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Shipwrecks of the Delaware Coast: Tales of Pirates, Squalls & Treasure
Discover the thrilling, mysterious history of the shipwrecks found beneath the waves of Rehoboth Beach. Under the hot summer sun, vacationers stroll the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk, chewing saltwater taffy and listening to the gulls' raucous cackle. Few realize that under the sparkling water rests a graveyard. Horrific nor'easters, treacherous shoals and simple human error caused the demise of countless ships, giving birth to legends of treasure and terror. There is De Braak, rumored to hold millions of dollars in gold; the Mohawk, which burned like a torch in the Delaware Bay; and the vessels that fell victim to the Great White Hurricane, which froze dead men to the mast. Journey with local author Pam George as she deftly picks her way through the history of Delaware's most intriguing and mysterious shipwrecks.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
128 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2010
11 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 13, 2019
Following up on my trip to the DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum that I wrote about last month, I wanted to learn more about local shipwrecks and pirates, what better way than to find a book written just about that subject by a familiar local author, Pam George. Many of you may have read her food articles in Delaware Today and Delaware Beach Life. This is her first book.
Under the hot summer sun, vacationers stroll the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk, chewing salt water taffy and listening to the gulls’ raucous crackle. Few realize that under the sparkling water rests a graveyard. Horrific nor’easters, treacherous shoals and simple human error caused the demise of countless ships, giving birth to the legends of treasures and terror. There is De Braak, rumored to hold millions of dollars in gold; the Mohawk, which burned like a torch in the Delaware Bay; and the vessels that fell victim to the Great White Hurricane, which froze dead men to the mast. This is the journey of the author as she deftly picks her way through the history of Delaware’s most intriguing and mysterious shipwrecks.
There is information on Coin Beach, lighthouses, life-saving stations and tales of many of the ships that are buried off the local coast, some of which were slightly familiar but most I knew nothing about. Much research was done to bring together this book. There is an interesting section on the lightship Overfalls and stories of military ship casualties from the War of 1812 to World War II. The accounts of the countless rescues in unbelievable conditions by the heroic men in the lifesaving stations is what captivated me the most. I was disappointed, though, that there was not enough about pirates, sunken treasure nor the efforts to recover them. This book is in its fourth printing so many people find the subject material interesting. Guess I will need to continue my search. A trip to the Indian River Life Saving Station seems like the logical next visit!
Under the hot summer sun, vacationers stroll the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk, chewing salt water taffy and listening to the gulls’ raucous crackle. Few realize that under the sparkling water rests a graveyard. Horrific nor’easters, treacherous shoals and simple human error caused the demise of countless ships, giving birth to the legends of treasures and terror. There is De Braak, rumored to hold millions of dollars in gold; the Mohawk, which burned like a torch in the Delaware Bay; and the vessels that fell victim to the Great White Hurricane, which froze dead men to the mast. This is the journey of the author as she deftly picks her way through the history of Delaware’s most intriguing and mysterious shipwrecks.
There is information on Coin Beach, lighthouses, life-saving stations and tales of many of the ships that are buried off the local coast, some of which were slightly familiar but most I knew nothing about. Much research was done to bring together this book. There is an interesting section on the lightship Overfalls and stories of military ship casualties from the War of 1812 to World War II. The accounts of the countless rescues in unbelievable conditions by the heroic men in the lifesaving stations is what captivated me the most. I was disappointed, though, that there was not enough about pirates, sunken treasure nor the efforts to recover them. This book is in its fourth printing so many people find the subject material interesting. Guess I will need to continue my search. A trip to the Indian River Life Saving Station seems like the logical next visit!
October 5, 2018
I had no idea the Delaware coast is exceptionally hazardous. That's just one if the many things I learned.
This book was interesting for me because the names if towns and beaches are all so familiar. I've personally been to most of them.
The writing isn't very good, but not poor enough to really turn me off. And shipwrecks are not the most interesting subject to me. Still, I've always been fascinated by the sea and I really did learn a lot of regional lore.
This book was interesting for me because the names if towns and beaches are all so familiar. I've personally been to most of them.
The writing isn't very good, but not poor enough to really turn me off. And shipwrecks are not the most interesting subject to me. Still, I've always been fascinated by the sea and I really did learn a lot of regional lore.
January 3, 2026
My library only had one option available on Libby that was a nonfiction about Delaware and it was an unsolved true crime from the early 1900s. That's not really my jam. I love true crime, but only when I see the bad guy get his just deserts. I don't want to read about the unsolved murder of a child. So I explored some more and found this one on Kindle Unlimited.
Part of the reason for my Read the States project is to expand my knowledge and read about different topics so I was happy to try this one. And I really liked it. I'm not super into maritime history, but the author got me thinking "I need to go to Delaware and visit all these maritime museums." Haha! That's when you know it's a good book - it's a topic you've never really thought it about, but the author makes it fascinating.
I loved the way the author divided it up into different types of shipwrecks - weather, crashes, mysteries. It was a good balance.
Swanandael was the first European settlement in Delaware. It was a Dutch settlement, but when the Dutch returned, they found bones scattered everywhere and all the buildings burned to the ground. I was thinking about how there is so much history I don't know. We all hear about Roanoke, but I've never heard of this settlement. Delaware is also known as the "First State" because its delegates were the first to ratify the Constitution.
Swanandael was built where Lewes is now, which is where a lot of these shipwrecks happened. It's near Henlopen State Park. (Another place I'd now like to go.) It's right at the entrance to Delaware Bay where ships turn to head up to Philadelphia, so it gets a lot of traffic.
In the beginning Lewes was attacked many times by pirates. Residents were encouraged to always keep weapons at the ready. That was another section in the book - pirates. Which is always a gem.
This is dumb, but I learned what a "breakwater" is. This is what happens when you don't grow up near the ocean. Haha! A lot of the shipwrecks were actually caused by the breakwaters. Ships would anchor there but then storms would come and all the ships were too close and would start bangin into each other. There were some seriously gnarly storms that came through and caused massive disasters.
One of the storms was in March 1888. I remember reading about that storm before, in relation to what it did to New York. Literally people freezing in the streets. This book focused on what happened to the ships anchored at the breakwater. There were over fifty ships and pretty much all were destroyed. Men were clinging to the rigging trying to survive. The Lewes and Cape Henlopen life saving stations were able to rescue 178 people. They tried to get out to the men earlier, but were crawling on their hands and knees in the storm and had to turn back.
But the ninety-mile-per-hour winds spewed cutting snow, sand and freezing rain into their face so viciously that they crawled back to the station house on their hands and knees.
One of the most fascinating things for me was learning about the history of the life saving stations and how they enacted rescues. I was completely enthralled by the Lyle gun and breeches buoy. The author did such an awesome job describing it that when I looked it up on YouTube, it was exactly what I had been picturing. Go check it out! It's really amazing. It's incredible that they could save multiple ment this way. All of these stations were eventually part of the Coast Guard.
Some of the shipwrecks were actually caused by u-boats. I never really think about u-boats patrolling that close to our coast.
I really would love to go to Delaware and see all these places that were mentioned in the book. One of the museums is at one of the old life saving stations. That would be so cool to see. It's called the Indian River Life Saving Station Museum.
It's kind of incredible to me how many shipwrecks were happening. And this book was only about a few them just near Delaware. Though, Delaware Bay was particularly dangerous. It had dangerous shoals. There were "pilot boats" at the entrance that would meet ships coming in and a pilot would hop on board and help the ships navigate through the bay.
The worst shipwrecks were the ones where when ships ran into each other. It seems like it was always because someone wasn't paying attention. So many people died. One ship was on its first run and carrying a ton of sugar.
The most "spectacular" shipwreck was the Thomas Tracy. A huge tanker that was driven onto Rehoboth Beach during a hurricane in 1944. The entire crew was rescued by the awesome breeches buoy. The ship sat on the beach for awhile and was eventually mostly salvaged, but there are still pieces under the sand and water.
This was an enjoyable book! I'm glad I came across it. Great stories and fascinating history.
Read the States
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2. Alaska
3. Arizona - A Walk in the Park 3 stars (Nov 2025)
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7. Connecticut - Yale Needs Women 4 stars (Nov 2025)
8. Delaware - Shipwrecks of the Delaware Coast 4 stars (Dec 2025)
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20. Maryland - The Yoga Store Murder 5 stars (Nov 2025)
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40. South Carolina - The Home Place 2 stars (Nov 2025)
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44. Utah - Supernatural Lore of Southern Utah 5 stars (Dec 2025)
Part of the reason for my Read the States project is to expand my knowledge and read about different topics so I was happy to try this one. And I really liked it. I'm not super into maritime history, but the author got me thinking "I need to go to Delaware and visit all these maritime museums." Haha! That's when you know it's a good book - it's a topic you've never really thought it about, but the author makes it fascinating.
I loved the way the author divided it up into different types of shipwrecks - weather, crashes, mysteries. It was a good balance.
Swanandael was the first European settlement in Delaware. It was a Dutch settlement, but when the Dutch returned, they found bones scattered everywhere and all the buildings burned to the ground. I was thinking about how there is so much history I don't know. We all hear about Roanoke, but I've never heard of this settlement. Delaware is also known as the "First State" because its delegates were the first to ratify the Constitution.
Swanandael was built where Lewes is now, which is where a lot of these shipwrecks happened. It's near Henlopen State Park. (Another place I'd now like to go.) It's right at the entrance to Delaware Bay where ships turn to head up to Philadelphia, so it gets a lot of traffic.
In the beginning Lewes was attacked many times by pirates. Residents were encouraged to always keep weapons at the ready. That was another section in the book - pirates. Which is always a gem.
This is dumb, but I learned what a "breakwater" is. This is what happens when you don't grow up near the ocean. Haha! A lot of the shipwrecks were actually caused by the breakwaters. Ships would anchor there but then storms would come and all the ships were too close and would start bangin into each other. There were some seriously gnarly storms that came through and caused massive disasters.
One of the storms was in March 1888. I remember reading about that storm before, in relation to what it did to New York. Literally people freezing in the streets. This book focused on what happened to the ships anchored at the breakwater. There were over fifty ships and pretty much all were destroyed. Men were clinging to the rigging trying to survive. The Lewes and Cape Henlopen life saving stations were able to rescue 178 people. They tried to get out to the men earlier, but were crawling on their hands and knees in the storm and had to turn back.
But the ninety-mile-per-hour winds spewed cutting snow, sand and freezing rain into their face so viciously that they crawled back to the station house on their hands and knees.
One of the most fascinating things for me was learning about the history of the life saving stations and how they enacted rescues. I was completely enthralled by the Lyle gun and breeches buoy. The author did such an awesome job describing it that when I looked it up on YouTube, it was exactly what I had been picturing. Go check it out! It's really amazing. It's incredible that they could save multiple ment this way. All of these stations were eventually part of the Coast Guard.
Some of the shipwrecks were actually caused by u-boats. I never really think about u-boats patrolling that close to our coast.
I really would love to go to Delaware and see all these places that were mentioned in the book. One of the museums is at one of the old life saving stations. That would be so cool to see. It's called the Indian River Life Saving Station Museum.
It's kind of incredible to me how many shipwrecks were happening. And this book was only about a few them just near Delaware. Though, Delaware Bay was particularly dangerous. It had dangerous shoals. There were "pilot boats" at the entrance that would meet ships coming in and a pilot would hop on board and help the ships navigate through the bay.
The worst shipwrecks were the ones where when ships ran into each other. It seems like it was always because someone wasn't paying attention. So many people died. One ship was on its first run and carrying a ton of sugar.
The most "spectacular" shipwreck was the Thomas Tracy. A huge tanker that was driven onto Rehoboth Beach during a hurricane in 1944. The entire crew was rescued by the awesome breeches buoy. The ship sat on the beach for awhile and was eventually mostly salvaged, but there are still pieces under the sand and water.
This was an enjoyable book! I'm glad I came across it. Great stories and fascinating history.
Read the States
1. Alabama - Alabama's Weird Borders 2 stars (Dec 2025)
2. Alaska
3. Arizona - A Walk in the Park 3 stars (Nov 2025)
...
7. Connecticut - Yale Needs Women 4 stars (Nov 2025)
8. Delaware - Shipwrecks of the Delaware Coast 4 stars (Dec 2025)
...
20. Maryland - The Yoga Store Murder 5 stars (Nov 2025)
...
40. South Carolina - The Home Place 2 stars (Nov 2025)
...
44. Utah - Supernatural Lore of Southern Utah 5 stars (Dec 2025)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews