Columbia River Lightship No. 50 is seen being pulled across the Cape Disappointment isthmus after it ran aground on Benson Beach in November 1899. Photo Washington State Parks.

Sea shanty singers (from the French chanter, to sing) will be in full voice this weekend for the Graveyard of the Pacific event that takes place Saturday and Sunday at various locations, including the Fort Columbia Theatre, the Columbia River Maritime Museum and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment.

“Graveyard of the Pacific” is the nickname for the stretch of coast from Tillamook Bay to the tip of Vancouver Island, a coastal region known by all sailors as a killer (more than 2,000 vessels and 700 lives have been lost near the Columbia Bar alone).

This is the fourth annual event commemorating the centennial anniversary in 2006 of the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse and the wreck of the Peter Iredale.

Jon Schmidt, interpretive consultant for the Long Beach Area State Parks, explained the focus of this year’s event: “In 2008, the University of Oregon’s Historical Preservation Field School took a close look at the North Head Lighthouse and deemed it one of the most deteriorated lighthouses on the West Coast.

“We hope to use this event to raise some money and awareness about the lighthouse, the restoration effort and other regional maritime heritage.”

Maritime music

The shanty sing takes place at the Fort Columbia Theatre at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24, for a suggested donation of $10 at the door. Cap’n Matt Matthew Moeller, singer, sailor, songwriter and one member of the trio called the Whateverly Brothers (which has to be one of the all time snappiest song group names) will be on stage, along with Hank Cramer, known for his sea shanty and cowboy classics.

Local songbird and balladeer Mary Garvey, an angelic local treasure, will also be on the docket sharing her soulful and heartrending songs about local maritime history, including “Seaview Bells” and “The Astoria Bar” (recorded and made famous by Maine singer-songwriter Gordon Bok).

The concert will also feature living historian Dixie Wood portraying Ida Lewis, the first female lighthousekeeper of the East Coast. The Fort Columbia Theatre, first built as a warehouse then converted to a theater during World War II, was renovated through a partnership between Washington State Parks and the Friends of the Columbia River Gateway 10 years ago. The acoustics of the wooden building and stage are fabulous, and the viewing experience intimate.

Sea shanties are sometimes bawdy and always include a rowdy chorus that can be easily picked up by the audience so that everyone can join in on the fun.

Friends of North Head Lighthouse

The North Head Lighthouse is another one of those unappreciated treasures. It sits austerely brooding over Cape Disappointment, guarding the coastline and attempting to prevent wrecks like the Iredale. The Peter Iredale, weighing 2,075 tons and measuring 87 meters (285 feet) in length, was a four-masted steel barque sailing vessel named for its Liverpool owner that ran ashore Oct. 25, 1906, while trying to make its way into the Columbia River. The wreckage is still visible, so it is a good stand-in for the many hundreds of shipwrecks that have disappeared under savage coastal sands and seas.

Schmidt said, “The Friends of the Columbia River Gateway is a nonprofit which supports special programs in the local Washington State Parks, but it is morphing into the Friends of the North Head Lighthouse, to illustrate the emphasis on restoring the North Head Lighthouse.”

The weekend also features a presentation at the Columbia River Maritime Museum from a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer (for a museum ticket) and tours of the North Head Lighthouse from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday ($2.50 for adults).

For the complete schedule of the Graveyard of the Pacific weekend, check out the Long Beach Visitors Bureau’s website, www.funbeach.com. For information about the event, call Schmidt at (360) 642-3029 or e-mail lcic@parks.wa.gov