Shipwreck

Part of the Northwest Coast is often referred to as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” That's because it's home to thousands of shipwrecks. NWPB's Anna King talks with host Phineas Pope about our new short documentary, "Wrecked: Sinking Ships & Colliding Cultures on the Northwest Coast."

Historian Coll Thrush’s book titled “Wrecked” traces the history of iconic shipwrecks on the Pacific Northwest Coast and what impacts the wrecks have had on the Indigenous communities there.

There’s an old saying that a boat is simply a hole in the water into which you dump your cash. They can be cheap to buy, but are expensive to maintain, insure, berth, repair and operate. They age, they weather, they often sink. When they do, they create another kind of money hole. The solution? Recycling.

An Oregon-based group of shipwreck hunters wants to find the historic remains of the first steamship to provide service in the Puget Sound in the 1800's. The shipwreck search was inspired by one Port Townsend, Wash., man's obsession.