Mallows Bay Virtual Paddle

<i>Benzonia</i> was built as part of the WWI shipbuilding effort to provide cargo vessels quickly, but ultimately was never fully utilized to this end. Although not highlighted for the work it accomplished, <i>Benzonia</i> is now an excellent example of the unpredictable and awesome force of nature. In 2003, the remains of <i>Benzonia</i> were lifted on top of another USSB wreck, <i>Caribou</i>, during hurricane Isabel. Overtime, vessels have shifted from their original positions of 1929, due to seasonal current changes and weather patterns, but the <i>Benzonia</i> wreck may be the most striking among the Ghost Fleet.
<br><br>Click here to learn more:&nbsp;<a href="https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/shipwrecks/benzonia.html" target="" rel="">https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/shipwrecks/benzonia.html</a>

<span>Caribou is a Ferris-type wooden cargo vessel built by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Co., South Jacksonville, Florida, for the United States Shipping Board. Ferris-type ships like Caribou were built for the U.S. Emergency Fleet between 1917-1919 as part of America’s engagement in World War I. Their construction at more than 40 shipyards in 17 states reflected a massive wartime effort that drove the expansion and economic development of communities and related maritime services. Although nearly 300 wooden warships were built, the war ended before the ships could be used. Many of them were scuttled to the Potomac River for the purpose of salvaging scrap metal, such as engines, steam boilers, and propellers. They became known as the Ghost Fleet, which was partially dismantled through three separate shipbreaking and metal salvage periods from the 1920s through the 1940s. </span>

This site is considered to be among the best preserved wooden steamship wrecks in the sanctuary, with the propeller shaft tunnel as one of the most notably preserved features at the site. The propeller shaft has at least five shaft casing mounts still in place. Unfortunately however, due to its position on the outer tier of remaining vessel sites, this exposes the remains to frequently turbulent water conditions, and submersion during high tide, making it one of the most difficult to access. The hull has been in its present location since at least 1929.
<br><br>Click here to learn more about the vessel:&nbsp;<a href="https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/shipwrecks/aowa.html" target="" rel="">https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/shipwrecks/aowa.html</a>

<i>Namecki </i>is a Ferris built vessel, one of many that make up the Ghost Fleet. A Ferris built vessel gets its name from Theodore E. Ferris, a senior architect for the United States Shipping Board (USSB). The idea was to standardize these emergency ships with similar designs that could be built at yards all across the United States. Each Ferris ship measured approximately the same, 282 feet long, and grossing 2,556 tons. Four of these vessel types were built at the Tampa Dock Company, with <i>Namecki</i> being the first.
<br><br>To learn more about the vessel visit:&nbsp;<a href="https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/shipwrecks/namecki.html" target="" rel="">https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/shipwrecks/namecki.html</a>

Test Test

<i>Mono</i> was a Hough type built vessel, differing from the majority of Ferris type vessels that were built for the war effort. Edward S. Hough, a San Francisco naval architect devised a vessel design that was intended to be a maximum cargo carrier of simplest construction and was far more adaptable to use of young, yellow pine lumber than was the Ferris ship. Due to resource constraints, no fewer than eight basic wooden vessel types and one composite vessel type were utilized to produce the wooden emergency fleet vessels.
<br><br>Learn more about the vessel here:&nbsp;<a href="https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/shipwrecks/mono.html" target="" rel="">https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/shipwrecks/mono.html</a>

The story of <i>Yawah</i> may not be lengthy, but it is telling of the industrial boom that resulted due to the shortage of cargo vessels at the outset of the war. With the implementation of the U.S. Emergency Fleet Corporation, contract orders were sent out all across the country to build up the cargo fleet. Seemingly overnight, small towns with waterfront access were turned into massive shipyards. At the Shattuck Shipyard near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where <i>Yawah</i> was built, close to 8,000 workers came together, by rail from towns over, to work on these vessels. Laboring day and night, a sense of community and pride was felt by the workers.
<br><br>Learn more about the vessel here:&nbsp;<a href="https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/shipwrecks/yawah.html" target="" rel="">https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/mallows-potomac/shipwrecks/yawah.html</a>