''Eldia'' was a steel freighter which was blown ashore in East

Orleans, Massachusetts Orleans ( ) is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, situated along Cape Cod. The population was 6,307 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Orleans, ...

on March 29, 1984. The ship, which was owned by the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

company Thenamaris Inc. and registered in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, was refloated two months later by the salvage company Donjon Marine who received title to the ship as payment. A year later the ship was scrapped.

Circumstances of wreck

After delivery of its load of Colombian sugar in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

''Eldia'' was hit by a storm delivering winds. This storm was part of a period of extreme weather which caused President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

to pledge federal disaster relief. Running for the open sea without cargo or ballast, and therefore riding high on the waves, ''Eldia'' was unable to match the strength of the storms. Her captain, Ernesto Garces, was also hampered by her lack of contemporary electronic technology for monitoring the weather, which had enabled other ships in the area to anticipate the problems that would come with the storm and take appropriate action; all he could do was monitor radio broadcasts. He attempted to bring the ship under control but was forced onto Nauset Beach at around 4pm. Two hours later the ship was abandoned by its crew of 23 Filipinos, who were rescued by a helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod. Due to the ease of access to the area

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

residents crowded to see the sight when the weather improved. One estimation is that approximately 150,000 did so. The town collected US$81,693 by charging $2 a day for visitors' car parking, and many businesses conducted a lot of additional trade during this curious period. The wreck was drawn back off the beach on May 17, 1984, taken to a scrapyard in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

and then on to another at

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. The ship was reportedly cut up in either 1985 or 1989.

Archive material

The Orleans public library maintains a collection of memorabilia related to ''Eldia'' including photos, accounts and official records. A local coffeehouse and market in East Orleans was named after the famous ship but was closed in 2006. The original owners of the shop donated their collection of ''Eldia'' images, original paintings, newspaper articles and personal accounts to the Orleans Historic Society.

Former names

*''Wakabasan Maru'' - 1966 to 1973 *''Ellinora'' - 1973 to January 24, 1981 *''John'' - 1981 to November 21, 1982

References

External links

''Salvage of the Eldia''
at YouTube.com
Location of grounding
on Google Maps {{coord, 41.78274, N, 69.93433, W, type:landmark_source:enwiki, display=title 1966 ships Shipwrecks of the Massachusetts coast Maritime incidents in 1984 Orleans, Massachusetts History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts 1984 in Massachusetts