The seas off of the outer banks of North Carolina can be a sailor's nightmare.

The winds whip in every direction, the weather is unpredictable, and the

sand and the sea floor are constantly shifting underneath you. And that's not

even mentioning all the hurricanes. For the last 500 years, thousands of ships have met their doom here,

bestowing on this place the ominous nickname,

The Graveyard of the Atlantic.

And in 2006, this treachery graveyard of the Atlantic.

And in 2006, this treacherous stretch of coastline

saw one of its most unusual cargo's ever wash up.

Let's face it, it's not every day that you have thousands of bags of Dorinos wash ashore anywhere.

I'm Amanda McGowan and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous places.

And today we're taking you to Hatteras Island on the Outer Banks

to tell you the story of the 2006 to Rideau's shipwreck.

Or, as the locals call it, the shipwreck or as the locals call it the shipwreck that's after this. stories about shipwrecks often start in the same way with a storm.

In November 2006, that storm was a norreaster off the coast of North Carolina, and a

container ship called the Courtney L found itself caught right in the middle of it.

The Courtney L was on its way from Wilmington, Delaware to Costa Rica when it happened.

It's unclear exactly what caused this mishap, maybe a huge wave or a stormy gust of wind

knocked against the ship, but four of its containers, giant tractor trailer-sized

containers fell off into the ocean. Along the waves they bobbed like forlorn forgotten sailors.

Three were lost, but one ended up near the shore,

where it was spotted by a crew of charterboat fishermen.

...