Oregon

The Oregon is a wreck lying on sand off Bolt Tail, at a seabed depth of 35 metres. She was a steel sailing ship of 800 tons built in 1875, inbound from Chile with a cargo of nitrate of soda and bound for Newcastle when she struck a rocky reef called the Books, close to Thurlestone Rock, on the night of 18 December 1890.

Most of the wreck stands only a few feet above the sand, which makes her hard to shot, and she is well broken up with no boilers or engine. The bow section stands about four metres high with anchors and winches, and the stern has an elegant counter and rudder. Large shellfish can be found at both ends, and with luck a wooden deadeye from the rigging.