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Maritime Crafts for Kids

Parent or adult supervision is recommended

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Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum

13 hours ago

Following the Civil War, trade picked up as the end of the war brought a demand for goods not available during the war. This called for the conversion of war vessels to commercial ones. This desire to "catch up" on trade resulted in shipwrecks caught in the race. Upon encountering a northeast gale, the clipper ship Henrietta, loaded with molasses, sugar and syrup, with a crew of sixteen, lost its main topsail, foremast, and incurred damage to its mizzenmast. The waves grew as the ship drifted toward land. All but one boat was lost, and the steward was swept away into the sea. The vessel grounded on Frying Pan Shoals, drifted free, then sank into a gully. The crew boarded the remaining boat, but it capsized and all drowned but the captain and mate who survived by climbing back into the boat. They were left without food and water for five days until they were picked up by a vessel. ... See MoreSee Less

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Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum

1 day ago

Yet another marvel of aviation on the Outer Banks! ... See MoreSee Less

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Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum

2 days ago

"GEORGE WASHINGTON'S HURRICANE ~ 23 JULY 1788
On July 23 & 24, 1788 a hurricane brushed the coast of North Carolina with the eye passing to the east of Cape Hatteras. A report from Ocracoke after the storm indicated six vessels destroyed, eleven driven ashore and two dismasted. Strong northwesterly winds blew the water out of Pamlico Sound and left many vessels stranded in low water.

Not only did the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army end up with a snowstorm named after him, this hurricane was awarded his namesake also. The name stems from the path of the storm’s destruction as well as the fact that most of what we know about it came from Washington’s journals. The center of the hurricane passed right over his Mount Vernon estate where he’d returned after winning the War of Independence. He wrote of the storm, ‘In a word it was violent and severe—more so than has happened for many years.’ Washington also wrote about extensive crop damage and several ships that ran aground including a small ship that had been gifted to him. The Federalist which he’d owned for only six weeks sank during the chaos.

Even before the hurricane made its way up the Potomac, it wreaked havoc on those living along the Chesapeake Bay. According to a Philadelphia newspaper account, when the storm hit the tidewater area, it ‘continued for 9 hours—wind at start from NE—at 0030 [hours] it suddenly shifted to S and blew a perfect hurricane—tearing up large trees by the roots, removing houses, throwing down chimneys, fences, etc., and laying the greatest part of the corn level… Only two ships in Hampton Roads survived the gale.”’ Courtesy of northcarolinashipwrecks.blogspot.com. Painting by Gilbert Stuart. ... See MoreSee Less

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Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum

3 days ago

Englishman Thomas Hariot visited Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks in 1585. He created A Briefe and True Report about what was found there. This included bounty from the sea. It’s interesting to compare what was here then to what is here now. Fisher folk feel free to chime in!
“For four months of the year-February, March, April, and May-there are plenty of sturgeon and herring. Some of these fish are the size of those we find commonly in England, but most of them are far larger-eighteen, twenty inches, and some two feet in length and more. We found them to be a most delicate and pleasant food.

There are also trout, porpoises, rays, oldwives, mullets, plaice, and many other varieties of excellent fish which we caught and ate. I know their names only in the language of the country. But we made pictures of twelve different kinds of fish while we were there.

There are also plenty of shellfish, sea crabs such as we have in England, and large and small oysters. They are found both in salt and brackish water, and, as in our own country, those taken from salt water are the best. Besides these, there are mussels, scallops, periwinkles, and crayfish. Seekanauk, a kind of crusty shellfish, is a good food. It is about a foot wide, has a crusty tail, many legs, like a crab, and its eyes are set in its back. It can be found in salt-water shallows or on the shore.

Tortoises, both of the land and sea varieties, are more than a yard in breadth, with thick shells on their backs and bellies. Their heads, feet, and tails look very ugly, like those of a venomous serpent. Nevertheless, they are very good to eat, as are their eggs.” Image: Watercolor drawing "Indians Fishing" by John White (created 1585-1586). Licensed by the Trustees of the British Museum. ©Copyright the British Museum. ... See MoreSee Less

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Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum

4 days ago

In 1821, Pharoah Farrow was appointed keeper of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. On July 21, 1828, he sold 40 acres of land for $200 to be used for the keeper accommodations. In time, the land also was used for the 1870 lighthouse. Farrow lost his job in 1830 because he had been living away from the Light Station. He was relegating his responsibilities to several enslaved people he owned. Image courtesy of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum and NC Division of Archives and History. ... See MoreSee Less

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