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We believe Van Der Linde is holed up with a group of renegades near the wreck of the Serendipity riverboat.
Archer Fordham

The Wreck of the Serendipity is a grounded riverboat wreck in Red Dead Redemption in the Great Plains region of the West Elizabeth territory.

It is situated at a decrepit jetty called Quaker's Cove on Flat Iron Lake.

Background[]

In 1911 and later, the Serendipity is a large steamboat which has partially sunk and settled on the lakebed, with most of the ship above the waterline. What caused the sinking of the Serendipity is unknown.

In the Edgar Ross mission "Bear One Another's Burdens", Marston must rescue a government informant named Nastas from the Serendipity. During the mission, Edgar Ross comments about the derelict boat being a criminal hideout for many years.

Theories[]

There are four theories mentioned about what befell the Serendipity:

  • As a campfire story tells, the ship crashed in the Mexican cliffs east of Thieves' Landing and was raided by Mexican soldiers before being towed back to American waters.
  • A second campfire story told in the Great Plains says that the ship's captain cheated on his wife and she destroyed the boat along with herself, him, and all the passengers, cursing the wreckage.[1]
    • The Delta Queen, sister ship to the Delta King, shares a similar story to this legend surrounding the Serendipity - Mary Becker Greene, a former ship Captain, died aboard the boat on April 22, 1949. Since then, employees and passengers have reported sounds and activity on board which they attribute to her spirit.
  • A third campfire tale says that the ship crashed in a shallow area of Flat Iron Lake in very thick fog. The ship was stuck there three days because the current and the wind prevented any boat from rescuing them. On the fourth day, a ship finally reached the Serendipity only to find out that the passengers and crew had mysteriously disappeared. The rescue boat towed the boat to the pier and left it to decay from the elements.
  • A member of Walton's gang in Armadillo claims that the gang raided, destroyed, and looted the vessel. This explanation is undermined by the fact that Walton's gang does not operate outside Cholla Springs and Gaptooth Ridge in western New Austin, and the furthest port west that the Serendipity could possibly sail to is Thieves' Landing due to the dramatic narrowing of the San Luis River as it nears Manteca Falls.

Trivia[]

  • The Serendipity is an American Sternwheeler Steamboat.
  • The boat is not present at Quaker's Cove in 1899 or 1907, meaning it was towed there sometime between 1907 and 1911. The wreck being covered with algae and seaweed suggests that the Serendipity sank in deeper waters, likely at another location, before being raised and towed.
  • Prior to the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, the Serendipity was speculated to have been the ferry that the Van der Linde gang raided, where Dutch van der Linde murdered Heidi McCourt and John Marston was shot. However, available details of the heist and resulting shootout from both games never mention the name of the ferry involved or indicate that it sank as a result of the incident, leaving this theory without any supporting evidence.
    • In addition to lack of supporting evidence for the theory, Arthur Morgan's sketch of the Blackwater ferry in his journal depicts it as a Sidewheeler Steamboat, as opposed to the Serendipity, which is a Sternwheeler model.
  • According to some campfire tales, the Serendipity is haunted every Thursday night.
  • In "Bear One Another's Burdens", it is mentioned that the place is occasionally filled with low-lives, but when visited before or after the mission, there is nobody present at the wreck.
  • The ship's mysterious backstory and sunken position could possibly be inspired by the Delta King, a sternwheel steamboat that was once in a similar half-sunken position to the Serendipity.
    • In the 1950s, the Delta King was towed and served for a long time as a bunkhouse for employees of the ALCAN aluminum plant and the Kermano Dam power project - the Serendipity was used as a occasional gang hideout for many years.
    • In 1981, the riverboat sank for unknown reasons, with the government leaving her to decay - the state of West Elizabeth abandoned the boat after being towed from deeper waters.
    • The Delta King was raised a year later and the local government began a five-year restoration plan which cost 9 million dollars at the time - the player can listen to Blackwater residents mention hearing that the wreck is supposed to be "restored to her former glory".
  • NPCs will occasionally mention hearing that the wreck is supposed to be "restored to her former glory". However, no mention is made of who will nor when they will restore the steamboat.
  • Horses will occasionally fall from the nearby cliffs.
  • To the east of the wreck is a small peninsula jutting out to the south. A money chest is located on the far side of this area.
  • In multiplayer, the wreck is an excellent place to hide out with Public Enemy active - the only point of access, the jetty, can be covered from the top deck. However, accurate snipers may be able to shoot from the opposite shore.
  • On the top deck in front of the wheelhouse is a bell which can be rung by bumping into it or firing at it.
  • The ship could possibly be a homage to a location featured in the 2005 video game Gun, the first sandbox western video game. In an early level, a similar-looking boat is shown wrecked.
  • The sign on the Serendipity makes reference to Tallulah Jetty, a location that was later planned and cut from Red Dead Redemption 2, that was also derived from Tallulah Place. However, it is misspelt as 'Tellulah Jetty'.[2]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21D3q-k1-0k
  2. Sign on the stern denoting the boat to have been based out of Tallulah Jetty: File:RDR-Serendipity sign.png

Achievements/Trophies[]

The discovery of locations in Red Dead Redemption count towards the following Trophies/Achievements:

Onthetrail
10 gamerscoregamerscore
Bronze bronzebronze
Uncover every location on the map in Single Player.

Redeemed
100 gamerscoregamerscore
Gold goldgold
Attain 100% List in the singleplayer game completion list.

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