Shipwreck Once Again Reappears in Hatteras Village

A well-known but officially unidentified shipwreck located just south of Ramp 55 has once again made an appearance, causing beachgoers to pause and take a second look.

The wreck, which is periodically uncovered by shifting sands, has resurfaced after a few days of northeast winds. Along with a WWII wreck that was recently identified in the Pamlico Sound, the mystery vessel has jumpstarted the conversation about wrecks along the Outer Banks.

With more than 2,000 possible shipwrecks along the Outer Banks, previously unknown wrecks are being discovered, (or in this case re-discovered), all the time, especially after weather events.

The Ramp 55 wreck is currently quite visible and is well above the surface – a phenomenon that was reported earlier in the summer of 2017, and which has occurred sporadically for at least the past 10 years.

“It gets covered up and then reappears, and with these northeast winds, she has been unearthed once again,” says Clara Scarborough, Administrator of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. “It’s fun [to observe], because it will get covered up pretty quickly, but will then make another appearance.”

The origins of the Ramp 55 wreck were studied in detail a little more than a decade ago in an excavation by the National Park Service and a group of then high school students.

It was hoped at the time that the ship could be moved and transported to a museum, but the remains were too large – and too heavy – to transport.

Even so, the study brought some clues about the ship’s identity. In fact, the students and their advisers identified three ships that were lost in the area, and that were possibly connected to the wreckage. They are:

The Anna R. Heidritter, a four-masted schooner built in 1903 and rebuilt in 1910 after a fire, which was grounded off Ocracoke in a 1942 storm and, over the years, has broken up and washed ashore.

Wesley M. Oler, a four-masted schooner built in 1891 that grounded off Hatteras on Dec. 5, 1902. There are no available photos of the ship and no other information about it.

The City of New York, a vessel used by Gen. Burnside during his Civil War expedition in January 1862 and grounded off Hatteras Inlet. The report notes that the relatively good preservation of the wreckage, however, would indicate a much later built and wrecked vessel.

The concrete facts about the wreckage is that it was a six-mast schooner built out of oak and pine sometime between 1870 and the early 1900s. It was a sturdy vessel, measuring approximately 220 feet long and 50 feet wide.

Visitors can take a peek the newly uncovered shipwreck on the beach, at least for a while a while, by heading a half-mile south of Ramp 55 in Hatteras village.

The excursion to see the wreck also presents a fine opportunity to explore the nearby Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum at the same time.

The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.