Sibyl Marston (ship)
# Sibyl Marston (ship)

Sibyl Marston was a wooden schooner cargo ship built by W. A. Boole & Son of Oakland, California and belonging to the Sibyl Marston Co. Sibyl Marston sank off the coast of Lompoc, California on 12 January 1909.

## Overview

On 12 January 1909, Sybil Marston, the largest steam schooner built on the United States West Coast, struck the rocks near Surf Beach, California and ran aground in a storm. She was carrying 1,100,000 board feet (3,000 $m^3)$ of lumber. Two crew members were killed in the disaster.

Shortly after the Sybil Marston disaster, Lompoc residents salvaged the lumber and used it to begin a town lumberyard. Several houses built in Lompoc used lumber from the shipwreck.

Surf Beach and its adjoining coastal area was a dangerous place for ship travel in the time before radar navigational systems made seafaring safer. There are about 30 recorded shipwrecks along the Surf Beach coast.

## Location

The shipwreck is located 1 mile (2 km) south of the Surf Amtrak Station in Lompoc.

## Sources

* "19th Century Shipbuilders on the Pacific Coast". Shipbuilding History. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
