New fundraising effort planned for Cape Ray shipwreck
Wreck remains in water until enough money can be raised to haul it out
With one fundraiser seemingly stalled, the people hoping to salvage the shipwreck at Cape Ray are trying another way to raise the cash they need for the project.
In the last week or so, a Gofundme account established to help haul the wreck out of the water to above the high-tide mark and eventually relocate it to the Cape Ray lighthouse has generated only a little more than $200.
That boosted the total amount raised via Gofundme to just above $10,000, but more is needed just to cover the costs of safely moving the wreck away from the pounding surf that has been slowly picking it apart and breaking the ropes mooring it to the shoreline.
While it is the local service district of Cape Ray that has been granted permission by the provincial government to try to preserve the wreck, the job of securing the ship — believed to be from the 19th century — has been taken on by the Clean Harbours Initiative.
That organization said it has secured the services of the heavy equipment needed to move the wreck, but it likely needs between $15,000 and $20,000, if not more, to pay for the work to be done.
TICKET DRAW
On Sunday, Feb. 25, Shawn Bath, the owner and founder of the Clean Harbours Initiative, announced the project has been given a selection of items to sell tickets on in support of the shipwreck retrieval efforts.
Bath said the idea came from Trevor Croft, his partner in the Clean Harbours Initiative. Bath said Croft spent several days contacting businesses across the province
and had some success.
Unfortunately, there has been a death in the Croft family and he is back in his hometown of Witless Bay for the next while.
The Clean Harbours Initiative was looking for anyone who was able to help transport some of the donated items from Witless Bay to Cape Ray so the fundraiser could get going.
Bath told Saltwire on Monday, Feb. 26, that he doesn’t yet have a complete list of what has been donated, but there is a chainsaw, a selection of safety gear and a nine-foot sled that can be hauled behind a snowmobile.
‘FINGERS CROSSED’
As for the wreck, Bath had to tie more ropes onto it to secure it on Sunday, Feb. 25, which happened to be his 52nd birthday.
The wreck, which appeared on the shoreline of the sandy beach near J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park on Jan. 20, spent about a week adrift after breaking the first mooring Bath and Croft had attached to it.
The old wooden hull drifted out of sight for a couple of days amid heavy seas but has since not only been pushed back to the beach but also a little further onto it.
“Fingers crossed, let’s hope she continues to climb the beach, making it easier for us to get her out of the water once and for all,” Bath posted on social media.
The provincial government, which has taken samples of the wreck’s wooden and metal materials in an effort to learn more about its origins, has not yet deemed the ship historically significant enough to warrant funding for retrieval.
The local service district hopes it can, with the help of Bath and Croft, preserve enough of the wreck near its lighthouse as a tourist attraction.