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Somewhat Strange Shipwreck Tale from Central Oregon Coast, near Depoe Bay, Videos

Published 09/02/22 at 8:05 PM PST
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

Somewhat Strange Shipwreck Tale from Central Oregon Coast, near Depoe Bay, Videos

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(Depoe Bay, Oregon) – There's truly more to one Oregon coast shipwreck than what it left behind. It's really quite a weird shipwreck tale, and with a fair amount of tragedy as well. (Photo Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Near Depoe Bay, Boiler Bay is a double-edged sword of scenic wonders and rather extreme dangers. There are two parts to Boiler Bay, really: one is the headland with a large, grassy area and gobs of scenic delights; the other is a tiny, chaotic cove.

It's in that cove area, just slightly north of the state park, where the boiler of the J. Marhoffer lies, often going unnoticed by visitors to the central Oregon coast spot. Yet it's famous enough, and there's plenty of curiosity on what happened there and why it was dropped in that spot.

The J. Marhoffer crashed here in 1910 in a fiery blaze, but not before doing something even more spectacular and even strange: it whirled around in circles by itself, on fire. Once it crashed, the conflagration was visible for miles – and this was a time when horse 'n buggies still ruled the transportation world. Getting to the site took hours, especially in this situation as nighttime had fallen awhile ago.

All had to jump ship just before that boiler exploded, and all but one man survived. For a bit, it circled close to shore while aflame, with no one aboard - a kind of ghost ship that must have been a frightening sight to the men who'd just jumped.

It later slammed into the reefs here, breaking in two. It then did some other bizarre stunts.

There are numerous facts absolutely unknown to the majority of people who look into this. See the full story:

Boiler Bay and the J. Marhoffer Shipwreck: Oregon Coast History Part one of the story of the J. Marhoffer and Boiler Bay at Depoe Bay

Survivors of Shipwreck on Central Oregon Coast: Part 2 of Boiler Bay History (Video) just after the crew made landfall at was then called Big Cove, now known as Fogarty Beach

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Boiler Bay's northern cove, where the boiler resides, is extremely dangerous. Do not go down there during winter or even slightly high tides. Only in extreme low tides is the area safe. Several people have lost their lives there, including a teenage couple back in the early 2000s. MORE PHOTOS BELOW

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