CAPE RAY, N.L. -- Worried that it may disappear for good, residents in Cape Ray, N.L. tied up a mysterious shipwreck on Tuesday, anchoring it to the beach in a bid to preserve the wreckage and find some answers about its origins.
Almost nothing is known for certain about the boat. Its overturned hull was first noticed on January 20th on a sandy beach in J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park, on the southwest coast of Newfoundland.
But in the days since itās discovery, the boat has been battered by waves ā and has traveled a significant distance along the shore, according to Bert Osmond, one of many Cape Ray residents who are intrigued by the wreckage.
On Tuesday, with the help of an ocean clean-up group, residents tied three ropes to the overturned hull, and connected them to fencing on the shore.
āYou donāt see this every day in a lifetime, not something this old,ā Osmond said. āA lot of people is concerned over it, and I canāt blame them, Iām concerned too. Iād like for it to be hauled ashore.ā
While the tie-up was underway, onlookers speculated about the boat ā wondering what type of wood it was built with, and what the nails and planks indicate about its construction.
Newfoundland and Labradorās provincial archeologist, Jamie Brake, is planning to visit the site with a team from St. Johnās, N.L. on Saturday.
Tidal patterns are frustrating attempts to get the boat on the ground sooner, he said, as the ship is mostly underwater until low tide. This week, water levels are only expected to drop in the early morning hours and after sunset.
āThereās not a lot we can do when this is underwater at this time of the year,ā he said. āFrom what we understand, itās just exposed for an hour at lowest tide.ā
Brake said thereās considerable risk in disturbing the boatās wreckage too much ā moving it from a wet location to a drier one will likely cause the wood to deteriorate quickly, even if it survives the stresses from being physically moved.
The archeology team will take multiple tools with them, and Brake said heād like to be able to see the other side of the overturned hull ā but it may not be possible to answer every question about the boat.
āThe goal at this point would be to see if we can figure out some things like the age of it and where might have come from. That might give us some clues.ā
Residents are hopeful their make-shift anchor will keep the boat from drifting back into the ocean.
Wanda Blackmoreās son was the first to spot the boat on the beach. She believes it may have been wrestled from the seabed by Hurricane Fiona when it hit the region in 2022, and finally pushed ashore by other storms since then.
āIām just interested to see how old it is,ā she said. āNever know, it could be a ship that brought my ancestors here.ā