Ear: Mastoria

Fun rerun: Since it was the anniversary of the Peter Iredale shipwreck on Oct. 25, this little bit of trivia is offered:

Did you know the Iredale had a sister ship called the Astoria, also owned by the Peter Iredale Co.? Built in 1885, the Astoria was in service until 1910, when she was sold to a Norwegian company. The ship is pictured, courtesy of Wrecksite.eu

Mastoria, as she was renamed, did not come to a happy end when she was carrying a cargo of wood from Pensacola, Florida, to Rio de Janeiro. 

According to an Oct. 23, 1910 story in The New York Times (via Wrecksite): “The bark was battered for 70 hours by (a) hurricane, and was waterlogged, dismasted and rudderless. The crew was compelled to take to the boats, one of which was swamped immediately (when) it was launched. Its occupants were rescued with great difficulty.”

All hands were saved after being picked up by the steamer River Plate, and landed safely at Annotto Bay, Jamaica.

So there Mastoria lies, abandoned at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. The date of her demise? Oct. 16, 1910. (In One Ear, 10/24/14)