# The sea around Newfoundland is littered with shipwrecks. One has just re-surfaced **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 28, 2024, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768 "2024-01-28T12:46:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/1 "2024-01-28T12:46:28Z")
Part of a shipwreck, likely from the 19th century, has emerged on a beach in Newfoundland. May have come to light due to erosion from Hurricane Fiona. Naval historians are excited. > **[A ghostly shipwreck has emerged in Newfoundland, and residents want to know...](https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/a-ghostly-shipwreck-has-emerged-in-newfoundland-and-residents-want-to-know-its-story/article_ba1c8aeb-5a14-5e5c-92f9-266f0fb761ec.html?utm_source=newsshowcase&utm_medium=gnews&utm_campaign=CDAQxIyh2P3knqIoGIGd2K_igcqguAEqDggAKgYICjDptXgw98kM&utm_content=rundown&gaa_at=g&gaa_n=AZsHK_nhCTVJfebMGaUdfYFNvwp0wXKot5RJD5zEXwV552wH9qJIdQ8WFAAdEarlCFQ6ykl3uoDRJw%3D%3D&gaa_ts=65b658b6&gaa_sig=2gG4qsc7fVpMElBCF6z0xLvzWVtSsMKNsxiVGYyvWukf6XN2PnskD8u6tZie_TN6NA8QmmZ-tBfQRmabXU9NuA%3D%3D)** > > ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - The massive, overturned hull of a seemingly ancient ship has appeared without warning along the southwestern tip of Newfoundland, dazzling nearby residents eager to know who ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/2 "2024-01-28T13:25:49Z")
Most of that article is paywalled. Any idea how old that wreck is? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/3 "2024-01-28T13:31:22Z")
That’s odd. I was able to read it without a subscription. Came up on Google News. It says that initial speculation is early 19th century, based on the wooden dowels used to construct it, but no real experts have had a chance to look at it yet. It’s come up at Cape Rey, which is 900 km west of St John’s, near Port-aux-Basques. > **[Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Labrador](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Ray,_Newfoundland_and_Labrador)** > > Cape Ray is a local service district and designated place in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Newfoundland. > Cape Ray, the cape located near the community was the terminus for the overland portion of the transatlantic telegraph cable from St. John's to Cape Ray. From here the cable then takes a submarine route to Cape Breton Island. The area is also known for its discovery of Dorset Paleoeskimo artifacts. An archaeological site ... ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/4 "2024-01-28T14:11:37Z")
Try this: > **[A ghostly shipwreck has emerged in Newfoundland, and residents want to know...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/ghostly-shipwreck-cape-ray-1.7097333)** > > The massive, overturned hull of a seemingly ancient ship has appeared without warning along the southwestern tip of Newfoundland, dazzling nearby residents eager to know who may have been aboard and how it met its fate. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/5 "2024-01-28T15:05:51Z")
CBC story by Sarah Smellie who, in apparent multiple interviews, was not tipped that the term for those “dowels” are properly named “treenails”, pronounced “trunnels”. Dan ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/6 "2024-01-28T15:08:24Z")
Eh? It’s right there in her article: > The wooden dowels noted by Wanda Blackwood are called trunnels and they were used as nails in wooden ships from that era. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/7 "2024-01-28T15:40:47Z")
Not at all surprising. Hundreds of people died in ship sinkings while attempting to cross the Atlantic from Europe. Most of them are nameless, as they were immigrants trying to reach America, were poor, and left nobody behind to wonder what happened to them. A lot of the ships either struck icebergs or became locked in unexpected ice where everyone on board either froze to death or drowned. The advent of steam engines helped ships to navigate away from danger more easily, but not always (as in Titanic). ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/8 "2024-01-28T19:35:41Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Eh? It’s right there in her article: > > > The wooden dowels noted by Wanda Blackwood are called trunnels and they were used as nails in wooden ships from that era. Oop! Didn’t read the article, did I? Thank you. Dan ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2024, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/9 "2024-01-28T19:41:18Z")
> [@Dandan](#): > > > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > > Eh? It’s right there in her article: > > > > > The wooden dowels noted by Wanda Blackwood are called trunnels and they were used as nails in wooden ships from that era. > > Oop! Didn’t read the article, did I? Thank you. > > Dan I thought you were pointing out the correct spelling.I thought you were pointing out the correct spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/10 "2024-01-29T18:52:23Z")
[joking] And how does this fit in with Oak Island? [/joking] [serious] Could this be an explanation for some of what was found at Oak Island? Random parts from shipwrecks get washed ashore during an extreme hurricane; gets washed into a sinkhole with beach sand; 200 years later, gets caught in a drill bit. [/serious] ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/11 "2024-01-30T23:56:22Z")
Not the Athens Queen perchance? [https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=the+athens+queen](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=the+athens+queen) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/12 "2024-01-31T00:05:53Z")
No mention in any of the news reports of a leather couch of green. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/13 "2024-01-31T00:50:11Z")
As a complete aside, journalistic writing these days irritates me. “The massive, overturned hull of a seemingly ancient ship has appeared without warning along the southwestern tip of Newfoundland”. What kind of warning did the writer think we should have expected? 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/14 "2024-01-31T01:15:13Z")
Probably a ghost sailor in a dory, shining grey in the moonlight. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sea-around-newfoundland-is-littered-with-shipwrecks-one-has-just-re-surfaced/996768/15 "2024-01-31T10:55:44Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > As a complete aside, journalistic writing these days irritates me. “The massive, overturned hull of a seemingly ancient ship has appeared without warning along the southwestern tip of Newfoundland”. > > What kind of warning did the writer think we should have expected? 🙄 They also don’t seem to know what “ancient” means. An ancient ship from the 19th century?