Paddle Your Way Through an Incredible Shipwreck Off the Coast of Maine

The Maine coastline can offer any traveler a host of amazing sights. And while lighthouses, beaches, and wildlife offer incredible amounts of adventure, there's something truly mysterious and intriguing about shipwrecks. That includes the one that sits on the coast of Castine, Maine, that looks it could be straight out of a Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

According to Penobscot Paddles (which offers up some other incredible paddling adventures!) this shipwreck has a backstory that is less wreck and more abandoned. The ship is named the Gardner G. Deering, and was built in 1903 as a shipping vessel. The ship itself was a massive, double-hulled marvel, as Wreck Hunter shows with a photo of the Gardner G. Deering on its launch day, courtesy of the Paul Sherman Collection.

The ship was key in the timber trade for almost three decades, but when the trade slowed, the owners of the Gardner G. Deering simply cut their losses and left her behind. She sat dormant for another decade until the upper levels of the ship were burned as part of the July 4 celebrations in the area.

Today, what remains of the Gardner G. Deering is visible with a quick trip into Smith Cove. As with all abandoned property, there are trespassing rules and regulations that must be followed. But this kind of living shipwreck is a rare sight, and continues to amaze right off the coast of Maine.