'Off Norman's Woe' by Edward Moran, High Museum

Norman's Woe is a rock reef on

Cape Ann Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula in northeastern Massachusetts, United States on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about northeast of Boston and marks the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester and the towns of ...

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

, about 500 feet offshore. It has been the site of a number of ship wrecks including the ''Rebecca Ann'' in March, 1823 during a snowstorm. Another was the wreck of the schooner ''Favorite'' out of Wiscasset, Maine, in December 1839. It is the subject of an 1872 painting ''Off Norman's Woe'', by

Edward Moran Edward Moran (August 19, 1829June 8, 1901) was an England, English-born United States, American artist of Marine art, maritime paintings. He is arguably most famous for his series of 13 historical paintings of History of the United States, United ...

. In fiction, it is the site of "

The Wreck of the Hesperus "The Wreck of the Hesperus" is a narrative poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in ''Ballads and Other Poems'' in 1842. It is a story that presents the tragic consequences of a skipper's pride. On an ill-fated voyag ...

", a narrative poem by

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

. Its maximum elevation is , but at high tide much of the reef is awash and so is concealed. This may have contributed to the number of wrecks at the site. A bell

buoy A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

is placed about 1000 feet ESE of the rock.

References

{{Reflist Landforms of Essex County, Massachusetts Reefs of the United States