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Sandlocked Shipwreck of the Retriever (11 of 12)
The Retriever's wheelhouse and rigging protrude from wind sculpted sand on Unimak Island, 2008.
Photo by: Erin and Hig, Ground Truth Trekking
We spotted the superstructure of the Retriever protruding into the blowing mists from a sea of sand. Along with Eric, who had joined us for this leg, we explored the wheelhouse and climbed to the crows nest. The Alaska Marine National Wildlife Refuge has documented this shipwreck, apparently a landing craft stranded in 1988. They record the stranding as several miles further east, so it may be that the boat was washed along the shore before its final resting place. This ship is stranded in sand near the mouth of an unnamed river that drains Shishaldin and Isanotski Volcanoes, which carries huge volumes of sediment to the ocean every year. It may be that the shore will continue to build out here, and that eventually this boat will rust away as it is overgrown in alder and tundra.
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