Legendary shipwreck's 300th anniversary to be marked in York

Scott E. Kinney -

A strong winter storm cast the crew of the Nottingham Galley on the rocky shore of Boon Island.

Fourteen men huddled together under a makeshift tent created from one of the ship's sails. Boon Island, a barren rock, lent little shelter or warmth during the December storm. There was no firewood and nothing to eat.

The men clustered together seeing the distant lights of what is now York a mere six miles away, but with no means to reach them.

The shipwreck of the Nottingham Galley is among the better known tales of sailing disaster in New England maritime history.

In December 1710, the ship was bound for Boston from the British Isles, carrying its cargo of cordage, butter and cheese, when it was caught in a fierce Atlantic storm.

The crew members that would survive spent more than three weeks together on the rock.

"It's part of a ledge that is largely submerged," said Jeremy D'Entremont, president of the American Lighthouse Association. D'Entremont has written extensively about the wreck, the island as well as the lighthouse that is located there.

"There's absolutely nothing there. It's completely barren. There is not a speck of vegetation on it."

As a result, no fire for heat or cooking could be made. The men managed to salvage some of the cheese, which served to keep them sustained for a short time, said D'Entremont. The survivors moved on to seaweed and mussels after that. At some point during their stranding, a "green" animal hide washed up on the rock, which the men summarily cut up and ate.

One of the crew members killed a sea gull, which also was eaten. But all of that, and the cheese, was not enough sustenance for the Nottingham Galley's survivors.

Two of the men died from exposure while stranded on the island, and one was cannibalized in order for the others to survive.

"Legend has it that the ship's cook was the one who was eaten because it provided a good irony," said Richard Bowen, Program Specialist with the York Historical Society. But actually, he added, "the ship's carpenter was the one whose body was cannibalized."

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