Discovery and Investigation of an Early Nineteenth-Century Wooden Sailing Vessel in 2,000 Feet of Water

摘要

A 2003 deeptow survey for a pipeline in the Viosca Knoll lease area of the Gulf of Mexico detected a shipwreck near the proposed pipeline project area. Discovered on a line turn, the shipwreck rests in 2,000 feet of water outside of the pipeline corridor. Initial indications from the high-resolution geophysical data suggested the wreck might be Bradford C. French, a late nineteenth century three-masted schooner lost during a 1916 hurricane. A site investigation was planned during the 2004 Minerals Management Service (MMS) DeepWrecks Project, but adverse weather made investigating the site impossible at that time (Church et al. 2007). The MMS later sponsored a site investigation in July 2006. The site was visually inspected with a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) under the direction of C & C Technologies (C & C) marine archaeologist Robert Church and MMS marine archaeologists Jack Irion and David Ball. The findings of the ROV investigation suggest the wreck is not a three-masted late nineteenthcentury schooner, but possibly an early nineteenth-century brig. This report discusses the findings from the ROV investigation and the preliminary site survey.