Papahanaumokuakea Shipwrecks and Dunnottar Castle
The three-masted 258-foot British iron hulled ship Dunnottar Castle was built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1874. She was lost at Kure Atoll on July 15th, 1886, while bound for California from Australia with a cargo of coal. A malfunctioning chronometer put the ship off course and onto the reef. When they ran aground, they spent hours tossing coal over side trying to lighten the ship. Though efforts were made to jettison the cargo and repair the damaged hull, the stricken vessel could not be re-floated, and the crew abandoned ship for the nearby deserted island. After abandoning the ship, the chief officer and six seamen took one of the boats and made a 52-day passage to Kauai. While they were gone, the majority of the 28-man crew were rescued from the island.
Discovery of the site came by accident while transiting through the lagoon. The Dunnottar Castle lies adjacent to a shoal area in the vicinity of the atoll reef, accessible only in calm weather. The initial dive revealed the flattened and broken but nearly complete remains of a late 19th-century tall sailing ship, with iron hull and steel yards and masts. Many of the wooden components, loose materials and organic fabrics have been swept away, but the heavier elements remain. Large sections of iron hull plate, iron frames, rigging, masts, auxiliary steam boiler, keelson, anchors, windlasses, winches, capstans, davits, rudder and steering gear, cargo hatches, bow sprit, hawse pipes, chain locker, ballast stone, deadeyes, chains, stringers, bitts, ladders etc. are fixed in place on the sea bottom.
The wreck site today is the home for many species of fish and invertebrates, and like the special natural resources that surround it, the site deserves the protection and preservation provided by the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. Appreciation of this heritage resource, a time capsule from the days of the tall ships, is a part of our larger ocean stewardship.
Papahanaumokuakea Shipwrecks and Corsair
In addition to ships found submerged in the waters of Papahanaumokuakea, planes have also been discovered. Records of naval aircraft losses in Hawaiian waters from 1925 to 1952 lists 1,485 entries. F4U Corsairs comprise 204 of these 1,485 entries, and six of those are specifically noted as lost at Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The number of naval aircraft lost in the Hawaiian Islands is a testimony to the logistical effort and commitment of the nation during the development of aviation in the Pacific. By far, most of these losses reflect the hazards of training and non-combat operations. Many young pilots found themselves in intensive training operations over unfamiliar waters, and were forced to ditch due to engine failure, etc.
Many regard the Vought F4U Corsair as the best single-seat fighter plane in World War II. The plane’s distinctive bent-wing design allowed the use of an over-sized propeller, and combined with a powerful radial engine this produced a maximum air speed of 425 mph at 19,900 feet altitude. Searching for the identity of a Corsair aircraft south of Midway Atoll’s Sand Island provides a glimpse into the history of naval aviation in the Pacific. While documenting the spaces within and underneath the fuselage and wing sections and inside the landing gear recesses the survey team found that these areas provide a wide variety of fish species a wealth of habitats in which to shelter. The remains of the Corsair are the only conspicuous topographic feature on the relatively flat bottom at its 110-foot plus depth.
In 2002, a team of NOAA maritime archaeologists investigated the site of a Corsair at Kure Atoll. Divers noticed an aluminum aircraft starboard wing portion and debris located on the seafloor, as well as an encrusted machine gun nearby. The US Navy aviation database includes only two known Corsair losses at Kure Atoll, both related to the same incident on August 1, 1944. Both crashed in the water on the south of Kure Atoll with no loss of life.
Papahanaumokuakea Shipwrecks and Churchill
Within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, at French Frigate Shoals, is the site of the possible shipwreck Churchill. The four-masted Schooner Churchill was built in North Bend, Oregon, and launched in April, 1900 by shipwright Asa Meade Simpson, and was known to have been lost in the area in 1917.
While the identity of the ship has not yet been determined conclusively, diagnostic artifacts at the site, including parts of the windlass, three large iron anchors, ship’s pumps, and numerous blocks and rigging components, appear consistent with the 178-foot, 600-ton Schooner Churchill. Anchors, rigging, pumps and deck equipment all correspond to the Churchill’s size and construction.
The Churchill was carrying a cargo of copra (the dried meat or nut of the coconut) from Nukualofa, Tonga, to Seattle, Washington, when she ran aground on a reef at French Frigate Shoals on Sept. 27, 1917. All members of her 12-man crew were rescued by a nearby vessel.
Papahanaumokuakea and Nihoa Island
Nihoa Island is located at the southeastern end of Papahanaumokuakea, about 170 acres in size, with 900 foot cliffs, basalt rock surface, and a tiny beach. This remote land of rugged cliffs and steep valleys provided a home for Hawaiians between A.D. 1000 and A.D. 1700. More than 80 cultural sites have been discovered, including religious shrines, habitation terraces and shelters, agricultural terraces, and burial caves. Many of the mea makamae (cultural objects) and structures associated with these wahi pana (cultural places) are similar to many found throughout the Main Hawaiian Islands. Artifacts found included fishhooks, sinkers, cowry shell lures, hammerstones, grindstones, and adzes.
Even though the island’s rugged landscape may look uninhabitable, its rocky outcroppings support some of the most unique and varied insect, seabird, and plant life of all Papahanaumokuakea. Seventy-two terrestrial arthropods including giant crickets and earwigs, and two endemic landbirds, the Nihoa Finch (Telespyza ultima) and the endangered Nihoa Millerbird (Acrocephalus familiaris kingi), are found only on Nihoa. Several species of seabirds, such as terns, shearwaters, petrels, boobies, albatrosses, tropic birds, and frigate birds are also found here.
Endemic endangered plants include the Nihoa Fan Palm (Pritchardia remota), the only species of tree on the island, and the leguminous ‘Ohai Shrub (Sesbania tomentosa). The submerged coral reef habitat covers about 142,000 acres with seventeen species of stony corals documented. Small encrusting forms of the lobe coral, and rose coral colonies are the most common. Limu (algae), wana (sea urchin), and opihi (limpet) inhabit the shallow waters, while sharks and jacks hover in deeper waters offshore. The rare spotted knifejaw (Oplegnathus punctatus) is often seen at Nihoa. Nihoa also supports a small population of endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals.
Papahanaumokuakea Aerial View
In this aerial video you will experience the grandeur of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument from the air. From the flight deck of a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 you will tour the largest conservation area in the U.S.
Flying from Nihoa Island at the southeastern end of Papahanaumokuakea and continuing for 1200 miles over French Frigate Shoals, Laysan Island, Lisianski Island, Pearl & Hermes Atoll, Midway Atoll, to Kure Atoll, the northernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago, this video gives you a birds-eye view of tiny islands and atolls surrounded by the azure waters of the North Pacific.
Papahanaumokuakea Shipwrecks and Two Brothers
Three whaling ships have been reported shipwrecked at French Frigate Shoals: the Daniel Wood in 1867, the South Seaman in 1859, and the Two Brothers in 1822. Many are familiar with the fate of the Nantucket whaleship Essex, cited as the inspiration for Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. After the tragedy of the Essex, Captain George Pollard and other survivors endured a 95-day journey in small boats that resulted in sickness, starvation, and cannibalism.
Pollard was later given command of the whaleship Two Brothers, which headed towards newly discovered whaling grounds in the Pacific. Sailing in consort with the whaleship Martha, they encountered stormy weather in the vicinity of French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and stuck the reef in 15 feet of water. Survivors describe a wrecking event so violent and confusing that the sailors barely had the time to launch small boats and paddle away before the vessel became a complete loss on the reef. The crew found the Martha anchored in the lee of a fifty foot tall rock, now called La Perouse Pinnacle. The entire crew of Two Brothers was rescued and they headed back to Oahu.
In 2008, a team of NOAA maritime archaeologists made an exciting discovery of a large anchor in approximately 15 feet of water near French Frigate Shoals. Then they discovered try pots, another large anchor, hundreds of bricks, hawsepipes, remains of standing rigging, blubber hooks, grinding wheel, kedge anchor, and cast iron pots. In 2010 the team uncovered an incredible collection of whaling tools on the sea floor, including whaling harpoon tips, whaling lances, ceramics, glass, and a sounding lead that all date to the 1820s. The evidence suggested that they were looking at the Two Brothers, the only American whaler lost at French Frigate Shoals in the 1820s.
The Two Brothers still remains on the seafloor at French Frigate Shoals within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. This and other American whaling ships lost in Papahānaumokuākea are the material remains of a time when America possessed over 700 whaling vessels and over one fifth of the United States whaling fleet may have been composed of Pacific Islanders. The artifacts will become part of the Monument’s maritime heritage exhibit at the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center in Hilo.
