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Monday, March 1, 2021

3/1/21 Report - Discovering Slave Shipwrecks in Florida Waters. Shipwreck Wood. Bigger Surf Predicted.

 

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.

The February/March 2021 Issue of AARP Magazine has a one-page article about a retiree diver that volunteers to look for slave shipwrecks in Biscayne National Park.  The fellow formed a nonprofit named Diving With a Purpose to teach divers how to identify and document shipwrecks.  For the last four years DWP and the Biscayne National Park has been surveying the southern area of the park looking for the wreck of the Guerrero, and they think it might have been found.  

The same article mentioned the Henrietta Marie, but made no mention that is was discovered by the Mel Fisher group in 1972 while looking for the Atocha.  Arcaheologists didn't visit the site until 1983.

Here is a link about that.

HENRIETTA MARIE 1700 | MelFisher.org


Looking into the Guerrero a little, here is what I found written by DWP.


The slave ship Guerrero was lost off the coast of south Florida on December 19, 1827, with 561 Africans aboard.

Underwater archaeologists believe that the ship has been found...

That effort was filmed for the PBS documentary series “Changing Seas” in the episode “Sunken Stories.” The program is produced by WPBT2 in Miami, and can be viewed on their web site at changingseas.tv.

 “The National Park Service has over a hundred shipwrecks in the Biscayne National Park Area. She needed help to document the shipwrecks.”...

The illegal slave ship Guerrero was operated by pirates. The Guerrero was bound for Cuba with about 700 slaves aboard when the British Navy ship Nimble pursued and attacked. A storm came and both ships were shipwrecked on the reef off the coast of Key Largo...

Wreckers came to help get the ships off of the reef, but received an unexpected greeting.

“The pirates actually took one of the wrecker’s ships and ended up going to Cuba with some of the remaining slaves,” Denson says. “Some of the slaves were rescued and they ended up going to Key West, and eventually made their way back to Liberia.”

There were several possible places where the remains of the Guerrero could be located. Working with the Mel Fisher Heritage Society and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during excavations in 2010 and 2012, Denson believes they found and identified the slave ship...

Some of the artifacts uncovered that are believed to be from the Guerrero include a cologne bottle from the early 1800s, bone china, lead shot, blue edged earthenware, metal rigging, copper fasteners, and wooden plank fragments...

Here is that link.


I was looking back through some of my November 2010 posts.  There was some great erosion back then.  It was the best fossil hunting I can remember.  There were some BIG pieces on the beach.  I haven't seen it like that since.

There were other things uncovered then too.  I remember some shipwreck wood that was washing up.  I showed some of that.  I haven't seen that very often.



Here is some old shipwreck wood found on Treasure Coast beaches.  The top one has an iron pin still in it.  The iron leached out and seems to have protected and preserved the area it covered.

Below is a closer look at Teredo worm damage to one piece.  That is the reason for the lead and copper sheathing that you find.  The worms were a real problem.




I found a very interesting article saying that teredo worms were brought to American waters by shipping.  They were not native and not found in native American wood before a certain date.  Unfortunately I lost the reference and can't find the link right now.  I'll look for it.

 Here are a couple links if you want to know how to treat and preserve old shipwreck wood.


For greater detail on artifacts of wood, including those with spike or other materials, here is a more academic set of articles from the Texas A and M conservation lab.
http://nautarch.tamu.edu/aprl/reports.shtml



I wish I knew then what I know now about some of those beaches.  You keep learning.  New finds can add to your understanding of what went on at a location.  An area that hasn't produced in many years can all of a sudden reveal some of its hidden treasures. 

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Source: MagicSeaWeed.com.

We are having south winds now, but it looks like there is a chance for some bigger surf next weekend.   So far 2021 has been slow.  I'd really like to see a seven foot surf.  I hope that the predictions hold or even increase.  

Happy hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net


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