Saga Of The "Olive Thurlow"

THE BARK OLIVE THURLOW – BUILT AT CALAIS, MAINE 1876 – WENT DOWN OFF CAPE LOOKOUT, NORTH CAROLINA DECEMBER 1902

The article below appeared in the “New York Sun” in December 1902 and appears here in full. Captain Tristram Thurlow Corbett, of Cutler, had been Master of this bark on its voyage around the world via Australia in 1883. His family accompanied him. One daughter was born above the Olive Thurlow offshore of Noumea, New Caledonia. The original painting, and Captain Corbett’s original chart for this voyage, are now in the Machias area.

In the September 1969 issue of the “National Geographic” is a story “Lonely Cape Hatteras, Besieged by the Sea.” Accompanying it is a map of the Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks. Shown are the graves of over 500 ships, from 1585 to 1961, which went down on this treacherous shoreline. The Olive Thurlow is indicated just south of cape lookout. Local residents may recognize names of ships familiar to their family sea-going history.

Source: “Saga Of The “Olive Thurlow”.” Machias Valley News Observer. November 19, 1980: page 3 

MATE FLORIAN TELLS OF THE GAIL IN CAPE LOOKOUT COVE — THE STEWARD KILLED, CAPTAIN HAYES AND TWO MEN INJURED.

Pendleton Brothers of 48 South Street, this city, who a little more than a week ago lost their fine four-masted schooner in a gale off the Virginia Capes, received the details yesterday of the loss of their bark Olive Thurlow from Mate Charles Florian and two seamen, who arrived from Norfolk on the Old Dominion Line steamship Jamestown. The bark was wrecked in Cape Lookout Cove, on the North Carolina coast, and of the seven men who originally composed her crew, Steward John Cokely was killed by a falling spar just before the ship went to pieces, and Captain Jerry Hays, Second Mate Albert Custin, and able seaman Fred Finch are now in the hospital at Beaufort, North Carolina.

The Olive Thurlow left Charleston on November 27 with 480,000 feet of hard pine lumber, 35,000 feet of which was deck load, for this port. She had fair sailing weather until December 1, when she had to reduce sail on account of a heavy north-northeast gale. During the storm the Captain tripped over the tiller gearing and fell, breaking his leg in three places. The mate carried him below, fixed the leg up in splints, and turned the bark about and headed for Cape Lookout in order to land the Captain. They arrived there safely on December 3, and the Captain was taken ashore and sent immediately to Beaufort, and, as the bark had been badly strained during the gale and was leaking in consequence, it was decided to anchor in the cove and wait for a tow.

“We lay there until noon of the 4th,”said Mate Florian yesterday, “when it begin to blow from the southwest, and I put out a second anchor with thirty fathoms of chain. The wind went around to the southeast, and it blew a merry gale until 8 o’clock that night, when it stopped suddenly. It began to blow again just before midnight, though, and it came up just as suddenly and blew a good deal harder. The bark began to ship water, and I put the men to work at the pumps, but after working an hour and a half we found that the water was gaining on us fast. A big sea stove in the fore hatches and carried away the forward deck house. Then the deck load went over, carrying the pumps with it, and when we saw that all was up, we climbed into the mizzen rigging. A half hour later the foremast broke off flush with the deck and went by the board, breaking again in the eyes of the rigging. The maintopmast went next and threw the vessel on her beam ends, and at the same moment almost another big sea broke over us and stove in the weather side of the after cabin, which began to fill. I burned a distress signal which was answered immediately by the Cape Lookout life savers, who were then about three miles away, but we were dragging anchors and being driven toward shore all the time.

“It was 4:30 in the morning when the vessel began to break up forward. When the life savers thought we were near enough shore they fired us a line, which fell about three fathoms short. The next one they tried went wide.

“Just as the third one fell close by, the mizzen topmast snapped, and, tumbling down, hit Steward Cokely, and split his head open. The spar hit Second Mate Custin at the same time and knocked him over the rail. The steward had been knocked right into my arms, but when I saw he was dead, I dropped him and grabbed the second mate and pulled him aboard. The falling mizzen topmast had also struck Fred Finch on the right hip and hurt him so badly that he could not move.

“We never saw the dead man again, but pulled the two injured men up onto a section of the poop, which was awash, and on that drifted 300 yards to shore, where the life savers formed a chain and pulled us out of the surf. All of us were stark naked except myself, and the waves had left me only one trousers leg. “

Mate Florian, who lives in Brooklyn and belongs to Sanctorum Lodge, No. 747, F. and A.M., wants to thank Captain Gaskell of the life savers, who is a Mason; Marine Underwriter Lewis of Beaufort, and Captain Davis of New Berne, North Carolina, also Masons, who he says helped them greatly in getting clothing and arranging for their transportation here, Mate Florian, August Burgensen, and Hendrick Johnson, were paid by Captain Hays.

The Olive Thurlow was built twenty-six years ago at Calas, Maine, and registered 577 tons burden. She was worth about $12,000 and was uninsured, while the cargo, which is now strewn along the beach at Cape Lookout, it’s worth $7,000, and is insured. Half of it probably can be recovered.