Man Roaming A Storm-Battered Beach Spots Amazing Maritime Treasure Emerging From The Sand
Long before humans were zipping around the world in trains, planes, and cars, they were sailing around on massive ships that were often at the mercy of the unforgiving oceans and seas they navigated.
Hundreds of years of boat travel have resulted in countless shipwrecks that now litter the ocean floor, only to be churned up for us to find after a storm.
Living Near The Ocean Comes With Changing Weather
If you grew up or have spent time living near the beach, you likely know how changing weather can wash strange things up onto the shore.
Storms coming off the water blast the shore and cause the sand to erode away in areas that were once flat ground.
Water Levels Rise And Drop Over Decades
People who live near the water are familiar with how changing water levels can change the landscape over the years.
Little islands may be swallowed up by rising water levels, or the shoreline may recede so far that you can walk all the way out where there used to be waist-deep water.
Climate Change Has Drastically Increased The Effects Of Rising And Dropping Water Levels
Climate change has only increased the effects of changing water levels which have caused some unusual changes on our beaches and shores.
Things that have been buried for years under the sands of the ocean are emerging with the help of storms.
A Man And His Wife Walked Their Local Beach
A man named Mark O'Donoghue from St. Augustine, Florida, was walking down the shoreline of Crescent Beach in St. Johns County.
It's a seaside paradise that he and his wife know quite well after walking its shores for years.
They Made An Unexpected Discovery—Something Was Hidden Beneath The Sand
In November 2020, as O'Donoghue and his wife wandered the picturesque shoreline, they never expected to encounter the structure that had emerged from the sand.
They had walked the beach many times in the previous weeks but what used to be a flat, sandy shore was now revealing a long-kept secret.
It Was Obvious They Were Looking At Something Extremely Old
As the couple got closer, it became clear that they were looking at a substantially large wooden and metal contraption that was still mostly concealed under the sand.
They brushed away as much sand as they could and realized they were looking at something very old.
He Could See Large Prongs Made Of Rusted Metal And Water-Logged Wood
The first thing O'Donoghue could make out was large prongs made of metal and wood. The metal was extremely rusted.
He and his wife investigated the parts they could see sticking out of the shore, but eventually headed home where he continued to think about his discovery.
O'Donoghue Returned The Next Day And Was Shocked To Discover More Of The Mystery
The following morning, eager to continue his investigations, O'Donoghue headed back to the beach to do some digging.
However, the mystery of the buried structure would only deepen on his second trip to the beach.
The Structure Had Been Pulled Even Further Out Of The Sand
Less than 24 hours from the last time O'Donoghue was at the beach, the shoreline had changed again.
The ocean had blasted the sand around the structure and pulled it even further out of its subterranean hiding spot.
The Area Is Well Known To Have A History Of Shipwrecks
The scene he walked up on painted a clearer picture of what he was looking at and he began to form an idea about what the structure could be.
The area is well known to be littered with shipwrecked vessels that have fallen victim to hurricane weather systems.
Hurricane Eta Blasted Florida In November 2020
Florida was still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Eta during November 2020.
It is most likely that the forceful effects of the hurricane weather helped pull the wreckage from beneath the sands of the shore, an area that was underwater hundreds of years ago.
Hurricane Storms Have Been Working The Structure Loose For Decades
Hurricane Eta dealt Florida a pretty nasty hand and the storms following the hurricane caused massive flooding and high tides for weeks.
Eta was likely a big contributor to pulling the structure up on Crescent Beach, but a long history of hurricane-grade storms has been working on this revelation for decades.
O'Donoghue Suspected The Structure Was A Ship But He Couldn't Be Sure
So what exactly did Eta's perfect storm pull from the sands on Crescent Beach?
It was hard to tell at first while parts of the structure remained under the surface of the sand, but O'Donoghue suspected that he had discovered the remnants of a very old ship.
He Called In Maritime Archaeologists To Help Him Identify The Discovery
His realization caused him to get in contact with St. Augustine's Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program (LAMP) to inquire about his finding.
Representatives from LAMP were able to authenticate O'Donoghue's finding and determine that it was in fact a ship.
The Timber Beams Made Him Think He Was Looking At An Old Ship
O'Donoghue explained that it was the visible timber beams that led him to believe he was looking at some kind of ship.
The LAMP team sent investigators out to Crescent Beach where they began digging.
The Research Team Struggled To Date The Wreckage
LAMP struggled to pinpoint the precise age of the wreckage at first because of its deteriorated condition.
Taking no chances, they hesitated to date the ship right away and continued to excavate the area looking for evidence of the structure's origin.
Evidence Suggested The Ship Could Be Dated To The 1800s
After getting into the investigation, evidence suggested that the ship could be dated to the 19th century.
LAMP representative and maritime archaeologist Chuck Meide said that everything on the ship, including "wooden planking, wood timbers, [and] iron fasteners" are consistent with other ships from the 1800s.
It Was Most Likely A Merchant Ship Of Some Kind
Meide continued to offer some history on the ship, saying, "It's most likely [it] was probably a merchant ship."
He compared it to a modern-day "Walmart semi-truck," describing it as a cargo ship that would have been responsible for carrying goods in the 1800s.
The Imperial Units Of Measure Suggested It Was Built In An English-Speaking Country
The group predicts that the ship was constructed in either America, Canada, or the United Kingdom.
The measurements on the wood revealed that the vessel had been constructed in a nation that uses imperial units rather than metric.
At First, The LAMP Team Was Unable To Determine What Type Of Cargo Was Carried
They originally theorized that the ship could have carried anything from hardware to flour to spices or any different types of commodities that were popular in trade at the time.
Unfortunately, the way the wreckage was wedged in the shore didn't allow the research team to discover evidence of cargo for quite some time.
The Rising Tide Regularly Swallows Up The Wreckage And The Investigation Is Temporarily Halted
One major challenge the research team continues to face is changing weather and tide conditions.
LAMP investigated at the mercy of the tide that periodically swallowed up the wreck again and hid all of their progress.
Some Beams Were Measured To A Depth Of 20 Feet
They were able to measure some of the beams to a depth of 20 feet below the surface.
However, by the end of the month, the wreck had almost completely disappeared under the shore again.
Advanced Camera Technology Allowed The Team To Begin 3D Mapping
Working against the ocean isn't easy, but Meide had a solution to get a better idea of what the full ship looked like under the sand.
Thanks to advanced camera technology called the "Ikelite Underwater System" the LAMP team was able to begin building "3D photogrammetric models" of the parts of the structure beneath the surface.
They Constructed A 3D Image Rendering Of The Ship Underground
The maritime archaeologist and his team began constructing a 3D image rendering of the ship based on all of the data they had gathered at the wreck site, similar to the one pictured above.
In the end, the experts were able to narrow down the identification of the boat with a pretty solid hypothesis.
The Boat Was A Lumber Hauler
LAMP believes that the boat was a timber hauler called the Caroline Eddy, constructed in 1862.
According to the Fort Matanzas National Monument Facebook page, "In late August 1880, the Caroline Eddy left Fernandina bound for New York with a cargo of lumber."
The Boat Fell Victim To Hurricane Weather And Ran Into Shallow Shores
The post continues to explain that she sailed into a hurricane where she was blown off course and pushed toward shore near Matanzas.
The crew allegedly survived by clinging to the masts and rigging for two days and a night before they were rescued.
The Ship Is Most Likely The Caroline Eddy, A Ship That Was Built Over 200 Years Ago
Meide and his team had a pretty strong hunch that the wreckage spotted by O'Donoghue was the Caroline Eddy.
Unfortunately, there wasn't any cargo debris remaining that could be used to 100% confirm its identity.
The Team Is Confident In Their Identification
They sent samples of the wreck for isotope analysis to try to identify where the wood originated, but it's a lengthy process like any investigation.
At this stage, the team is confident in saying they believe they have uncovered the hull of the Caroline Eddy.
LAMP Is Renowned For Shipwreck Exploration And Recovery
This wreck isn't LAMP's first experience with investigating shipwrecks—far from it, actually.
The organization is responsible for researching sunken structures across the state and it has been reported that over 4,000 sunken boats litter the ocean floor around the Floridian coastline.
Ancient Shipwrecks Will Continue To Surface Worldwide
The moral of the story is to keep your eyes peeled when you're wandering down the beach because you never know what you might find.
With climate change impacting our weather systems and water levels, things like these ancient shipwrecks will continue to surface around the world.
