Mystery Shipwreck

On a recent two-week mission to explore the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a team of NOAA scientists uncovered clues that may have solved the mystery of an unidentified shipwreck first discovered at French Frigate Shoals in 2005. Based on data gathered during the expedition, researchers have deduced that the vessel, a 19th-century wooden sailing ship, is most likely the four-masted schooner CHURCHILL, which sank in the area in 1917.

Large wooden schooners were the economic mainstay of American shipping between the Civil War period and World War I. The Churchill was carrying a cargo of copra (the dried meat or nut of the coconut) from Nukualofa, Tonga, to Seattle, Wash., when she ran aground on a reef at French Frigate Shoals on Sept. 27, 1917.

HMS Ontario Discovered

The HMS Ontario, a British warship built in 1780 has been discovered in deep water off the southern shore of Lake Ontario. In the early evening hours of October 31, 1780, the British sloop of war HMS Ontario sank with over 120 men, women, children and prisoners on board during a sudden and violent gale. The discovery of the HMS Ontario was made in early June utilizing sophisticated side scan sonar technology. The ship was found between Niagara and Rochester, NY in an area of the lake where the depth extends to more than 500 feet. The HMS Ontario is considered to be one of the few "Holy Grail" shipwrecks in the Great Lakes. The shipwreck of the HMS Ontario is still considered to be British Admiralty property. For the rest of the story Click Here.

Expedition WHYDAH

EXPEDITION WHYDAH
Whydah is the first pirate shipwreck to be positively identified and therefore may be the only glimpse that we'll ever have into the material culture of an extraordinarily secretive group of men- the pirates of the 17th and 18th century Atlantic world.
The Whydah pirate shipwreck site was discovered in 1984, artifacts are still being recovered each dive season since. For the rest of the story Click Here.