Wreckage of mystery ship washes up on Canadian coast
A GHOSTLY shipwreck has been discovered on the shores of Newfoundland, centuries after it is thought to have sunk.
The 80ft ship is believed to have been dredged up by the post-tropical storm, Fiona, before it was spotted by residents of Cape Ray, a small Canadian coastal town.
Gordon Blackmore, 21, who was hunting seabirds when he noticed a dark shadow in the waters, said: “It’s amazing, there is no other word for it. I’m just curious if they can name the ship, and how old it is and if there were any souls lost on her.”
The boat is thought to date from the 19th century because of the use of wooden dowels and copper pegs, which were common in the 1800s.
Little else is known about its origin, while marine experts are mulling over the mystery of its sudden appearance.
Neil Burgess, the president of the Shipwreck Preservation Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, suspects the vessel was freed by coastal erosion and a storm that damaged more than 100 homes.
Mr Burgess told UPI news: “If it’s oak or beech or a hardwood species like that, it will tell us it wasn’t made here in Newfoundland and was probably made over in Europe. There are databases of shipwrecks, we can search for what was recorded as being lost around Cape Ray.”
A local government team has now been sent to secure the wreck which could rapidly become a destination for souvenir hunters.
There are also fears it could succumb to sea ice or be pulled back out to sea by strong winds.
Wayne Osmond, a Cape Ray resident, said: “Everyone seems to forget that some years we experience sea ice here. If that happens, within a few hours it can cause more damage to the wreck than a century or more of it submerged in deeper water.”
The extraordinary find has nevertheless become the talk of the town in Cape Ray, which is home to around 350 people and used to be situated on a high-traffic shipping route.