Ship Buried on Jax Beach, FL

[Warbirder]

I'm sharing this because knowledge of it will soon be gone. At my age, I have quit buying green bananas, and I don't have any friends left who would remember it. In the late 1930's my family would drive 12 miles to Jax Beach every Sunday, weather allowing. We would turn north where Beach Road dead ends at the Atlantic, and drive to the jetties, a wall of protecting boulders stretching a good mile out to sea from the mouth of the St. Johns River. It's also called the Mayport area. We would drive on the beach to reach the jetties. About a quarter mile south of the jetties, there was the rusting remains of a sunken ship buried to its deck in beach sand. We would drive past it, and I remember my father saying it probably washed ashore in a storm before the jetties were built. What is, or was the ship? Here's all I remember, but this was 70 years ago. There was definitely rusting metal poles sticking out of the sand. I can't remember how high they were but they were rusty and my father warned us not to get scratched playing on them because then we would have to get a shot at the hospital. I would guess the ship's length showing above the sand to be about 100ft. long. But as a kid, everything looked big to me.
The deck was not metal, but there was a lot of rusty iron outlining the ship from end to end. This ship would sometimes be buried out of sight by a hurricane. But it was still there, on and off as late as the mid 1940s.

i've attached a Google Earth image showing my best guess as to its location. I know nothing about the rules and laws for detecting on the beach, but maybe somebody here knows if it is feasible to make a search. Bob

The lat-long on GE is: 30deg23'46.46" N
81deg23'38.59" W

 

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[tony_k_Orlando FL]

Warbirder-

Thanks for sharing the information with us folks here on Treasurenet.

While I am rather far from the location, I am hoping someone near by the area you described can benefit from your post.

Have a fine day,

Tony

 

[Diver_Down]

Be forewarned about digging large iron targets on the First Coast. Recently, there was a depth charge that was exposed by the shifting sands near Ponte Vedra that was detonated by the navy. I live in St. Augustine. I wouldn't mind hearing more about this wreck.

 

[Warbirder]

Diver Down - That's it. That's all I remember. The rest of the kids with me at that time are all gone now. You just jogged a memory about something else. One Sunday at the beach (this was during the war, about 1942-43) we saw a huge column of black smoke miles at sea and south of Jacksonville. It was a tanker torpedoed by a U-boat and was kept very hush-hush. There was a lot of oil on the beach for weeks later. Somebody at this site must know about it. Don't know if it was ever recovered or is still there. Bob

 

[ivan salis]

there are several wrecksites near the mouth of the st johns river / jetty areas --- one is off the range light area on the lower side (mayport)-- another one is at huegnot park just off shore --- (there is also an old slaver wreck in the "pond" type area of the park -- however --archies are on to it so do not touch it or poke around it !!!)--- ps there is also a 1711 era spanish wreck that was recorded as lost at 30degrees 20 min *--( that would bplace it at near where the jax beach peir is ---when they sank the "original jax peir " legs long ago in the sand they hit wood

 

[Warbirder]

IvanSalis - Thanks for the additional info on other ships. Seems I've heard of the Hugenot ship over the years. The smoke from the ship I saw was well south of Jax; must have been off St. Augustine, or even further south. Warbirder

 

[Diver_Down]

Now that you mention it, there was a wreck that was exposed at Vilano last summer. LAMP (http://www.staugustinelighthouse.com/lamp.php) had taken measurements and photos. I believe I read that it was determined to be a freighter.