Sibyl Marston was a wooden schooner cargo ship built by W. A. Boole & Son of Oakland, California and belonging to the Sibyl Marston Co.[1] Sibyl Marston sank off the coast of Lompoc, California on 12 January 1909.
Sibyl Marston as of 24 February 2010.
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History | |
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Owner | Sibyl Marston Co. |
Builder | W. A. Boole & Son |
Launched | 29 June 1907 |
Fate | Sank 12 January 1909 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 1,020 GRT (est.) |
Length | 215 ft (66 m) |
Propulsion | 800hp oil burning triple expansion |
On 12 January 1909, Sybil Marston, the largest steam schooner built on the United States West Coast, struck the rocks near Surf Beach, California and ran aground in a storm. She was carrying 1,100,000 board feet (3,000 m3) of lumber. Two crew members were killed in the disaster.[2]
Shortly after the Sybil Marston disaster, Lompoc residents salvaged the lumber and used it to begin a town lumberyard. Several houses built in Lompoc used lumber from the shipwreck.[3]
Surf Beach and its adjoining coastal area was a dangerous place for ship travel in the time before radar navigational systems made seafaring safer. There are about 30 recorded shipwrecks along the Surf Beach coast.
The shipwreck is located 1 mile (2 km) south of the Surf Amtrak Station in Lompoc.
34°39′13″N 120°37′03″W / 34.653474°N 120.61747°W