 FORTUNA
The iron hulled three masted Italian bark Fortuna was built in 1869.
She was 193 feet long had a 33foot beam and displaced 983 gross
tons. On January 18, 1910 while en-route to New York with a cargo of
coal the Fortuna ran aground off Ship Bottom NJ. The life saving
station at Ship Bottom quickly responded and rescued her crew. The
bark was then pounded and salvaged until only her bare hull
remained. Shifting sand then buried the wreck. In 1983 while walking
the beach part of the Fortuna's anchor was found protruding from the
sand. The anchor was latter recovered and is now on display at the
village hall.
In 2010 I received the
following email and information
Hi Dan,
My name is Carole
Bradshaw, aka the Anchor Lady. When I googled Fortuna Anchor, your
website came up, and I was able to read a bit about the Fortuna.
Nice coverage, but not entirely correct. I was the one who found
the anchor in 1983 and spearheaded its recovery. I did extensive
research into the Fortuna, actually meeting with the 6-week old
baby who was rescued from the ship 73 years before. The part of
your story that is incorrect is that the Fortuna did not carry
coal. She did not have any cargo on board, only ballast of roofing
tiles that she loaded on in Marseille, France.
There was another
ship named Fortuna that wrecked in Ocean City, Delaware about the
same time. Perhaps that is the one that carried coal and the two
got confused. The media has printed the same error several times,
but that does not make it correct; only confusing.
So, thought you'd
like the opportunity to print the correct version of history.
Thanks.
Carole Bradshaw
Photo above :
Carole Bradshaw standing with the Fortuna anchor in January 2010,
on the 100th anniversary of the shipwreck. Anchor is 10' x 10',
weighing approx. 6000 lbs.
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