The Charlie Mason

One of the Outer Banks' most celebrated pogey (or menhaden) boats was the Charlie Mason, a trawler which regularly supplied the Fish Meal Company in West Beaufort, NC, with menhaden.

On January 1, 1948, the Charlie Mason, was fishing offshore of Ocracoke when the weather deteriorated. After getting the nets tangled in the propeller, the captain called the US Coast Guard for assistance. Shortly after getting a hawser secured to the stricken vessel, the line broke, and the vessel came ashore on Ocracoke's beach.

Hatteras Islander, Charles Stowe, was among the Coast Guard crew who responded to the wreck. He penned a ballad, The Charlie Mason Pogey Boat, that tells the story of re-floating the trawler. Ocracoke native and musician, Martin Garrish, regularly performs this song.

You can listen to Charles Stowe sing the song on YouTube:



Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the Ocracoke Water Tank Caper. This is the link: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news032117.htm.