The appearance of a huge, apparently ancient, overturned ship on the coast of the extreme southwest of Newfoundland intrigues and mobilizes the residents and experts of that Canadian province today.The remains are visible a few meters from the shore of Cape Ray Beach, especially when the tide goes out, highlights CTV News.
The discovery attracts a steady stream of local admirers who flock to examine its long, curved boards and the wooden dowels that hold them together.The beaches along that corner of Newfoundland have eroded substantially in recent years, experts say.
Likewise, the effect of post-tropical storm Fiona, which devastated the area on September 24, 2022, may have helped unearth the ship from its sandy grave and each subsequent storm would have loosened it further, says Neil Burgess, president of the Society of Newfoundland and Labrador Shipwreck Preservation.
A 19th century ship
Burgess estimates that the ship was built in the 19th century, due to the wooden dowels and copper pegs on the remains, each more than two centimeters wide, which were used to fasten the hull planks.The emerged hull is about 24 meters long and is not complete, meaning the ship itself was even longer, he added.
Thousands of shipwrecks
The seabed around Newfoundland is littered with “thousands” of shipwrecks and these surface from time to time, he said. But that doesn’t make the Cape Ray shipwreck any less exciting.Cape Ray was part of a busy route centuries ago and the wreck could come from anywhere, specialists warn.
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