Shipwreck from 1884 Storm Washes Along Nantucket Beach in Massachusetts

A shipwreck belonging to the 19th century vessel Warren Sawyer washed up along a Massachusetts Beach after sinking due to a violent storm 139 years ago.

Despite its historic ordeal, all crew members of the W. Sawyer managed to escape and reach the shore, according to the Nantucket Current.

The first remains of the ship was discovered in December 2022 and another was seen by a local in February.

Prior to modern vessels made of steel and other strong materials, shipwrecks are more common during the 19th century, wherein most vessels are constructed out of wood.

Although ships like the RMS Titanic that sunk after hitting an Atlantic iceberg in 1912 is an exception, such incidents occur as a single or combined factors of human errors and natural disasters like strong winds, storms, and rogue waves.

Nantucket Beach Shipwreck

(Photo : Image by Enrique Meseguer from Pixabay )

The shipwreck found its way into Miacomet Beach in Nantucket, Massachusetts, for unknown reasons even after a long time it was swept away by the 1884 storm.

Island resident Jesse Ahern was walking her dog on February 9 when she stumbled upon the new remains of the 1884 shipwreck.

This comes a week after local authorities identified the wreckage as likely a part of the Warren Sawyer, the Nantucket Current reported.

Ahern also filmed the watery remains of W. Sawyer after noticing that the wreckage is different from the images presented before.

The new ship remains was located 300 yards west of the initial shipwreck site, the local news site added.

Evan Schwanfelder from Egan Maritime documented the new fragment, which he sent photos to Dave Robinson, head of the state Board of Underwater Archeological Resources.

Also Read: Strange Deep-sea Creatures Found Inhabiting the Endurance Shipwreck

Shipwreck Incidents

Vessels, both traditional and modern, can be preserved for hundreds or thousands of years after being submerged underwater, based on recorded cases.

According to the Guinness World Records, the oldest shipwreck can be found in the waters off the Greek island of Dokos, located in the Aegean Sea.

It was first discovered by Peter Throckmorton of the Hellenic Institute of Marine Archaeology in 1975.

While there are multiple shipwrecks worldwide, ranging from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, the wreck of the RMS Titanic, as mentioned earlier, is considered to be the most famous shipwreck history.

One of the underlying factors behind such attribution is due to the previous reputation of the colossal vessel as an "unsinkable" ocean liner.

In the night of April 10 in 1912, the Titanic voyaged from Southampton, England, with a supposed route to New York City.

Even until now the shipwreck of the historic vessel remains to be found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Helen Farr, associate professor at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, told Newsweek, that historic ships are preserved so well since they have sunk and remotely buried in the sediment, wherein when timbers are buried in the rubble they are protected from erosion.

Related Article: NOAA Finds 160-Year-Old Shipwreck on NC Sea Floor