In the summer of 1881, residents of the small Icelandic village of Hafnir on the Reykjanes Peninsula awoke to an extraordinary sight on their coastline. Overnight, a massive ship had run aground between Hestaklettur and Þórshöfn, far larger than most vessels ever to approach Iceland. The abandoned vessel was the Jamestown, a sailing ship which would soon become legendary in the area for the unexpected fortune it delivered.
Cross-Atlantic ordeal and abandonment
The keel of Jamestown had been laid in Richmond, Maine, with its registration completed in 1880 after launching late in 1879. The ship set sail from Maine on 10 November 1880, carrying a large cargo of high-quality lumber destined for Liverpool. Even before departing, trouble began when four crew members deserted, a problem quickly followed by a broken windlass, which forced a stop in Eastport, Maine for urgent repairs.
Shortly after setting out across the Atlantic in the early winter, fierce storms battered the Jamestown off Ireland’s west coast. The ship’s rudder was torn away in the heavy seas, leaving it at the mercy of the waves for weeks. Eventually, Captain William E. Whitmore, his family, and the crew were rescued by the steamer Ethiopia at a position of 43.10°N, 22°W. The rescued group, 27 in all, reached Glasgow safely in February 1881. Meanwhile, the unmanned Jamestown drifted erratically across the North Atlantic until the early morning hours of 26 June, when it finally ran aground in Iceland.
A windfall for a wood-starved island
The stranded Jamestown was a remarkable event: at around four thousand tons, it was likely among the largest ships ever to make landfall in Iceland at that time. For generations, Iceland had suffered severe deforestation since Norse settlement in the 9th century, making timber a scarce and precious commodity. The cargo from the Jamestown became an unexpected bounty.
Local residents moved quickly to salvagethe lumber, dividing one third among those directly involved in the operation and auctioning the rest, which sold for about DKK 10,000 (a value equivalent to $62,000 in 2012). Much of the timber found new purpose across the Reykjanes Peninsula. Planks were used to build bridges and houses. In Sandgerði, at least one timber house still stands, Efra Sandgerði, today the home of the local Lions Club. Another house, the old Krókskot, was built and then rebuilt using timbers from the Jamestown shipment.
Even decades later, reminders of the ghost ship remain. In 2002, an anchor from the Jamestown was found near Hafnir and lifted ashore in 2008 by members of a local environmental group, Blái herinn. It now stands by Efra Sandgerði. Another anchor was discovered earlier and placed in front of the church at Hafnir, preserving the ship’s legacy in local memory.
Though its intended voyage was never completed, the Jamestown’s misfortune became a stroke of luck for coastal Icelanders, transforming a shipwreck into long-lasting materials and community landmarks.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- Wikipedia (Icelandic) in Icelandic
