A Name That Killed 21
The “Ariosto” struck a reef on Christmas
Eve, anil solely because of fright, her crew
needlessly was lost: 21 story of old Oc*r2i<*ok€»
retold.
Twenty-one persons literally were
scared to death off the North Caro¬
lina coast in 1899. Diamond Shoals,
the greatest area of quicksand in the
world, have demonstrated then power
to destroy and to kill, but on this oc¬
casion they destroyed and killed men
who were not in its embrace, nor
even anywhere near it. The luckless
seamen of the British Steamship "Ari¬
osto" went to death needlessly, and
they would have survived had it not
been for Diamond Shoals.
It happened this way.
In Rough Sea
The steamer, a stout schooner-
rigged tramp, was making its way up
the coast, bound for Norfolk. The eve¬
ning of December 23rd was clear but
hazy, and a spanking wind from the
southwest drove before it a very rough
sea. By midnight rain squalls were
passing over the ship, but all apparent¬
ly was well.
At 3:45 a. m. on Christmas Eve.
the telegraph bell brought Captain
R. R. Baines to the deck, where the
second mate shouted and pointed to
the sea. The vessel was entirely sur¬
rounded by "white water,” indicating
that the ship was in dangerously shal¬
low water.
Guessed His Position
Then Captain Baines made the fa¬
tal guess. Since he could not see land
nor a light, he thought lie had struck
the Diamond Shoals jutting out from
Cape Hatteras. The engines meantime
were working hard astern, but were
unable to arrest the forward motion
and in a moment the vessel took bot¬
tom, and began to bump and thump
heavily.
The crew of 30 was called on deck
and the rocket signals of distress were
fired. In a moment a red flash was
seen from the north, which the Cap¬
tain interpreted as meaning that as¬
sistance might come from that source.
He was right; what he had seen was
the red Coston signal of the life-sav¬
ing patrol.
By BILL SHAItl’i:
Meantime, the boat was being se¬
verely beaten against the bottom, and
the distraught captain, still thinking he
was on the Diamonds, feared the ship
would work off into one of the deep
holes and there founder. The heavy
seas breaking over the ship broke
away the three starboard lifeboats
and were constantly heeling the ship
over, making it likely that the boats
on the port side likewise would be
destroyed.
Abandons Ship
Therefore, after consultation with
the chief officer, it was decided to
launch the port boats.
It was a disastrous decision. The
"Ariosto" was not on the Diamonds.
15 miles from land, but some 15 miles
to the southwest, and close to the
Ocracokc Beach, which could not be
discerned through the darkness and
thick weather.
The captain had seen and correct¬
ly interpreted the signal from shore,
and, as events later proved, if the crew-
had simply stayed by the ship every
soul would have been rescued by the
life-saving (Coast Guard) crew, which
already was coming to the rescue.
The pinnace was manned by eleven
men who were instructed to clear the
ship and lay by until daylight. When
this boat was out of the way, the life¬
boat was put over and manned by 15
men. Now there were four men left
on the ship, including the captain, and
they made ready to join the 15 in the
lifeboat.
I.ucky Accident
Here occurred an accident which
saved the lives. Currents swept the
lifeboat away from the ship, and ap¬
parently it was not considered safe,
in the boiling sea. for her to approach
again.
Meantime, coast guardsmen kept
firing signal rockets to give assurance
that help was near, but by this time,
the boats were adrift and hard put to
keep afloat. The "Ariosto" herself was
still intact, and remained so for sev¬
eral days, an uncomfortable but safe
The map tells the story of the 21 who were “scared to death.” The “Ariosto’s”
master thought he was on the Diamonds (top arrow), whereas he actually was
15 miles southwest, right on the beach at OcracoKe, shown by lower arrow.
THE STATE. DECEMBER 22. 1951
