A ship hull that has washed ashore in Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve back in March has just been removed from Ponte Vedra Beach.
The hull of the ship has been dated by Marine Archeologist, Chuck Meide, back to the 1800s; possibly between 1830 and 1860.
Miede said that the ship had not been on the water very long before it sank. Researchers can tell because the hull still shows signs of its construction, like hammer and construction marks, preserved even after being in the water for over a century.
It took a crew of about 10 men and women to remove the giant hull from the beach. This was the second attempt to remove the hull after the first attempt failed.
The process took more than 3 hours from start to finish -- workers had to be gentle with the ship's hull because the wood was very weak.
The historic ship's hull will live at the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve in Ponte Vedra for visitors to check out!