Moving into the 20th Century

Ships Lost 1919 to 1941:In researching the ships lost during this period of time, the early ships listed below provided little information.

Ships Lost in 1919 - For Gracie D. Chambers, I found two newspaper articles referring to the schooner. I came up empty-handed when it came to the Black Hawk, but will continue my search for more information. Explorer tug boat, the only thing I found is that it sunk on December 12, 1919, somewhere near MP 11 in Nags Head. It apparently sits in around 20 feet of water and about 150 yards offshore.

Ships Lost in 1920 - There were three ships indicated to have been sunk in this year. The only one I found information on was the Momi T. One newspaper article (Baltimore Sun) made mention of its sinking. The other two ships listed that year, as of now, haven't yielded any information.

Ships Lost in 1921 - As I moved from a little bit of frustration in attempting to locate information of ships the year before, 1921 started with one of the greatest mysteries of ships lost...Carroll A. Deering, the famous "Ghost Ship" of the Outer Banks. A mystery that just celebrated its sinking 100 years ago. It was a mystery I wasn't aware of until I started reaching the ship. The remainder of the ships during that year, two schooners, came up empty-handed. I couldn't find any information on either of the two ships.

Ships Lost in 1923 - The two ships sunk during this year were the first ships that I discovered that were sunk on purpose. Up to this point ships, I had investigated (1526 to 1825, 1919 to 1941, and 1942, ) all had met tragic outcomes with the loss of ships and in most cases life. USS New Jersey and USS Virginia were two old battleships that their last days of service were to be used as target practice.

Ships Lost in 1924 to 1940 - As I continued to research the ships sunk during this time I was a little astounded about how little information was available for a number of the ships. However, one thing that struck me in my research was how the islanders turned misfortune into opportunities in some ways. For example, how they used the grounding of the Irma as a dance hall for a while, or how locals salvaged some of the ships' lumber to use for building on the island (G.A. Kohler, Nomis), or how the island experienced its first automobile accident while trying to salvage the Victoria S. Also, one ship had a shady past, Morris and Cliff, by transporting liquor during prohibition. During these years there were some daring rescues from Coast Guard Stations stationed along the Outer Banks. There were also some ships that would almost be a comedy of errors (Carl Gerhard) leading to their grounding or sinking.