I love First Encounter Beach and have been going to the Cape for decades. I really miss that ship. It always looked like you could easily walk out to it at low tide but I never made it. Didn't realize just how far out it was.
I'm not used to seeing this ship in this condition, since I grew up seeing the ship as a whole... I even water skied around it, and was amazed when I got my dad's boat up close to it that you could see right through it and there was graffiti everywhere.. which is something you didn't see from a distance..
While on Vacation there back in ~1993 (and possibly up to 1998), I remember that ship still being more intact from First Encounter Beach. Of course, a couple of years ago, it was no longer visible from First Encounter.
THE entertainment during the 60's...especially at night. We would walk to Campground Beach with our chairs & blankets. Mesmorized both Adults and children. I will always remember the "Target Ship".
I remember local draggers coming in with ordinance from their shell fishing and leaving them on Wellfleet pier. And I enjoyed watching the jets attack, especially the big flash bang at night.
We carried home an interesting cylindrical device we found on the beach only to see my dad panic as it was a bomb. But when the jets in pairs would fly over they shot rockets at it and huge clouds of rust would plume up. I watched it blow the center hole in. Then night bombing was even more fun to watch from our giant picture window. Good times. Oh also got a picture of my crazy uncle on the tower. Then I fished it recently and seen the tower still in tact under water. Oh the memories. Last I seen was just the bow. I cracked a beer bottle on it like a launch. The ice sheets leveled it same year. Bummer
Are you sure there was no target practice after 1970? When I was a kid in the early to mid '70s I remember being able to hear the "thud" of explosions even from our house a few miles inland in Brewster.
DONT PANIC my mom and dad used to go to the cape in the 70s as kids aswell and they said they thought it was used as target practice. I recently just took a tour around the remains
Wow. Looking back towards shore, it does not look like it it three and a half miles out to sea! It looks like you could swim out to it in no time, not that I'd want to! I found this online. It has facts about the SS James Longstreet, including amazing underwater photos of aquatic life on the artificial reef created by its remains!
I love First Encounter Beach and have been going to the Cape for decades. I really miss that ship. It always looked like you could easily walk out to it at low tide but I never made it. Didn't realize just how far out it was.
By the time u get halfway the water is usually coming in pretty fast..you & your quohaugs have to head home unless you wanna swim..🤔
Dad and I walked out there in the 60’s. Giant spider crabs really spooked me!!
I'm not used to seeing this ship in this condition, since I grew up seeing the ship as a whole... I even water skied around it, and was amazed when I got my dad's boat up close to it that you could see right through it and there was graffiti everywhere.. which is something you didn't see from a distance..
While on Vacation there back in ~1993 (and possibly up to 1998), I remember that ship still being more intact from First Encounter Beach. Of course, a couple of years ago, it was no longer visible from First Encounter.
THE entertainment during the 60's...especially at night. We would walk to Campground Beach with our chairs & blankets. Mesmorized both Adults and children. I will always remember the "Target Ship".
I remember local draggers coming in with ordinance from their shell fishing and leaving them on Wellfleet pier. And I enjoyed watching the jets attack, especially the big flash bang at night.
Dad would vacation in Eastham in the late 60’s when the ship was above water, said it was a spectacular vision.
I can remember bombing of the SS Longstreet when I lived in Eastham when I was young.
1974 was the last Summer they used it for target practice.
We carried home an interesting cylindrical device we found on the beach only to see my dad panic as it was a bomb. But when the jets in pairs would fly over they shot rockets at it and huge clouds of rust would plume up. I watched it blow the center hole in. Then night bombing was even more fun to watch from our giant picture window. Good times. Oh also got a picture of my crazy uncle on the tower. Then I fished it recently and seen the tower still in tact under water. Oh the memories. Last I seen was just the bow. I cracked a beer bottle on it like a launch. The ice sheets leveled it same year. Bummer
Are you sure there was no target practice after 1970? When I was a kid in the early to mid '70s I remember being able to hear the "thud" of explosions even from our house a few miles inland in Brewster.
how old were you when you heard explosions because it could have been something else but I used to think that to
As a kid in the late 70's I could hear weekend explosions from Kingston..maybe just Otis
DONT PANIC my mom and dad used to go to the cape in the 70s as kids aswell and they said they thought it was used as target practice. I recently just took a tour around the remains
1974 was the last Summer they flew around and shot ordinance at it.
I once found a dud ordinance on our beach.. probably late 60s it was kewl I thought. Ma took it ..went missing on me one day.😐
Oh ya I forgot about all the lead bullets in the water in your lobster and bass and don't forget your yummy claims!!!
No lead bullets. Only air to surface guided missiles and bombs. Was quite a show at night.
Wow. Looking back towards shore, it does not look like it it three and a half miles out to sea! It looks like you could swim out to it in no time, not that I'd want to!
I found this online. It has facts about the SS James Longstreet, including amazing underwater photos of aquatic life on the artificial reef created by its remains!
Get place to ruin your own boat