Popular shipwreck on Outer Banks to remain awhile longer while its fate is decided
.jpeg "The Ocean Pursuit, also known as Cameron Scott, has been grounded long enough to become a tourist attraction and favorite spot for photographers.")
One of the Outer Banks most unlikely tourist attractions — a half-sunk fishing vessel — could be around longer than originally expected.
When the Ocean Pursuit ran aground last year, Cape Hatteras National Seashore reported the unlucky owner was being pushed to come up with “a time frame for removing the vessel,” McClatchy News previously reported.
That was 14 months ago. Now, a different plan is being considered.
“Cape Hatteras National Seashore is evaluating costs associated with the removal of the derelict vessel and looking into funding opportunities to pay for its eventual removal,” National Park Service officials told McClatchy News this week.
“Cape Hatteras ... is not considering keeping the vessel on the beach.”
No deadline has been given, which is likely fine with tourists.
The 72-foot-long boat has become a major park attraction and hot topic on social media, with visitors sharing photos and updating its accessibility (the wreck is sometimes swamped) via an #oceanpursuit Facebook page.
Even more surprising, the wreck has evolved into a centerpiece for countless art and video projects, family portraits and even advertisements.
Park rangers became so worried over the heavy foot traffic last year that they posted signs telling people not to enter the wreck, which has continued to settle deeper into the sand.
Outer Banks photographer Wes Snyder is the wreck’s biggest devotee, having posted a series of time-lapse videos on YouTube that have gotten tens of thousands of views.
“Shipwrecks are such an integral part of the history here,” Snyder says. “Each time I visit the Ocean Pursuit, it always feels like I’m ‘discovering’ it all over again. The landscape and ship is so different every time. It’s new all over again.”
The scallop vessel ran aground 50 yards off Bodie Island for unexplained reasons on March 1, 2020, and its crew was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. Wave action pushed it closer to shore, where in the months since it hit bottom.
Part of the site’s allure is the region’s reputation as “The Graveyard of the Atlantic,” where hundreds of vessels have met their demise in the rough currents and shifting sands. The Ocean Pursuit is considered the latest of those wrecks, several of which are buried in the sands of Outer Banks beaches.
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 12:12 PM with the headline "Popular shipwreck on Outer Banks to remain awhile longer while its fate is decided."