mad4wrecks
Bronze Member
- Dec 20, 2004
- 2,263
- 107
- Detector(s) used
- Aquapulse, DetectorPro Headhunter, Fisher F75
- Primary Interest:
- Shipwrecks
Divers spy ship relic in Winyah
Researchers think boat may belong to Civil War era
By Kelly Marshall Fuller
The Sun News
GEORGETOWN - A shipwreck that could be the remains of a lost Confederate blockade runner, or possibly a vessel that predates the Civil War, was found Thursday near the entrance to Winyah Bay, researchers said.
Divers from the Maritime Research Division of the S.C. Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology dove in about 13 feet of water and discovered a vessel that is about 90 feet long, with a wooden hull and a possible copper coating.
The wreck could be the Sir Robert Peel, a blockade runner that was used by Confederate soldiers to get supplies to Georgetown during the Civil War, said state underwater archaeologist Christopher Amer.
Meanwhile, a search is continuing for the Chorruca, a Spanish galleon that was lost in 1526 during a Spanish expedition to Georgetown.
"It's not the 16th-century vessel, but it is exciting," Amer said. "By looking at the magnetic signature of the vessel, we knew it was large."
The shipwreck research team combed the water for the past week, struggling against bad weather and equipment problems.
Their search focused on the hunt for the Spanish galleon, but researchers were aware that other shipwrecks are nearby.
The team did not find the Queen of the Waves, a blockade runner thought to be in the mouth of the Santee River.
No boats were known to go down in the area where the wreck was found, two and a half miles south of the jetties in Winyah Bay, Amer said.
The research team will record the coordinates of the shipwreck and come back during another expedition, Amer said.
Some small bits of wood and copper were brought to the surface Thursday afternoon.
"It's possible that the wreck came from the 18th century," Amer said. "The best way to tell is to find artifacts."
Blockade runners, which were built for speed, were used to get supplies to Southerners during the Civil War - then take cotton and textiles back to England and Bermuda, Amer said.
According to historians, the Chorruca cargo ship was once part of an expedition led by Spanish explorer Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon.
De Ayllon led a group that included men, women and children who wanted to settle one of the first colonies in North America.
De Ayllon's journey to the Georgetown area was short-lived, however, as the settlement did not thrive.
The members of the expedition stayed a short while but were thought to have moved south, Amer said.
The Chorruca would have carried tools and implements needed for settlers.
The search for the Chorruca and other shipwrecks is part of a long-term project to map about 11,000 miles of inland water and more than 187 miles of coastline in South Carolina to determine where shipwrecks from all eras are located.
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Researchers think boat may belong to Civil War era
By Kelly Marshall Fuller
The Sun News
GEORGETOWN - A shipwreck that could be the remains of a lost Confederate blockade runner, or possibly a vessel that predates the Civil War, was found Thursday near the entrance to Winyah Bay, researchers said.
Divers from the Maritime Research Division of the S.C. Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology dove in about 13 feet of water and discovered a vessel that is about 90 feet long, with a wooden hull and a possible copper coating.
The wreck could be the Sir Robert Peel, a blockade runner that was used by Confederate soldiers to get supplies to Georgetown during the Civil War, said state underwater archaeologist Christopher Amer.
Meanwhile, a search is continuing for the Chorruca, a Spanish galleon that was lost in 1526 during a Spanish expedition to Georgetown.
"It's not the 16th-century vessel, but it is exciting," Amer said. "By looking at the magnetic signature of the vessel, we knew it was large."
The shipwreck research team combed the water for the past week, struggling against bad weather and equipment problems.
Their search focused on the hunt for the Spanish galleon, but researchers were aware that other shipwrecks are nearby.
The team did not find the Queen of the Waves, a blockade runner thought to be in the mouth of the Santee River.
No boats were known to go down in the area where the wreck was found, two and a half miles south of the jetties in Winyah Bay, Amer said.
The research team will record the coordinates of the shipwreck and come back during another expedition, Amer said.
Some small bits of wood and copper were brought to the surface Thursday afternoon.
"It's possible that the wreck came from the 18th century," Amer said. "The best way to tell is to find artifacts."
Blockade runners, which were built for speed, were used to get supplies to Southerners during the Civil War - then take cotton and textiles back to England and Bermuda, Amer said.
According to historians, the Chorruca cargo ship was once part of an expedition led by Spanish explorer Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon.
De Ayllon led a group that included men, women and children who wanted to settle one of the first colonies in North America.
De Ayllon's journey to the Georgetown area was short-lived, however, as the settlement did not thrive.
The members of the expedition stayed a short while but were thought to have moved south, Amer said.
The Chorruca would have carried tools and implements needed for settlers.
The search for the Chorruca and other shipwrecks is part of a long-term project to map about 11,000 miles of inland water and more than 187 miles of coastline in South Carolina to determine where shipwrecks from all eras are located.
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