Follow-up on the Shipwreck at Newcomb Hollow

I spoke with Jenna Sammartino at the Salt Pond Visitors' Center, in search of an answer to Amy’s question, posted in Comments yesterday. Jenna told me no one knows for sure when the schooner went down or even whether the wreck was indeed a schooner. She reminded me that thousands of ships sank off Cape Cod. The bones of the hull have been left in place because historians at the Seashore feel the wreck has more value on site. It would lose its story if moved elsewhere. In its present configuration, visitors can observe how the sand shifts around the wreck. Jenna pointed out that the wreck was buried last summer. The fact that it is again visible demonstrates the cycle beaches follow. She suggested I speak with historian Bill Burk, which I proceeded to do. Bill told me that some scientists from Wood’s Hole did a CAT scan a year ago to see how far down the wreck goes, using a LiDAR machine. Jenna seemed to think they had taken a core sample, but Bill was not sure about this. He said a maritime archeologist from UCONN had also come and measured the hull timbers. Strangely enough, neither party has gotten back to Bill with the results. I contacted both by email yesterday. David Patterson did testing on the Vasa, and with our Swedish connection, I must post this link and hope he will be moved to share his findings on our own shipwreck. Below, a peek at access to the beach parking lot in winter, very different from summer. When you walk the beach in winter with a cold wind blowing, you become almost eager to reach the parking lot and hurry, whereas summer visitors drag their feet ...