Description:   The wreck lies in a soft silt bed at approximately 220/fsw, in U.S. territorial waters. Future goals, with the information gathered from this expedition, are to develop a 10-year summer excavation plan partnering with one or more major universities and/or museums.

Purpose/Objectives: Captain Tim Taylor was the first person to dive this wreck in October of 2004, at the behest of a local fisherman who had drug up a piece of copper sheeting (part of the hull) while trawling and shared his find with a salvage company.  The salvagers completed a week of initial side scan sonar imagery on the site and wanted a video survey.  After a solo bounce dive to 220 feet on air, Tim recorded enough video and retrieved a small brass port which allowed them to arrest and claim the site with the admiralty court. R/V Tiburon, Inc. returned with mixed gas and rebreathers in December 2005 for a quick video survey that led to the belief that the vessel is from the early to mid 1800’s era. Deemed of no commercial value by the salvage company, the site was donated to our non-profit Ocean Outreach Inc. so that we could carry out a long-term archeological project with a national university and/or museum. Our first step in this long -range project was to photo document the site with the intention of having Dr. John Broadwater assess its historical significance. This initial information would allow us to seek funding and form strategic partnerships for a long-term project. All indications are that we have found an intact time capsule in diving range that provides a rare opportunity for exploration. We plan to model this after terrestrial academic archeological programs and engage graduate and post graduate students in working the site every summer season. The winter months will be spent preserving, cataloging, researching, and planning the next year’s project.  The end results could be an underwater archeological site at 200 plus feet deep that is fully excavated, documented, and displayed. 

Itinerary and routing (locations, transportation, and subsistence arrangements):

The entire operation was run from the Research Vessel Tiburon (R/V Tiburon) based out of Key West, Florida. Owned and operated by Tim Taylor, FN04, the vessel is 63 feet long and equipped to sleep 14, plus 5 crew.  She is a USCG certified and SOLAS-rated vessel which specializes in research and outreach projects. 

Departure Date:                        May 30, 2006

Return Date:                            June 05, 2006

Departing Key West, the Tiburon made way to the anchorage of the Dry Tortugas National Park. We based operations from this location and motored each morning to the wreck site.

Daily breakdown as follows:

      5/30/06   day 2 diving: 2 dives of two divers each for a total of 171mins. (79 and 92 each, respectively)

      5/31/06   day 3 diving: 2 dives of two divers for a total of 246 min (176 and 70 each, respectively)

      6/1/06   day 4 diving: 1 dive of two divers for 172 min each

      6/2/06   day 5 diving: 1 dive of two divers for 154 min each 

      6/3/06   day 6 diving: final dive day; 2 dives of two divers each for a total of 198 min  (77 and 121 each, respectively)

Initial analysis of footage by Captain Hare and the dive team contributed to the following preliminary assessment of the wreck site:

Although the desired goal of identifying the wreck was not accomplished, we were able to broadly document the primary hull structure and debris fields. We also came to some first conclusions which will need to be verified, narrowing down the likely period of building into the late 19th century, possibly 1880s-1890s.  This somewhat contradicts the previous 2004 expedition results in which the dating of artifacts, including glass bottles, seemed to indicate a potential mid-19th century (1850s-1870s) period, based on the bottle manufacturing processes used.  Further study by additional experts of the site and artifacts will hopefully provide more conclusive dating of the wreck. The successful collection of video footage provided the raw resources to create a video mosaic which thus enables the production of a detailed visual map for future reference. Sketches of the primary hull structure enabled a broader visual overview of the decking and locations of specific attributes of the wreck site. The overall video production of the expedition both topside and below should prove a valuable asset for further evaluating processes and accomplishments.

The likelihood of properly identifying the correct bow and stern orientations, (which was previously not clear based upon the position of the rudder on the wreck site), seems to have been clarified to indicate the bow is to the west and the stern to the east. This is still to be finalized.

Clear identification was established for the “rear” mast (approximately 3 feet in diameter) at 20’ from the stern, with a possible rake to the stern of maybe 15 degrees. Some divers felt they saw the rake clearly, while others were not as certain.

Aft and forward of the exposed wreck site are indications of a cargo of hardwoods; a sample was retrieved for further analysis. There were a large number of bronze pins that were used to build the upper hull structure, which has since deteriorated.  In addition, an abundance of bronze plates with pins were identified as the pieces that held the upper decks in place.

Mid-ship is covered with shrimp boat nets and long-line gear, making it impossible to currently identify the position of the center mast, but it would appear to be mid-ship at approximately the 50’ mark of the 111’ length of the hull section. The beam runs just under 30’ at the center of the wreck site.

The rudder components, three specific parts all oriented on or near the bow section of the wreck, should yield additional information that may help to further narrow down the period of shipbuilding. The largest rudder component lies in the sands on the starboard side of the wreck and still has intact wood parts that made up the rudder assembly.

Along the starboard side of the wreck is a large metal tube that is surmised to have been around the mast. The length is undetermined as it is buried into the sand. It is approximately 2-3’ in diameter and is the home to an especially large black grouper.

The recovery of a bottle (champagne) may provide additional details in respect to the dating of the wreck and will be forwarded to a bottle expert for analysis of the period of the bottle’s manufacture.

Initial survey of the debris fields off the main hull indicate there is little-to-no debris in the northeast quadrant of the wreck site; there is a small collection of rigging components and copper sheeting in the sands to the north by northeast area of the debris fields; more significant debris in the east and southeast sections of the site. The southwest quadrant of the site remains largely uninvestigated; however, the previous visit had identified a portion of the port running light just off the southern side of the wreck site and there may be additional debris worth review.

Sand sweeps were made about 100-150’ out from the primary wreck site, but due to the cursory nature of this effort, provided little information. Objects are well buried in the sand and silt and there is minimal visibility, ranging from 10-20’, due to the fine silt bottom.  Objects identified in the debris fields are many metal “horse collar” pieces that would be used to manage the sails on the masts and boom arms.  In addition, 4-6’ poles (likely iron) also used to manage the sails of the ship were found in a concentration in the easterly and southeasterly areas.

The general consensus of the on-board subject matter experts indicate this is likely to be a barge or barq of the late 19th century, possibly of American or Caribbean shipbuilders.   Previous assumptions were that it might be of European origin; however, this seems less likely based upon the potential later dating for the ship. Authoritative conclusions await further analysis and study.   [artifact pictures]

Successful deployment of safe, deep-wreck diving procedures and processes by a small, efficient team :

The entire team came from varied backgrounds and disciplines.  Of immense value was Captain Dave Hare, who provided extensive knowledge and history on maritime practices and ship building history.  Dave’s ability to provide insight into potential artifacts and ship building timelines enabled us to fully utilize the HD video footage that was shot each day and provided the team with a detailed accounting of the things we were seeing and recording.  It allowed us to create a detailed plan for the following day’s diving, as well as further focus on questions posed during the reviewing of the footage.  The structured video review by the subject matter experts provided the dive team with focused objectives and assisted the team in narrowing down the tasks for each day’s diving.  Basic operational processes were tested and will be optimized for future expeditions, including the staffing of functions and capabilities required to accomplish the goals of the expedition.

Successful implementation of video in situ, with pod-casts production concept also initially executed. Over 40 hours of high quality video footage was captured.

John D. Broadwater, PhD
NOAA, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary
Chief Scientist, Monitor Expedition 2002
Manager, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary

John Broadwater is the Chief Scientist of the Monitor Expedition 2002. He has been the Manager of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary since 1992. A diver since 1969, Dr. Broadwater has participated in shipwreck dives and investigations throughout the United States and in more than a dozen foreign countries. He also volunteered his services as an archaeologist for expeditions to the Monitor in 1974, 1979, and 1983. Between 1978 and 1989, as Senior Underwater Archaeologist of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, he directed the Yorktown Shipwreck Archaeological Project, which culminated with the complete excavation of a British ship sunk during the last major battle of the American Revolution. A well-known author and lecturer, Dr. Broadwater wrote “Secrets of a Yorktown Shipwreck” for the June 1988 National Geographic Magazine, and the book Kwajalein, Lagoon of Found Ships, which chronicles shipwreck investigations in the Marshall Islands.

Captain Tim Taylor, FN 2004

Captain Tim Taylor is an accomplished naturalist and explorer with over 25 years of underwater experience. He is currently President and CEO of the Research Vessel Tiburon, Inc., based in Key West Florida.

 Learning to dive in Maine in 1979 Tim followed his passion to Florida, where he has spent the last 25 years full time, on or under the water. Over the past 18 years Tim has owned several innovative diving operations, specializing in exploring new locations and sharing them with the scientific community and public. In recognition of his achievements he has been accepted as a Fellow in the prestigious Explorers Club for his discovery of Sherwood Forest Reef in the Dry Tortugas. This reef is considered a centerpiece of the Tortugas Ecological Reserve and has become world famous since its discovery in 1997.

• Tim Taylor FN04-Captain, Expedition Coordinator, Technical rebreather diving team, photographer

• Jacqueline Morales-Trip Coordinator, chef, RN

• Doug Rice- Technical rebreather diver, AquaticFilms, Inc

• Richard von Trapp-Technical diver, OC, diving safety officer

• Kelly -Technical Diver, OC

• David Hare- Captain-19^th Century sailing ship consultant

• Patricia Ayers-Safety diver

• Currier Randall, DVM-Diving supervisor

• Christopher Pair, -Video producer

• Andrew Davidson- Taylor-Video photographer

• JC-video photographer

• Garett Taylor-Participant

• Brooke Taylor-Participant

Ocean Outreach, Inc.

Research Vessel Tiburon, Inc.

Aquatic Films, Inc.

Hodja Media, Inc