Experts Race to Save Outer Banks Shipwreck

Outer Banks Shipwreck - Oldest in North Carolina

In late 2009 and early 2010, we wrote a couple posts about a 400 year old shipwreck that was discovered along the Outer Banks, Corolla to be specific.  The wreck was partially unearthed by storms, and a beachcomber stumbled upon it to their amazement.  The wreck was then excavated and transported down Rt. 12 to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum on Hatteras Island.

With the aid of computer models, it has been calculated that the ship was 110 feet long by 20 to 30 feet wide. It was broad and slower-moving and most likely used for hauling merchandise, and its 12-inch by 12-inch beams were made from European white oak.

The wreck dates from the early to mid-1600s, making it the oldest among the hundreds of shipwrecks found on the North Carolina coast.

Now let’s fast forward to the present day.

The Pilot is reporting that the wreck, believed to be the oldest shipwreck found in North Carolina, is now sitting on concrete exposed to the harsh Outer Banks elements. The wreck lasted 400 years beneath the ocean surface, but the elements above water are quickly drying and cracking the aged ship, and experts are scrambling to determine the best way to save it; regular baths, soak it for years in a preserving agent, coat in sugar water, saturate it in expensive silicon oil, freeze dry it, some or all of the above?

Preserving 12-tons of shipwreck is no easy task, especially when funding is limited. There are no right or wrong approaches. Every shipwreck is different and a wide variety of variables must be considered. The simple question of whether the wreck should be inside or out, is not very simple.  And if the wrong approaches are chosen, the detrimental effects are irreversible.

The experts understand their time is short, but they also know that they only get one shot at preserving the artifact, so the plan of action must be timely, but it must also be correct.

The wreck was lost for 400 years, and now that it’s been discovered, the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is doing everything in their power to make sure it isn’t lost for good.