On A Remote River Kayak Trip, This Discovery Left Them Shocked

A couple of guys out for a relaxing sunny day on the river in their kayaks travelled upstream on the Ohio River and, turning a corner, they found this…..a 110 year old ghost ship.

Rusting and tilted to one side, it has trees beginning to grow through it, but what’s more intriguing is that they uncovered a lot of the story of how it made its way up river and the history it had seen.

As they approached up river the hulk of the ship loomed ahead.

They decided to get out and have a look around.

They later discovered that the ship was 110 years old, but still safe enough to explore!

There was vegetation growing all over and through the ship – it must’ve been there for years.

Word spread of their find and more folks began to visit the wreck.

Then the history of the ship began to be revealed by small details.

In a previous life she had plied her trade as ‘Circle Line V’ – a New York City Sightseeing Ship.

But there was more – she’d seen a lot of action before that. Firstly as a 186 foot luxury Yacht, the ‘Celt’, launched in 1902.

She was repurposed for both World Wars as the ‘USS Sachem’ and even did a stint as a research ship for Thomas Edison!

Before being left in the Ohio River tributary as a magnet for adventurers she even made a cameo in a Madonna video for ‘Papa Don’t Preach’.

It wasn’t until 1984 that the ship was sent to be scrapped, but somehow ended up tied up in this creek near the last owner’s land in Kentucky. 

So, there was a lot that this old ghost ship had to tell – and, in fact, you can find a lot more out by snooping around on the internet. We wouldn’t, however, suggest tracking down the old girl herself. There are plenty of stories of the area having some pretty unsavoury folks hanging around as well as some landowners who are reputed to be keen on chasing strangers away with shotguns in hand!

Stick to researching this fascinating ship and her story on the web and watch this video of some previous kayakers checking her out.

All Kayak Trip Images : JamesMalott and all other images sourced from Queen City Discovery

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