Parker, John, «The Phantom Ship», Revue d'histoire de la Gaspésie, vol. 8, no. 4, 1970, pp. 224-225

The Phantom Ship
by John Parker

In June 1965, my friend, Jim Henderson and I were going south-west on Route 6, from New Carlisle to New Richmond.

At this time, when we approached point A, there was what seemed to be a burning mass on the bay. Jim suggested that it was the phantom ship.

Heading westward, the phantom ship seemed to be moving at the same speed as we were, 20 to 30 miles per hour.

Upon reaching point B, we could see the phantom ship heading in a southeasterly direction and slowly sinking.

There seemed to be much movement on deck as the boat was going down keel first.

According to the local legend, it is believed that the ship was headed for Port Daniel. Because of bad weather, it was impossible to reach her destination and so she was going to port in Escuminac.

Shortly after passing the New Carlisle area, she was struck by lightning and started burning.

There was a woman, an epileptic, tied to the mast because of the trouble she caused among the crew and people on board. During the fire, everyone was too busy to set her free, so she had to share the fate of the unfortunate ship.

The local legend also mentions another ship, a burning phantom ship, around Percé Rock. People on the shore could hear the words, "Help! Help!" coming from the sinking vessel.

The author of this article, John Parker, and the illustrator, Errol Kennedy, are both students at the Gaspé Peninsula College.