Visitors to Horsfall Beach were treated to an extraordinary view this week of the remains of the steamship Sujameco that ran aground in March of 1929 in heavy fog. High seas and low tides each winter help to expose portions of the shipwreck; but conditions this year have exposed the shipwreck from bow to stern- allowing visitors to catch the best views in years.
If you are visiting the Southern Oregon Coast this week- be sure to go by and see this piece of history for yourself! To get there from North Bend: proceed north 1.5 miles to Transpacific Lane. Turn left and proceed 1 mile, turning right across railroad tracks. Travel 100 feet, turning right on Horsfall Beach Road. Proceed 3 miles to the Horsfall Beach Campground & Day Use Area. The site of the Shipwreck is right by the last parking lot.
The Sujameco ran aground in 1929....Photo from the Coos County Historical Museum
View of the Sujameco Shipwreck now....Image Credit: KVAL- CBS 13
Here is a bit of history about the wreck. To learn more about this and our other famous shipwrecks visit the Coos County Historical Museum
From The Wreck of the Sujameco story by Ann Koppy
…Submarine Boat Corporation of Newark, New Jersey designed and constructed the Sujameco for their fleet in 1920, but she was under charter to Transmarine Line, New York when she stranded. The 324′ Sujameco had left Newark in January. She was bound from San Francisco to Coos Bay in ballast with a crew of 32 men and officers…..
Captain John F. Carlson reported his position as fifty miles north of Cape Arago. Nevertheless, the U.S. Compass Station, a direction finder facility, reckoned he was close to the shoreline and advised him to change course. By then, the vessel was already in shallow water and couldn’t turn. She ran headfirst into the breakers and stayed in that position for eighteen hours. Waves then turned her broadside; she came to rest on the sandy beach, her bow pointing south. Captain Carlson later claimed he had steamed past the bar in thick fog, turned around, and was maneuvering south at full speed when the ship went aground….
The saga dragged on for several weeks…Most of the crew remained aboard for the duration, homesick and weary…..Finally, Lloyds of London, the underwriter, took over. The insurer had spent about $150,000 before selling the wreckage to Pacific Salvage Company in May.
The firm removed the engine, boilers, and everything else of value and left the hull to time and tide.
Much of the remainder was cut up for scrap metal during World War II to aid the war effort. Today, the site is easily accessible from the parking lot at Horsfall Beach in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. A short walk over the dune leads directly to this lonely, mute reminder of the hazards of coastal shipping.