Shipwreck Help needed.

[itmaiden]

Okay, I have been searching tons of photos to identify a particular wreck that is in relatively good condition and has been "just under the sand" for a while. Now it sits above the ocean floor level to a degree with sand on top of it taking on the ships outline.

It is not shaped like the older Spanish galleons, but is slender, with a slightly raised stern railing. It is what appears to be 3 mast. The crows nest is somewhat deep with fairly wide slats around it. I thought maybe a British ship, but the crows nest does not match any I have seen. I believe the wreck to be 1700's or 1800's. It is not being salvaged at this present time.

I have searched wrecks and history and have yet to find any document that positively identifies a wreck at this location, though there are many wrecks that have never ever had supporting documentation to their location.

If a nationality can be identified it would help in searching other archives.
I have not seen any other wreck adjacent to this wreck from the same time period, so very likely a lone ship.

I've looked at many links and ships, and nothing matches.

itmaiden

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[Mackaydon]

And your Question is.............?

 

[itmaiden]

The question is: ideas ? links to good ship diagrams etc. ?

itmaiden

And your Question is.............?

 

[Mackaydon]

You may wish to start with Google ("ships diagrams") and there you can browse over 500,000 sites with images of ships' diagrams.

 

[ScubaFinder]

With the amount of detail you describe about the crows nest and stern railing, I have to assume you have (or can get) some photos? Those would help immensely as would any other artifacts from the wreck like spikes, wood, ceramics, glass, etc. Give us more info and maybe some visual aids and I bet some of the fine folks here could put some pieces into your puzzle.

 

[itmaiden]

Can't put the photos up. Everybody would be on top of the thing if I did.
The wreck sank in whole, it didn't break up.
That is why I can give this description.

Did a lot more searching last night. Found some similar ships but some features were not the same. It could easily be French, Dutch or British right now. I am really thinking 1800's.

Will take special equipment to move all that sand though, but the sand has protected it also.

Everybody has other projects right now and others are not formalized or have enough resources to salvage this vessel properly.

I don't care for the idea of a company taking out a lease, then sitting on it till "they get around to it".

I have done image and diagram searches across several search engines. Think it is just library time now.

itmaiden

With the amount of detail you describe about the crows nest and stern railing, I have to assume you have (or can get) some photos? Those would help immensely as would any other artifacts from the wreck like spikes, wood, ceramics, glass, etc. Give us more info and maybe some visual aids and I bet some of the fine folks here could put some pieces into your puzzle.

 

[ScubaFinder]

There is a fine line between having a big enough mouth to get your claim jumped, and being so tight-lipped that you can't find the information you need. Surely you can get a picture that doesn't give the location away. Trying to identify a ship via a text version of someone else's description is impossible.

Look for broad arrows on the spike heads...these would verify Brittish. In my experience, Dutch is easy because thier pottery was slightly different, and you generally get stoneware bottles. Even the glazes on pottery can tell you lots. If you've seen the crows nest (an absolute rarity in this industry) i find it hard to believe that you haven't picked up any artifacts yet. Pics of artifacts don't give locations away, nor do underwater pics.

 

[itmaiden]

Boy, aint that the truth. I don't dive. I am a land hunter and use wrecks for locating good land sites. I found the wreck through very good image photos last Spring, a rarity anymore these days it seems. It was the crows nest that first caught my attention. And yes, a rarity that one would survive to any degree, but it is there, in it's proper location. The sand outlined the wreck really well and probably because it sits up off the ocean floor a bit. Now believe me, I am a good skeptic, but I have spent a lot of time with this and everytime I look at it again, I say "dang" gotta get someone down there to look at this thing more closely.
I do know where there is another Spanish Hull from probably the 15-1600's and something else that may be part of the same ship because of location, but those are future quests. I have also located what appears to be another older Spanish ship recently, but have to do more research on it, and there are 2 more possible wrecks I have to investigate further.

I like to try and gather as much information as possible before "selling" someone on it. Wreck divers don't have time for wild card chases, though I think they do a lot of them anyway.

itmaiden

Artifacts do not necessarily identify any ship and you know that being a diver. The ship parts are the best identifiers. I feel like I am pacing around this site like a nervous cat with intense curiosity. It is just too good of a find from the historical aspect.

I got a diver buddy that may have time to go check it out during season, but it will take some patience and carefullness to get that sand off the thing. Would like to get some photos of it from above, the back and the sides.

Just have to wait for season to get here.

There is a fine line between having a big enough mouth to get your claim jumped, and being so tight-lipped that you can't find the information you need.