Bound from San Francisco to Coos Bay/North Bend with a crew of 32 to load fir for the East Coast the 324-foot cargo ship named, Sujameco, had no idea it was on a path of no return.
Several days of rough seas made for a miserably and stressful voyage and the crew wanted nothing more than to get to safe harbor as quickly as possible. The morning the Sujameco arrived off Cape Arago, a dense ghostly fog blanketed the coastal shoreline.
Several days of rough seas made for a miserably and stressful voyage and the crew wanted nothing more than to get to safe harbor as quickly as possible. The morning the Sujameco arrived off Cape Arago, a dense ghostly fog blanketed the coastal shoreline.
The captain of the Sujameco carelessly didn’t account for the very poor visibility and he unfortunately became disoriented of his actual location.
On the morning of march 1, 1929 the Sujameco barreled full steam ahead to a crashing holt, when the ship plowed into the flat sandy beach, named Horsfall, a good eight miles north of the intended sea port entrance to the Coos Bay. The captain might as well have just ran the ship into an iceberg.
On the morning of march 1, 1929 the Sujameco barreled full steam ahead to a crashing holt, when the ship plowed into the flat sandy beach, named Horsfall, a good eight miles north of the intended sea port entrance to the Coos Bay. The captain might as well have just ran the ship into an iceberg.
The unforgiving surf and strong wave action quickly turned the ship to broadside. Inevitably, the current moved the ship southward and the Sujameco worked her way higher and higher onto the beach. The ship was doomed.
Since the Sujameco was well grounded, the crew was in no immediate danger. They decided to remain aboard the ship. But, despite weeks of effort to move the Sujameco from the beach and re-float her into deeper waters, all attempts failed.
Ultimately, the wreck was sold for $150,000 to the Pacific Salvage Company which removed the engine, boilers, and all else of value. The Sujameco was abandoned and left alone for well over a decade to slowly decompose through time and tide. However, During World War II, much of the skeletal remains of the hull and super-structure were salvaged for scraps.
Today, only the bottom-most sections of her hull remains. For most of the year the structure is buried and out of harms way. However, every year winter storms strip away the sand revealing the ship’s historical demise.
Every late winter and early spring, pieces of the metal hull, a few cross members, the rudder canted slightly seaward, along with hundreds of rivets become front and center when the unforgiving surf strips away 2-5 feet of sand.
Photo by Steven Michael
Waves rush back and forth over the bones of the exposed wreck. It is believed that some fuel may even remain buried beneath the wet sand. Evidence of a rainbow sheen can be seen around an exposed pipe.
Photo by Steven Michael
Photo by Steven Michael
The Sujameco is the second largest visible shipwreck on the Oregon Coast, second only to the Peter Iredale located within Fort Stevens State Park on the Northern Oregon Coast.
Photo by Steven Michael
Photo by Steven Michael
But, unlike the Peter Iredale…which is visited by a quarter of a million people a year…the Sujameco is relatively unknown. The lack of its presence is contributed to the fact that the Sujameco doesn’t have the “pirate-like” lure that the Peter Iredale has. And, for most of the summer months when Horsfall Beach is crowded with tourists, the Sujameco goes into hiding leaving only has a few small rusty pieces of metal visible. In the winter, when the sand is stripped away, the beach is empty of tourists. It is then when the Sujameco puts on its best showing.
Photo by Steven Michael
Photo by Steven Michael
Photo by Steven Michael
Conditions during the winter and spring of 2023 have exposed the shipwreck from bow to stern allowing visitors, to catch the best revealing views of the Sujameco in years, including for myself.
Photo by Steven Michael
Photo by Steven Michael
Photo by Steven Michael
Low tide is the best time to walk amongst the wreckage and experience the forgotten history of the Sujameco.
Photo by Basil Pittenger
Photo by Steven Michael
Horsfall Beach is nestled within the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area along the picturesque Southern Oregon Coast of Oregon. The park offers amazing ocean views and cool breezes, just north of Coos Bay/North Bend.
Photo by Steven Michael
Photo by Steven Michael
Though the Horsfall Beach main parking lot is shared with the staging area for the park's off-road vehicle trails to the north, the beach to the south is often void of people and one can walk for miles in solitude. Don’t let the crowded parking lot in the summer scare you away.
Photo by Steven Michael
Photo by Steven Michael
PLEASE NOTE:
It is illegal in the US waters to remove items off or from a wreck without permits. In the US, the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1988 protects historic shipwrecks from treasure hunters and salvagers “by transferring the title of the wreck to the state whose waters it lies in.”
Take only pictures.
It is illegal in the US waters to remove items off or from a wreck without permits. In the US, the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1988 protects historic shipwrecks from treasure hunters and salvagers “by transferring the title of the wreck to the state whose waters it lies in.”
Take only pictures.
Photo by Steven Michael
