The Wreck of the Barquentine ELMINA on Long Beach Island, NJ (1884) 

Look up the sinking of the USS S-5 submarine; it includes one of the best lines I've heard out of maritime history. Through a little hole the crew drilled through the stern sticking a few feet out of the water, nearly passed out from fumes and exertion the captain identified himself; "What ship is this?" "USS S-5" "Where are you bound?" "To hell by compass".

Gotta tell you, along Drachinifel, Casual Navigation, Central Crossing and Chief MAKOi; Tom and Emma's channel has fast become one of my favourites. No clickbait, no nonsense. Just pure history, research and knowledge. Thank you for sharing these lesser known stories.

The station crews risked their lives to save the crew and were unsuccessful. While this is ultimately a tragedy it is also a tale of bravery that the station crews kept trying to save the crew even at risk to their own lives. They were trying to save the lives of strangers who needed help.

I was born and raised in a landlocked city almost in the center of the U.S., so my knowledge of anything to do with maritime history is pretty scant. I stumbled upon one of your videos a few months ago that triggered my interest in the subject, and now I am hopelessly addicted. I have watched most of your videos now, and I am always totally enthralled with these stories. I must say that it is not just the subject matter alone, but the way in which you present it. You are very, very good at this! Thank you for generating a new interest for me. I am learning a lot!

A heartbreaking tale of maritime disaster & human tragedy. Very eloquent presentation. Thank you, Tom & Emma!

I grew up on LBI NJ. My mother's father was an assistant at Barnegat Lighthouse. The life saving building is in Beach Haven Terrace. The buildings are all still around. My friend Debbie owns the Maritime Museum in Beach Haven. You presented this story very well. Thank you.

Great mini-documentary, Tom and Emma! The illustrations/animations perfectly clarify the rescue story. The writing and storytelling imbue the narrative with the importance it deserves but never before received. Two things really stand out here: The heroism of folks willing to stand their ground on a stormy beach through the night to help strangers; and your ability to find, research and explain events that bring our own past so vividly to life. That requires any number of skills and damn hard work. It's been a pleasure to watch your productions evolve. I first stumbled across a video in which you hiked to an abandoned 19th century mountain hotel, which was charming and quirky. Not too long afterwards, you blew my tiny mind and made me cry with the tale of White Star's Atlantic. I like how you avoid repitition (and possibly burnout for yourselves,) with forays into Lego, liner artifacts, collaborations, and variations on your historical themes. Are either of you an actual historian? Because you seem to be. Thanks!

Well when listening to the closing of the video, with the deaths of these eight sailors being thrown in a four-pages report and then basically forgotten forever, one really has to appreciate what you have done here, researching and retelling this terrible story to tens of thousands of people on the internet... Including me, born and raised in the mountains, half a world away from Long Beach Island. The sea, the boats, were always foreign, mysterious, distant and unknown things for me, but my God is it a fascinating world! It has been a few months since I started to listen to your channel and other similar on RU-vid, and I really developed a very strong fascination for navigation and it's history. I really love your channel: your style in storytelling, all the effort you put in your videos, and also how you often bring us out on the terrain to tell us a story... It's a very special feeling, it really makes me feel like I want to visit and see this places. TLDR: Thank you 🙂

What a sad story! The illustrations and details really bring this tragedy to life. Years ago I bought my kids a book at a rummage sale called, "When Cape Cod Men Saved Lives." It's a book about firing the shot to the boat, sending the breaches buoy over and rescuing people and how men at the Cape Cod coast guard station and the men on the Cape before them worked to rescue the people on ships that were foundering close to shore. Somewhere I had another book about a young man on the Cape who worked a sailing ship until he fell from the rigging and hurt his shoulder. He couldn't work the sailing ship anymore, so he spent his life mapping out the changing sand bars under the coastal Cape waters which were ever changing. Ship Captains paid good money for those maps in order to keep their ships from being caught on the sand bars while sailing around Cape Cod for Boston. Thank you, Tom and Emma!

I love when obscure, very unknown historical events come to light! On a personal basis I found out quite recently I live very close to a site where, in 1858, a US Army Colonel and 700 troops butchered over 800 Indian horses to keep them from falling back into Indian hands. It took them two days to kill the horses (some of them had foals) and for years after you could find horse sculls along the river. The only thing that marks this event is a stone monument erected in 1946, directly north of where the horses were killed and on the spot where the troops had camped for the two days. I could easily walk to where the event happened and, if I wanted to, could metal detect where the troops set up camp. History consists of lots of little events that major historical events overshadow.

We trained to do the breeches bouy in sea scouts as a timed competition, today in going to do 38 mile sailboat race from Olympia WA. Thanks for the history lesson.

Truly fascinating. I used to spend idyllic summers as a child in the 1970's and 80's walking up and down this very stretch of beach where this happened in Beach Haven and Ship Bottom. Never heard a thing about it before this, never saw any plaques or anything to be sure. I wonder why history chose to forget what sounds like a great story of local heroism.

I absolutely love these slightly eerie, well-told stories about long gone shipwrecks. Especially ones that aren’t too widespread. Great video, well done!!

These videos and mini docs are truly so well done! Learn an incredible amount from this channel. The best source for maritime history out there online, hands down!

Keeping history alive your a gentleman and a scholar and I look forward to seeing more of your work sir

Thank you for your excellent documentaries - I happen to be from Salcombe in Devon in England where the Elmina was registered and I've been told by the curator of the town's Maritime Museum that they haver information on the Elmina in a local book. I'll pick this up and let you know if there is any relevant information.

Tom thanks for shedding light on this tragedy. I’m sure there are many stories like this that will never be retold. Hopefully you’ve got some more for us in the future. You’re doing a great service by sharing the heroism of these long dead men. And also the production quality on this video is really next level. You really one of the most underrated creators of this genre on RU-vid. I hope you get the recognition that these high quality videos deserve in the future. As always, I cannot wait to see what you have for all of us next brother! Keep up the good work!

Absolutely tragic😢Thank you for the remembrance of these souls and the brave men who fought to try to save them🌟

I've lived near LBI for most of my life and I have never heard about this wreck. Thanks so much! ❤🤝

Very glad I found your channel. Thank you for doing an amazing job of bringing to light these gems of maritime history.

Your videos are top notch. Excellent research and narration. You made me feel the anguish of the rescuers as they realized they had done all they could and it wasn't enough. Well done!

The way she was stuck in the surf with the survioirs just out of reach reminds me of the Atlantic

A tragic story for sure, but one that would have been forgotten entirely if not for you. You quite literally resurrected a piece of history man, thank you.

This is easily one of the best mini-documentaries I've seen on RU-vid, regardless of genre or subject. For a maritime history fan like me, this channel is a treasure chest.

thanks for bringing these men's stories back to the light for the first time in likely over a hundred years.

Resurrecting a long forgotten tale of tragedy.... How many other tales like this have been long forgotten?

A very well told story, which I found fascinating. A British lifeboat crewman recently said on our tv that, even though they know they've done all they possibly can, they feel it as personal failure if a shout ends unsuccessfully. Another one said that the Victorian lifesaving servicemen were the true heroes, compared to him and his crew. "With all the equipment we have, we know we're pretty certain to come home. They had guts, muscle, and very little else." Hats off, please, to all such people, then and now.

Another great story to hear of another disaster lost to history almost forgotten until now may the eight crew members rest in peace.

It’s always a pleasure to watch your videos and learn new things, keep up the great work !!

This video was as only 12 minutes yet it felt longer than that.The way you presented this tragic story is excellent.Thank you.

There have been many *many* shipwrecks around Long Beach Island. My family has been vacationing there since my father was a child, and we've collected a number of books with stories of the various shipwrecks, lifeguard/coast guard stations, and the lighthouse on the northern tip of the island.

quick question what is the official name of your new lusitania virtual experience

I am glad you found this. Now they will not be forgotten.

You did a good job covering this forgotten tragedy Tom

Absolutely loving your channel and all the effort you put into keeping these stories alive!

The only place I can think of that may have relics is the LBI Historical Museum in Beach Haven. They have exhibits and info on shipwrecks on LBI over the centuries. There is one crewman's grave in the Old Baptist Church Cemetery in Manahawkin on the Mainland.

Tragic! I wonder if there's any records of the US communicating to the Brits and back. Maybe the sailors' names are recorded there. Thank you for documenting and preserving their story.

I live in Ocean county and dove a lot out of Beach Haven and never heard this story. Someone at Lakehurst told me about another one near there. South American Pirates had siezed a Spanish ship and were going to sell its cargo up the Delaware but got stopped by a Revenue Cutter off Cape May. The US hired a crew of my co-workers relatives to sail it to NYC to be sold at auction but she was lost off Barnegat light. Since she was lost I'm not sure how they know where.

That is a shame that it happened

INFO FOUND! See: Lancaster Intelligencer, Jan. 16, 1884 (Wednesday) Page 8, Column one, top; 6 parapraph descriptive article. Highlight of article includes two women among the dead believed to be the wife and daughter of Capt. Bell. See also: Lancaster Examiner, Jan16, 1884 (Wednesday) Column 1, halfway down page 3. Short Blurb type mention. Highlight; Five bodies Elmina found at several points near Beach Haven. Hope that helps some.

We used to take my mom to Barnegat lighthouse at least once a year, and I grew up in Cherry Hill! Not far from LBI at all, and I have never heard of this shipwreck! Its a beautiful place and I can't wait to go back in August. Thank you for the video! ❤️ I miss home sometimes.

I have another story for you about the scooner W. B. Phelps wrecked nov. 1879 Glen Arbor Mi. . Story at USCG life saving gold medal recipents .

The founder of the Van Swearingen family was shipwrecked on Long Island, on its way to New Amsterdam. They had to save themselves and spend time on the beach till help arrived.

Whoa whoa whoa!! It's Long Beach Island, NJ. 5 miles out to sea,18 miles long. Comprised of many boroughs and townships. Long Beach Township, Beach Haven (The Queen City), Ship Bottom (Named after the shipwrecked Fortuna), Surf City, Barnegat Light, Love Ladies, Holgate, Harvey Cedars, Haven Beach, Beach Haven Park, Peahala Park, the Dunes, Beach Haven Crest, etc etc. Long Beach Island, NJ was the site of the Untied States first shark attack. 1916, Engliside Ave, Beach Haven, NJ. The shark then went up the Jersey coast racking up a few more causalities and inspiring Peter Benchley to write novel JAWS.

There's a lot of history that we'll never know about, it's a shame the men listened to their captain & all died being so close to shore but I'm surprised they didn't try to save themselves like most would do, I'm not surprised there's nothing here in UK 🇬🇧 to mark site of tragedy as they hide most of our history as it's "to depressing" they said 🤔 but if that's what happened it should be known no matter what the tragedy was & as we've got more Nutters out there (even from very young age) murders, rapist's etc they're hiding most of them from history which I think is Disgusting coz I'm sure if it was 1 of their kids or family member that was murdered etc they'd want their death to be known not wiped from history like they Never existed it's degrading & morally wrong, keep up the good work your doing. X😎🐘

I'm utterly enthralled by the phenomenal quality of your videos. The historical intrigue, spellbinding visuals & passionate delivery are incredible. You clearly deserve a boatload of Oscars, Sir! WOWZER!!

That a ship's Crew could make such extraordinarily bad decisions, to drop the anchor whilst on the sandbar and to tie the rescue line and discard the pulley, thereby removing their only prospects of survival. They obstructed every effort made to save them and their ship.

Another great accounting of a nautical disaster, presented in your usual superb retelling.Thank you !

everything this guy makes is great to listen to while trying to sleep, thank you :)

would be amazing if you did a vid on the Union Brig Ethan Allen, and the several prizes she took in my backyard in 1862-3, by the actions of North Clearwater Harbor, and the Union blockade of Tampa in the US Civil war. I have copies of Union admiralty dispatches and some pictures of the Ethan Allen, if you're interested. there's also the two confederate blockade runners in the Hillsborough river that are still visible at low tide.

Your deep dives are doing a service to humanity! This wreck has been taken from obscurity and now has a chance to be remembered long into the future

i live not too far from the site of foundering of the ship... i wonder if i should go looking for the wreckage 👀 jk tho because the waters off the coast of jersey are like swamp water with how murky it is. visability is probably a foot to two foot max to be honest. would be cool tho if something were to be found before it disintegrates

I say they are heroes. Did they succeed? No, but they did everything in their power to rescue the sailors. I say that their inability to rescue them, through no fault of their own, is not a reason to downplay their hard work and bravery.

Your narrative style reminds me of a cross between Ken Burns and Rod Serling. Fascinating content.

"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life."~Captain Picard.

The take away here is something I say don't panic panic kills. The crew panicked and payed for it.

I used to vacation as a kid at Long Beach Island . There was a ship on display called the Lucy Evelyn that had beached close by.

I’m from Long Beach Island and account a lot of the wrecks close and off shore on the island and I’ve never even heard of this story tbh

Fantastic documentary... I spend the last 60 plus summers about a mile south of where the wreck occurred.

SHIP OF FOOLS .by Bob seger

Your channel has rapidly become one of my favorites. I love catching up on your past videos.

Salcome is in the south coast of the county Of Devon Ed Smith Kingsteignton Devon

Great great quality on every your videos

Excellent work! Do you know if there are any signs of the wreck still there? Do you have the coordinates? Keep the stories about LBI coming please!!

Thank you so much for this video, I'm actually from Salcombe, home port of the ''Elmina''. I was just searching for info on the ship and found your vid! I think I could help with a crew list if you wish.

It is both incredibly fascinating and unnerving to accidentally coming across ghost story-esque historical videos about your hometown.

Goodness, 8 lost certainly doesn't register compared to losses on other ships but for some reason I think this story bothered me more than any large disaster I've read of.

You know, that's the thing about these tragedies that nobody knows about - nobody knows about them. Those men had families back here who, probably for months if not years, had no idea where their fathers, sons, brothers, uncles, nephews, or even grandsons were. I would think it very likely that the first any of those relatives knew about their men's whereabouts, and the fate they had met, was when they departed this life and joined them in the next. Why is it that man is so fervent in feeling the importance of the insignificant things, and so callous in his neglect of those that matter? At what point would these men have mattered? If the ship were a Navy vessel, would that have made her crew worth remembering? If they had been killed in a skirmish, would they then have been worth a memorial plaque? As it is, they were forgotten, for a hundred and thirty-eight years. But they were not forgotten. Sons and daughters, waiting up at night in the cold and distant light of the moon, praying for their fathers' safe return. Wives, carrying on as best they could, brave faces and stiff upper lips, alone in private moments when, away from the duty of strength owed to their children, they could be at their most vulnerable, silently weeping, knowing the inevitable truth. Parents, who would not, could not, ever let go of the line of hope their god had thrown them that they might be blessed with a miracle one day, dreaming - however flimsy and slippery that line became down the years - dreaming of the day when they'd hear a knock on their door, see a familiar face, feel that sweet embrace, only one more time. Only one more time.

Really enjoy your channel, keep up the great videos.

You really do an incredible job at telling these lost stories, with such little information to begin with. The visuals, music, the way they are written and narrated... A true talent! Great work again 👏

Someone needs to get a memorial out there. I would gladly contribute to that cause. If anyone would like to organize this, I would like to help out.

Interesting video even for a Limey! Now subscribing and, Congrats on beating the Aussie Convict at HIS game, Bullship!

Another well presented piece of naval history

Another good video Tom, thanks!

Cheers Tom - yet another great informative video on a now known ship wreck.

Tastefully done. It's a bit of a trope sometimes, but this really is forgotten history and someone needed to tell their story. Speaking from experience (not nautical), there's no words to describe the despair when helplessly watching a tragedy develop in front of you. Thanks for this

Now that was intense, god I would love to see that as or in a novel

No artifacts, or documentation, of this wreck?? Well, I observed my Mid-Atlantic shipwreck chart, and lo and behold, I COULD NOT FIND, it. I looked over and over, but to no avail. I've never heard of it, and I live approximately 55 miles, south. If my shipwreck chart (which is pretty top-notch) fails to list it, I know Tom is dead-on, with his work. Kudos, Tom and Emma👍!!!

So sad that they didn't manage to rescue these people, nothing more that the shore party's could do. Such a shame. Great presentation!

A tragic tale told extremely well. I feel that the story is important to you. That is what makes it so compelling.

I love your shipwreck storys

I love this dudes channel!

also when did you grow a mustache

EXCELLENT !!!

If you wanna dig for more information on this, try calling the maritime museum in Beach Haven. I stay at Long Beach Island (and just got back today) during the summer, and that museum is awesome. They have a massive archive of shipwrecks and other ocean disasters, along with a bunch of artifacts from sunken ships. They might have some more documents or photos regarding this wreck that you can't find online.

Brilliant in the telling, the tragedy.

That was a great sea story and very well told. Thanks for sharing it.

I grew up on Staten Island, New York and spent every summer in Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island. When I was about 14 I found a book on shipwrecks of Long Beach Island and this ship was one of the stories in it. I wish I still had that book or could remember the name of it.

This would make an incredible movie, I'm imagining a film that takes place entirely on the beach and never gives us the ship's perspective. The audience only have the faint cheers of the sailors as clues to the unfolding mystery. This story needs to be more well known.

I knew about this, and probably because it was written up in the old South Jersey Magazine, which I have a huge collection of. Unfortunately they are all in storage at the moment. Thank you for telling the story. It's so sad... By the way, my mom grew up on Long Beach Island. She, my uncle and my grandmother lived through the hurricane of 1944. They took refuge in Bond's Lifesaving Station, and their house in Holgate was washed completely away. My grandfather built a new house sometime later, further north in Beach Haven. That house was recently torn down by a new landowner, in order to build one of those modern monstrosities.

I lived in Brant Beach, N.J., part of Long Beach Island, New Jersey, 1959-2020. There is a former Life Saving Station in Beach Haven Terrace which is part of Long Beach Twp. This, and The Bond's Holgate location are still there. The Ship Bottom life Saving location was demolished in the 1970's. There is a place called the Maritime Museum, located in Beach Haven New Jersey, in Long Beach Island... Many wrecks discussed at the museum, including a Morro Castle room!

Magnificent piece if history thanks for sharing.

I love your videos and I'm so glad I found your channel. I can't help but mention a slight resemblance you have to the kid, TheReportoftheWeek. You both have such wonderful deadpan humor as well.

Super interesting video. I wished everything I saw on RU-vid was this quality. Congratulations.

My big shipwrecks have happened over the past two centuries within the waters of Lake Superior lay many sailors with their ships. Most recent a couple men maybe in 2019 disappeared and drowned. My parents and I were swimming in a bay of Lake Superior. And we saw the horrifying site of the boat overturned and drug into that bay. It was something I'll never forget, seeing the search planes flying about looking for those poor souls. This minor event was not the most famous or most deadly in recent memory. That event was the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10th 1975. All 29 men on board suddenly disappeared in a violent storm a hurricane/gale force winds with waves the sizes of 4 story buildings. The mystery lies in the fact that we do not know how it went down so quickly that lifeboats were never deployed. Gordon Lightfoot immortalized the tale of the Edmund Fitzgerald in his song the Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald. So those are the big tales I remember best of my home town on Lake Superior. I'd love to discuss this with Mr. Lynsky. As these are such wonderful videos that tell Tales of the big and well known tales of history. Without being cringing whining about every bad thing.

Could you do video about Texas Tower #4? A large radar platform off the NJ/NY coast in the 1950s-60s that was destroyed in a bad storm that had known structural issues before the storm.

I live in Oregon, and stories about shipwrecks fascinate me. Our coastline is so dangerous...many ships and boats are resting on the seafloor...God bless the lost souls. Even today, with our technology and sound vessels, the ocean is undefeated...

Another well made video as per usual. Keep up the great work.

The World and their History shall thank you and Emma for remembering those who lost their Battles with the Sea. Through ur Fantastic Videos, their Story shall be remembered, even when Mind and Time forgot about them. Fantastic Work

I grew up visiting LBI every summer, it was so fascinating- and heartbreaking- to learn about this local history. Thank you!