Jersey Shore Magazine

J e r s e y s h o r e • F A L L / H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 8 6 brothers, and sons. The site of the Dorsett boatyard was near what is known today as the Slade Dale Sanctuary along Beaver Dam Creek in Point Pleasant. In 1883, Dorsett finished building The Rosemond, a forty-six-foot long, three-masted ship that he sailed on Barnegat Bay during the turn-of-the- century. The Captain's legacy in the mari- time industry, however, was left by a most unusual relic—a small cabinet he meticulously crafted by hand. Estimates of the total number of shipwrecks along the Jersey Shore vary widely, but it is a good assump- tion that it falls somewhere between two and three thousand. According to Dan Lieb, President of the New Jersey Historical Divers Association and Director of the New Jersey Shipwreck Museum in Wall Township, there's most likely a wreck within a mile of wherever a person stands on a beach from Sandy Hook to Cape May. "Captain John Lott Dorsett knew a lot of people and had access to the wrecks up and down the coast," said Lieb. The Captain's Cabinet BEACHCOMBER " L et u s ta k e a j o u r ne y do w n t he S hore to see w h at w e can f i n d …" A mariner and a bayman. A builder of ships and carver of decoys. A collector of memorabilia and memo- ries. A poet and a storyteller. A man of the people and of the sea… Lifelong Point Pleasant resident Captain John Lott Dorsett (1830- 1910) embodied all of these roles and more. During his life, Captain Dorsett was at the helm of the Dorsett boatyards as well as a wool and tobacco plantation. He also served as a Barnegat Bay fishing and hunting guide along with his father, This one-of-a-kind, historical artifact, crafted in the 1880s by Captain John Lott Dorsett of Point Pleasant, is made from the pieces of twenty-six 19th century vessels that wrecked off the Jersey Shore. Coleman Bryce Captain John Lott Dorsett (1830-1910). courtesy of the Point Pleasant Historical Society Museum

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