Last October, a weathered hunk of flotsam washed up on a New York shoreline following Hurricane Ian. No plain marine debris, though, the wreckage, experts believe, could well have been part of the SS Savannah, the first hybrid steam and sailing vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean, and that ran aground in 1821.
Measuring about 13 by 13 feet wide, the object is currently held by the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society, which is working with the National Park Service to determine the origins of the wreckage.
“It was pretty thrilling to find it,” said Betsy DeMaria, a museum technician at Fire Island National Seashore, about the discovery. “We definitely are going to have some subject matter experts take a look at it and help us get a better view of what we have here.”
According to the National Park Service, the SS Savannah has emerged as the likeliest contender as it remains one of Fire Island’s best-known shipwrecks. Further evidence, too, lies in the one to 1.3-inch trenails, or wooden pegs, holding the wreckage’s planks together, fitting for a vessel measuring some 100 feet; and in the iron spikes present on the artifact, which were used in shipbuilding around 1820.
The SS Savannah was constructed in 1818—its partial steam-powered capabilities so heralded that the date it set out for its transatlantic voyage, May 22, 1819, is still commemorated as National Maritime Day.
For years after its famed expedition, the ship continued to operate as a commercial (though, alas, sailing) vessel until it was severely damaged by a storm off the coast of Long Island in November 1821. Its crew abandoned the ship, leaving it to drift and eventually fall apart. Searches over the next two centuries failed to turn up any artifacts related to the SS Savannah.
The newly discovered wreckage, which had been partially visible in the dunes about three miles east of Fire Island’s Old Inlet before it was pulled ashore, might represent that significant link. As Ira Breskin, a senior lecturer at the State University of New York Maritime College, told the Associated Press, “It’s plausible, and it’s important, and it’s living history if the scientists confirm that it is what we think it is.”
As its research continues, the National Park Service has similarly emphasized that study of the wreckage could provide historical as much as environmental clues.
“Interpretation of the wreckage may potentially explore such topics as seafaring and navigation, the role of the United States Life Saving Service in the rescue and salvage of wrecked ships, goods, crews, and passengers, and the environmental changes that cause such wrecks to be buried and later exposed,” it said in a statement.
More Trending Stories:
Is Atlanta’s Art Scene Finally Achieving Critical Mass? There Are Big Signs That Point to ‘Yes’
Venturing into unknown territory, artists Katrin Fridriks and Jan Kaláb took a chance on one…
Pushing the boundaries of artistic expression, visionary artist Melissa Herrington’s large-scale, abstract paintings blur the boundaries between mediums,…
Alexandre Iakovleff (1887-1938) - famous Russian painter, graphic artist, master of drawing, portraitist, author of…
Drawing inspiration from a wide breadth of sources, including ancient mythology, fairy tales and fables,…
It is irregular for illustrators to work alongside research and development industries, such as public…
Beginning Thursday, April 4 and running through Thursday May 18, Cavalier Gallery is pleased to present the…