to remove the remaining sand and equipment to drag the 45-foot long object up on the beach. There is no hope of attaching it to the rusting hulk of the old sailing ship, but members of the Clatsop County Historical Society have suggested putting it in their museum at Astoria, or mounting it at the parking lot near the wreck.”

Sadly, the bowsprit didn’t make it to either location.

— Elleda Wilson