Shipwrecks
The area around Block Island has been the site of numerous shipwrecks, including the Steamer Larchmont in 1907 . The 1738 wreck of the Princess Augusta (also known as the Palatine ship) was later immortalized by John Greenleaf Whittier in his 1867 poem, "The Wreck of the Palatine", among whose verses the words "Circled by waters that never freeze, Beaten by billow and swept by breeze, Lieth the island of Manisees", have become well-known. Two submarines also sank off of Block Island: the United States Navy USS S-51 in 1925, and the German U-Boat U-853 in 1945. One shipwreck in particular sank in the 19th century just south of the southeast lighthouse. Its mast lies submerged approximately 4 feet below the water's surface. The area remains closed off to passing boats.
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Famous quotes containing the word shipwrecks:
“... overconfidence in one’s own ability is the root of much evil. Vanity, egoism, is the deadliest of all characteristics. This vanity, combined with extreme ignorance of conditions the knowledge of which is the very A B C of business and of life, produces more shipwrecks and heartaches than any other part of our mental make-up.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)