Cutthroats Shipwrecks

40 1 40' 35' 35 1 30 1 30 1 ~ § }-. 25 1 25 1 h -o:::r:: ~ 20 1 20 1 15 1 15 1 SHIPWRECKS OFF 101 N HARDSCRABBLE ISLAND 101 Topographical depths in feet I I I I Lm 1bat1 • 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 10 1 15 1 20 1 25 1 30' 35 1 40' 45 1 50 1 INTRODUCTION FROM THE TIME IT WAS FO UNDED by Reverend Ezra Gladstone and his followers in 1692 until the decline of the fishing industry in the 1920s, Hardscrabble Harbor was an important port for the sailing ships of the world. Its deep channel offered sufficient draught for everything from sloops to the giant five-masters of the late nineteenth century. (Islanders who remember the Harbor's boom years say that at times there were more foreign sailors roaming the Wharf Road than there were Hardscrabble natives.) However, like any other seaport, Hardscrabble has its treacherous shoals and narrow straits. Consequently, a side effect of the great sea trade was a number of shipwrecks. This volume concerns four of the most famous vessels to go down in our waters: the Sao Vera, the H.M.S. Intransigent, The Fianna and the S. S. Leviathan. Many stories have sprung up over the years in regard to the fates of these ships. Some of these tales are based on fact; others are little more than strands in the fabric of local legend. By searching through the town archives (and in the case of the Leviathan, conducting interviews with survivors), we have endeavored to separate truth from fiction . While the subject of thi s book is one of tragedy and great loss of human life, we hope it will prove enlightening to the reader, as well as valuable to anyone who might wish to explore these old and …