For the last four years, the “Lost Colony” replica 16th-century ship Elizabeth II has been stuck in Manteo, NC. The ship, with a draft of 8 feet, has not been able to leave the harbor because the channel has not been in 14 years and has silted in places to depths of less than 5 feet.  It now looks like recently approved dredging will allow Elizabeth II to set sail again.  

The Elizabeth II is a replica ship inspired by one of the ships used in Sir Walter Raliegh’s ill-fated attempt to establish the first English colony in North America in the 1580s  on Roanoke Island on the Outer Banks in what is now North Carolina. Because of the disappearance of 120 colonists around 1590, the expedition is often referred to as the “Lost Colony.”  

The Pilot Online notes that Elizabeth II was built 37 years ago as part of the 400th anniversary of the English explorations to the New World. The 69-foot-long vessel, owned by the state, has missed its annual drydock maintenance for nearly four years and has not been able to sail to other eastern North Carolina ports for educational tours since 2017.

The channel dredging will deepen the channel to 9 feet deep and 50 feet wide. It should be completed by March, weather permitting.

Elizabeth II Ship at Roanoke Island Festival Park

Thanks to Irwin Bryan for contributing to this post.