The Graveyard of the Atlantic ocean

[Doc Vernon]

The Graveyard of theAtlantic ocean




On Diamond Shoalswith all its dreads, This September three years ago, There's aflashing buoy and a ship painted red.


A tropicalhurricane swept this coast. With radio beacon sending out its code
This gallant shipwas tried and found true; To guide great ships on their ocean road.


It battled the stormthe long night through. Just four miles in from our anchorage groundIt was driven in before wind and waves, Lies the treacherous spotwhere hundreds have drowned. And twice it crossed the sailors'graves.


From the deck ofour ship we can see the great light The storm died down and changedits course; From the tower of Cape Hatteras shining out so bright. Itwas again driven out with an awful force. It has marked the spot fromdays of old The weary crew were weak and worn,


Where ships havegone down in numbers untold. Some were bleeding, some were torn. Whenthe storms sweep in from the mighty deep, They threw the lead theirdepths to find, When most of the world is fast asleep.


They had left OldDiamond far behind. There's a man on watch with our lives in hishands; Their loved ones on whore were creased with worry and frowns.He's watching and looking for the dangers we stand. Were expecting tohear that their loved ones were drowned.
When ships passingby approach us too close, But we are thankful for a guiding hand Fourblasts on the whistle calls each man to his post. That brought ussafely in to land. With life belts around us, on deck we stand,Subject to orders at the Skipper's command.

[Ian Adrian Millar]

As an aside: The Diamond Shoals lightship No. 71 was attacked and sunk by the U-140 (Waldemar Kophamel) during World War I. Kophamel allowed the crew of the lightship to get away in a lifeboat along with survivors of the American cargo ship S/S MERAK. He sank the lightship with gunfire. Lots of tonnage sunk in this area by the Germans in WW II as well.

[Graham Shaw]

A lovely evocative poem. Cape Hatteras.I've traversed that coast frequently in the seventies between East Coast ports and Gulf of Mexico. Not much of a radar target on that coast ,and in the days before Satnav (we only got ours on our ships in about 1980) and with only a relatively complicated Loran C navaid system and a compulsory USCG chart to fart around with ,at the same time as trying to detect the busy up and down traffic,fishing vessels and days of constant low cloud and rain it could be just misery and worry for a day or so.
THE POEM-Link


(towards the end of the poem );- 'Their loved ones on whore were creased with worry and frowns.
He's watching and looking for the dangers we stand.
Were expecting to hear that their loved ones were drowned'


I would think the author didn't intend that word whore---it should be shore-what a difference a single letter can make--sack that proofreader !