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82 View Maritime History View Maritime History

Can't make it out to the shipwrecks? Don't despair. The Coos H ...

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83 Grab your camera Grab your camera

The Reedsport area offers a wide array of environments for amateu ...

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81 Visit the Mystery Ship

Spring currents and winds have pushed sand back onto Horsfall Beach on Coos Bay's North Spit, but the shipwrecks haven't gone anywhere.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is expecting visitors to trek onto the spit this summer to see the shipwrecks. That includes the œMystery Ship" George L. Olson and New Carissa.

BLM has a route marked, leading to the area. It might seem a bit tricky getting out there, between route changes due to nesting snowy plovers and the heavy equipment related to the New Carissa salvage.

The current one-way portion of Foredune Road between the gates and the dry sand portion of the beach is closed to all access. As in past years, Foredune Road traffic will be detoured toward the bay for a couple of miles until the road reaches the jetty. The BLM has marked, with signs, route changes due to the Carissa project from the traditional summer road.

Take note: The dry sand portion of the beach is closed to people, vehicles and pets through Sept. 15 for the plovers. But there are viewing spots along the way.
Visitors can access the Olson by foot from the wet sand portions of the beach. The easiest access to the Olson is to drive on Foredune Road and hike the wet sand portion of the beach starting at the FAA tower, or drive to the North Jetty and walk north on the wet sand portion of the beach to the shipwreck. Each of these walking routes is approximately 1.5 miles one way.

Winter storms uncovered the shipwrecked steam schooner George L. Olson earlier this year for the first time in more than 40 years. Storm after storm uncovered more and more of the bow, as historians dug into records trying to determine the vessel's identity. In the end, the BLM, the Coos Historical & Maritime Museum and historians from other federal and state agencies determined it was the wooden ship that ran into the rocks of the north jetty on June 23, 1944. Ultimately, the vessel was towed to sea and let loose to eventually work its way to shore eventually to be covered by sand.

The wood chip freighter New Carissa ran aground in the surf during a winter storm the morning of Feb. 4, 1999. Despite an effort to free the ship, it didn't budge and cracked, sending oil spewing onto the beaches. In an effort to burn the oil out of the vessel, the ship split in half. The bow was towed to sea, where the U.S. Navy sank it with torpedoes.
The state of Oregon sued the ship's owners and is using $16 million from the settlement to remove the vessel's remaining stern.

For more information on plover habitat and road questions about the North Spit, those interested can call the BLM at 756-0100.
80 Look over the rail museum 82 View Maritime History
 

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