'Pip'

Pip

Owned by: Nathaniel Everett Winslow, circa 1949

Recovered from: Drifting vessel off the coast of Jekyll Island, Georgia

The Winslow family of Savannah was well known for their fortune and their grand sailing vessel, the Isadora. In the summer of 1949, they departed the harbor for what was meant to be a leisurely voyage along the Georgia coast. They never returned.

Months later, the Isadora was found adrift near Jekyll Island. The ship appeared untouched by storm or struggle. Cabins were in order, beds made, even the dining table set for supper. But not a single soul remained aboard.

Only a child’s doll sat waiting in the captain’s chair. His face had cracked from salt and sun, and his dark eyes seemed fixed on the horizon. This was Pip, constant companion of young Nathaniel Winslow. His small sailor’s uniform bore faint stains where a boy’s hands once clung to him.

Those who boarded the Isadora whispered of a strange weight in the air, as if the silence itself was watching. Some swore they heard the creak of footsteps on the deck where no one stood, followed by the faint laughter of children. Pip remained the sole witness to whatever fate claimed the Winslow family, a fractured plaything left behind to carry their memory.