In past posts I have written about the U-Boat attack on the Caribsea, a 251' freighter that was sunk off the Outer Banks on March 11, 1942. Ocracoke native, James Baughm Gaskill, was killed in that attack.
Today the Caribsea lies in 85 feet of water east of the Cape Lookout Shoals. According to Roderick M. Farb in his book, Shipwrecks, Diving the Graveyard of the Atlantic, "the site of the wreck is 12.5 miles from the Knuckle Buoy on a heading of 31 degrees."
Although much of the ship's hull is gone (the Navy depth-charged the wreck during WWII to prevent German U-Boats from hiding nearby) divers are still rewarded with views of the bow, the forward hold, and her two anchors, as well as a large windlass, and the engine & boilers.
Farb writes that the wreckage harbors sponges, urchins, mollusks, crustaceans, various species of fish, and an occasional shark or manta ray.
Our current Ocracoke Newsletter is a 1938 article about Capt. Gary
Bragg, waterfowl hunting, and wooden decoy carving. You can read it
here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news112116.htm.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Caribsea. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Caribsea. Sort by date Show all posts
Monday, November 28, 2016
Tuesday, February 04, 2014
Caribsea
On March 11, 1942 the steam powered freighter, Caribsea, was struck by two torpedoes from a German U-boat off the coast of North Carolina. Ocracoke Native James Baughm Gaskill, one of the crew members, was killed in the attack. The ship's nameplate now hangs in the NPS Visitors Center.
From Village Craftsmen's History of the Ocracoke United Methodist Church:
"A hand-made wooden cross rests on the altar in the sanctuary of Ocracoke's united church building. The cross was constructed by Homer Howard, and painted gold by his wife, Aliph. The cross was made out of salvage from the ship on which island native, James Baughm Gaskill, served and lost his life. Jim Baughm's ship, the "Caribsea," was torpedoed and sunk offshore by a German U-boat on March 11, 1942, little more than a year before the new church was dedicated. Shortly after the sinking, Christopher Farrow, James Baughm's cousin, found his framed license cast up on the ocean beach. Later, the ship's nameplate and other debris washed up at his family's dock, at the old Pamlico Inn. The cross stands today as a memorial to James Baughm Gaskill, 3rd mate in the USS Maritime service."
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the 2013 Portsmouth Island Christmas Bird Count. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012114.htm.
From Village Craftsmen's History of the Ocracoke United Methodist Church:
"A hand-made wooden cross rests on the altar in the sanctuary of Ocracoke's united church building. The cross was constructed by Homer Howard, and painted gold by his wife, Aliph. The cross was made out of salvage from the ship on which island native, James Baughm Gaskill, served and lost his life. Jim Baughm's ship, the "Caribsea," was torpedoed and sunk offshore by a German U-boat on March 11, 1942, little more than a year before the new church was dedicated. Shortly after the sinking, Christopher Farrow, James Baughm's cousin, found his framed license cast up on the ocean beach. Later, the ship's nameplate and other debris washed up at his family's dock, at the old Pamlico Inn. The cross stands today as a memorial to James Baughm Gaskill, 3rd mate in the USS Maritime service."
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the 2013 Portsmouth Island Christmas Bird Count. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012114.htm.
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
Cross
Yesterday I posted information about the sinking of the Caribsea in 1942. Here is a photo of the cross which stands on the altar of the Ocracoke United Methodist Church.
This wooden cross was fashioned by my grandfather, Homer Howard, from wreckage of the Caribsea.
You can read a history of the Ocracoke United Methodist Church here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news102603.htm.
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the 2013 Portsmouth Island Christmas Bird Count. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012114.htm.
This wooden cross was fashioned by my grandfather, Homer Howard, from wreckage of the Caribsea.
You can read a history of the Ocracoke United Methodist Church here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news102603.htm.
Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is an account of the 2013 Portsmouth Island Christmas Bird Count. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012114.htm.
Friday, August 28, 2015
Jim Baughm
A hand-made wooden cross rests on the altar in
the sanctuary of the Ocracoke Methodist Church.
The cross was constructed by Homer Howard, and painted gold by his wife,
Aliph. The cross was made out of salvage
from the ship on which island native, James Baughm Gaskill (1919-1942), served and lost his
life. The cross stands today as a memorial to
James Baughm Gaskill, 3rd mate in the USS Maritime service.
The epitaph is a quotation from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "Crossing the Bar."
Jim Baughm's ship, the Caribsea, was torpedoed and sunk off shore by a German U-boat on
March 11, 1942. Shortly after the sinking, Christopher
Farrow, James Baughm's cousin, found his
framed license cast up on the ocean beach. Later, the ship's nameplate
and other debris washed up at his family's dock, at the old Pamlico Inn.
 |
| Ship's Nameplate in NPS Visitors Center |
Although Jim Baughm was lost at sea, and his body never recovered, his family erected a marker in the family cemetery behind the lighthouse.
The epitaph is a quotation from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "Crossing the Bar."
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound
and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep,
Turns again home.
This
month's Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of whale and porpoise fishing on the Outer Banks. You can read the
story here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news082115.htm.
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