Carroll A. Deering

Schooner Carroll A. Deering, as seen from the Cape Lookout lightship on January 28, 1921. (US Coast Guard)
History
United States
Name:	Carroll A. Deering
Namesake:	G.G. Deering's son
Builder:	G.G. Deering Company, Bath, Maine
Completed:	1919
Fate:	Found wrecked January 31, 1921
General characteristics

Carroll A. Deering was a five-masted commercial schooner that was found run aground off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in 1921. Its crew went missing. The Deering is one of the most written-about maritime mysteries in history, with claims that it was a victim of the Bermuda Triangle, although the evidence points towards a mutiny or possibly piracy.

The Carroll A. Deering was built in Bath, Maine, in 1919 by the G.G. Deering Company for commercial use. The owner of the company named the ship after his son. The vessel was designed to carry cargo and had been in service for a year when it began its final voyage to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

On August 19, 1920, the Deering prepared to sail from Norfolk, Virginia, to Rio de Janeiro with a cargo of coal. The ship was captained by William H. Merritt. Merritt's son, Sewall, was his first mate. He had a ten-man crew made up entirely of Scandinavians (mostly Danes). On August 22, 1920, the Deering left Newport News. In late August, Captain Merritt fell ill and had to be let off at the port of Lewes, Delaware, along with his son. The Deering Company hastily recruited Captain W. B. Wormell, a retired 66-year-old veteran captain, to replace him. Charles B. McLellan was hired on as first mate.

The vessel set sail for Rio on September 8, 1920, and arrived there, delivering its cargo without incident. Wormell gave his crew leave and met with a Captain Goodwin, an old friend who captained another cargo vessel. Wormell spoke of his crew with disdain, though he claimed to trust the engineer, Herbert Bates. The Deering left Rio on December 2, 1920, and stopped for supplies in Barbados. First Mate McLellan got drunk in town and complained to Captain Hugh Norton of the Snow that he could not discipline the crew without Wormell interfering, and that he had to do all the navigation owing to Wormell's poor eyesight. Later Captain Norton, his first mate and another captain were in the Continental Café and heard McLellan say, "I'll get the captain before we get to Norfolk, I will." McLellan was arrested, but on January 9 Wormell forgave him, bailed him out of jail, and set sail for Hampton Roads.