Postcards from Friends and Family: Fall Color

 

Postcards from Friends and Family: Alaska

 

Postcards from Friends and Family: New Mexico

 

Kayaking among the Ghost Ships at Kiptopeke State Park in Virginia

 

A breakwater made out of eerie-looking ghost ships is at Kiptopeke State Park on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. Alisa and I went kayaking around the ghost ships this August. Lots of fishermen hang out around the ships because they attract all sorts of fish!

24 ships, built in Tampa by McClosky and Company, were named in honor of men who had made contributions in the field of  concrete: S.S. William Foster Cowham and S.S. Willis A. Slater, for instance. The ships measured an impressive 120 yards long and weighed nearly 5,000 tons. They were necessary for the greater war effort, hauling products from the Caribbean and supporting the war ships in the Pacific. Out in the Pacific, concrete ships were used as giant floating storage containers.

Once the war ended, the ships became obsolete overnight. The U.S. government parked them in various military bases around the country and basically put them in mothballs. 9 of these ships make up the breakwater at Kiptopeke, The Arthur Newell Talbot, the Edwin thacher, the Robert Whitman Lesley, the Willis A. Slater, the Leonard Chase Wason, the Richard Kidder Meade, the John Grant, the William Foster Cowham and the Willard A. Pollard.  

Pelican on top of the ship

Here at Kiptopeke the concrete ships served as a jetty to protect a ferry terminal against the ravages of weather. They towed ships from Norfolk and Beaumont, TX to create this breakwater. Once the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel was built in the 1960's, the ferry was no longer needed and this area became a State Park. 

The ships were quite smelly because of all the bird guano

There’s another, similar breakwater in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada and in Newport, OR

view from the boat launch looking out towards the ships

Amanda taking a photo of the Pelican on top of the ship

In the late 1940's when the ships were first put in place, one ferry director used the ships for a private drinks-and-poker club. Local teens would board the ships and explore  the crew cabins which were still fully furnished when they arrived at Kiptopeke. There were even plans at one time, to build interpretive platforms over some of the ships that would allow visitors to stand above them.

View from the Kayak and Boat Launch

For more information about the ships and historical photos of their activity during wartime and when first placed here as a breakwater this is a great blog about them: 

 http://www.abandonedcountry.com/2013/05/06/kiptopekes-concrete-ships-a-long-journey-to-obscurity/

Also this is a great site about concrete ships in general

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/maritime-history-notes-ships-of-concrete