Blak bart
Platinum Member
- #1
Thread Owner
Huh....appears that I have found the bottom of this previously undiscovered site !! The little balandra was the smallest ship in the fleet, and after the hurricane she was dismasted and aground or at anchor between 2 keys. This small sailing ship was bound for st. Augustine with supplies for the Spanish fort. There were 256 barrels of flour on board, and this flour was a critical part in the survival of the stranded shipwreck survivors. The Spanish stripped the shipwreck of wood to build a fort at the "whale harbor site" with 4 cannons to protect the treasure and water source located at the main salvage camp. After this small narrative about this little ship the story goes dark, and I can only assume it was burned to the waterline and left to disappear under the sand.
So it seems it was deemed 100% salvaged and there was no modern interest to find this ships remains. There was a general idea of where it should be in the old YouTube Don Ferguson videos. I looked there for any signs of it in the general area several times over the last few years and never saw a sign of it. But as my interest peeked....I noticed the part in the narrative about it being "between 2 keys"....this would indicate that it was actually pretty far inshore from where it was originally thought to rest. It is utterly insane to think that this boat has been hidden under the sand in one of the most obvious spots in all the keys.....it started to show bits and pieces slowly as erosion took place about 4 years ago. And now during king tides and strong winter currents more and more is showing .... so far anyone who has seen parts of it hasn't figured out its significance and for the most part no one has realized what it is. I have a large timber from it that broke free and washed ashore for analysis. The timber has the typical mix of trenils, iron fasteners and a few bronze fasteners. Of coarse im not 100% sure of this find, but it certainly looks right and is in the spot described in the narrative. So....what now ?? Can't really do anything with it, but will alert Corey Malcom and see if there is any interest in the timber to examine and test....either way whether there is interest or not....I know where this boat is, and almost always there's a coin or 2 around these sites....obviously im at the mercy of mother nature as far as finding anything because your never going to be able to dig this unless the state wants too. There should be 6 feet of boat with ballast and bottom under the sand here.....probably be an incredible dig for the archeologist!! Anyway thats my latest and greatest.....these things take time for the dots to connect, and then all of a sudden there is the realization of exactly what you've found, and its importance !! Cool discovery for me even if no one wants the proof or cares.....I feel good in the fact that I know what it is !!
So it seems it was deemed 100% salvaged and there was no modern interest to find this ships remains. There was a general idea of where it should be in the old YouTube Don Ferguson videos. I looked there for any signs of it in the general area several times over the last few years and never saw a sign of it. But as my interest peeked....I noticed the part in the narrative about it being "between 2 keys"....this would indicate that it was actually pretty far inshore from where it was originally thought to rest. It is utterly insane to think that this boat has been hidden under the sand in one of the most obvious spots in all the keys.....it started to show bits and pieces slowly as erosion took place about 4 years ago. And now during king tides and strong winter currents more and more is showing .... so far anyone who has seen parts of it hasn't figured out its significance and for the most part no one has realized what it is. I have a large timber from it that broke free and washed ashore for analysis. The timber has the typical mix of trenils, iron fasteners and a few bronze fasteners. Of coarse im not 100% sure of this find, but it certainly looks right and is in the spot described in the narrative. So....what now ?? Can't really do anything with it, but will alert Corey Malcom and see if there is any interest in the timber to examine and test....either way whether there is interest or not....I know where this boat is, and almost always there's a coin or 2 around these sites....obviously im at the mercy of mother nature as far as finding anything because your never going to be able to dig this unless the state wants too. There should be 6 feet of boat with ballast and bottom under the sand here.....probably be an incredible dig for the archeologist!! Anyway thats my latest and greatest.....these things take time for the dots to connect, and then all of a sudden there is the realization of exactly what you've found, and its importance !! Cool discovery for me even if no one wants the proof or cares.....I feel good in the fact that I know what it is !!
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This one was covered deep in sand with little oxygen for along time....then eroded out of a grass and sand flat....at low tide this sand bank is sometimes dry !! I think ill use an aluminum rod probe, and see what i can feel under the sand....possibly mark out some mental boundaries of how much is under the sand....I would love to here the clink of ballast, or feel some more wood !! The deep chanel has migrated and meandered to the point of exposing some timbers which then eventually wash ashore....this wood had several other trennals that broke off rolling around in the sand.
