the anchor was 9 ft. from the crown to the ring. Here is a photo of the anchor in "Boys' Life" magazine, November 1957.
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| From Anchor |
The anchor was raised in March 1956, with the use of five 55 gallon drums. The drums were filled with seawater on site and taken down, one at a time, and lashed to the anchor. Compressed air was then pumped into drums to displace the water. Each drum was only partially filled in rotation so as to give an even lift when the anchor began to rise. It was a was a welcome sight to have the anchor and drums rise to the surface, and stay on the surface, after ten weekends of struggling with the project.
The weight of the anchor was estimated at 2,000 pounds. That was calculated upon the displacement of seawater for the five drums (8 pounds per gallon X 50 X 5 = 2,000). On the ocean's surface the drums were almost awash, so this is a fair weight estimate. We then plugged the drum holes to contain the air and started towing the whole assembly towards Port Everglades Inlet. The lashings had lengthened considerably due to the burden they carried. The sea was not calm and there was a lot of motion on the drums, so the towing was at a very slow pace for the 2 & 1/2 mile trip to the beach area just west of the north jetty.
Just as we rounded the jetty one of the drums broke loose and the tow settled in about 15 feet of water. Fortunately, we had the foresight not to be in the main channel with it's 40 feet of depth and shipping traffic, which could have been disastrous. As it was, we had the drum refastened and the rig re floated within about an hour and shortly grounded everything on the beach.
Waiting for us there were the buyer, 12 laborers and a large flatbed truck. The men could not lift the anchor. However, they were able to roll it to the truck it on its outstretched appendages and up onto the truck bed.
The anchor was placed, as shown in the picture above, in front of a shell shop in view of U.S.1, a little south of Ft. Lauderdale. It was there for number of years, before it was moved, I understand, to a junk yard and displayed there. I don't know where it is now. Our fee for this effort was $50. Earlier we had offered the anchor to a number of beach hotels without any takers.
The finding of this anchor preceded the finding of the cultural deposit related to the Sunrise Wreck. It is only recently that I realized a possible connection between the two finds, for the anchor was found in about 32 feet of water somewhere seaward of the general area of the cultural deposit. To pursue this idea, I decided to get educated about the history of anchors. I thought that the style of this anchor might help to connect it to the Sunrise Wreck.
After reading, Anchors, an Illustrated History, by Betty Nelson Curryer, and History and Development of the Marine Anchor, by Baldt Anchor & Chain Corporation, it seems that the anchor we raised is called a NEW ADMIRALTY FOLDING STOCK ANCHOR , probably made in England.
The date the anchor was manufactured still needs to be determined, and that will have to be before May 22, 1841, in order to say, "This this anchor could be associated with the Sunrise Wreck debris field".
The Nautical Archaeology Society is sponsoring http://www.biganchorproject.com/ and I will participate in the project by submitting the particulars of this anchor. For now I will make an effort to locate it's present abode, if the anchor still exists. If it is located I may be able to get valid measurements, and photos. I hope that this will help in dating this anchor.
http://www.nauticalarchaeologysociety.org/
1 comment:
The sliding stock anchor was used quite a bit in larger vessels during the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Several had foundry marks at the crown but it would require proper conservation to read.
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