of the Graveyard of the Pacific

To gaze on these gray waters of the coasts of Oregon and Washington is to gaze on the final resting place of hundreds of men, women, and children, some crew and some passengers, lost when their ships sank in the cold, dark, treacherous waters of the Pacific Northwest. They rest in the unforgiving, merciless bosom of Davy Jones, who grants neither religious burials nor familial last goodbyes. They lived their final moments in terror and lie forgotten amongst the wreckage of their lost craft under a layer of silt that aids the departure of our memory. Only their sparse descendant relatives, if they had any, carry with them the heavy remembrance of these lost souls.  

The photos which I include here seem peaceful, even serene, but if this is the smile of these shores, imagine its fanged, growling countenance in stormy weather. Add to it the ever-shifting sandbars at the mouth of the Columbia, which must be bested to reach Portland, Oregon, and the swift currents and tumultuous waves, which only barely hide granite knives, along the Strait of Juan De Fuca, which leads to Seattle, Victoria, and Vancouver, not to mention hundreds of smaller ports along the endless coasts and islands of the Puget Sound. Many ships sank before even entering the strait itself, having come too close to Cape Flattery, the northwestern most point of the contiguous United States. 

Due to better technology and support, almost no more ships meet their end along these shores. Still, the seas remain treacherous and claim more lives every year. So when you sailors out there test these waters and your weather scanner tells you that a gale is coming, do not delay in your retreat, for Davy Jones does not care, whether you be rich or poor, man, woman, or child, sailor or no. He will endeavor to smash your ship upon the rocks and drag you to the deep, never to be seen again. Know this when you gaze upon these photos of Pacific Northwest Coast, with its crashing surf, jagged granite shorelines, rocky, small islands, and submerged stone reefs.

This entry was posted on February 27, 2007 at 8:51 pm and is filed under Travels in Natural Areas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.