USS Conestoga Wreck

USS Conestoga left Mare Island on March 25, 1921 for Pearl Harbor and vanished with 56 sailors, becoming one of the Navy's major unresolved maritime mysteries. NOAA later found and confirmed the wreck in Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, showing that the tug never made it far from the California coast and likely sank only a few miles from Southeast Farallon Island. Its importance is historical rather than monetary, but it squarely belongs among California's best-known lost-history sites because the vessel was missing for nearly a century. The wreck is now protected as both a sanctuary cultural resource and a sunken military craft.

Open in interactive map Open source record

Record typeshipwreck

LocationA few miles off Southeast Farallon Island, west of San Francisco, in Greater Farallones waters

Probability indexHigh

Land statusGreater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (federally protected); also protected under the Sunken Military Craft Act

Research coordinates37.6900, -123.0000

SourceUSS Conestoga - 100 Years Since Departure

Field Research Notes

The practical hobbyist angle is route reconstruction from Mare Island through the Golden Gate and toward the Farallones, not any field recovery. Work from NOAA material, naval records, and Farallon charts. Boat-based visitation near the islands is difficult and tightly regulated, and any disturbance of the wreck is prohibited.

Recommended Gear

Marine chart, Weatherproof notebook, Binoculars

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