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History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

[Diving Doc]

  Occasionally one is fortunate enough to find a wreck that is not completely buried and the artifacts tell   a compelling story. For your enjoyment I pen the following.
 

                Story of a Southern Bahamas Wreck
                   By Diving Doc, Director of History Hunters.
 
               

The full article is here

[Diving Doc]

I must add that this project of ours is still under research and we have no intention of entertaining proposals from investors, under any circumstances, until this is complete and recovery permits have been issued.

Doc

[Solomon]

Though I've sailed the seven seas in many types of yacht, the terminolgy you used in that piece, Doc, still taught me something new. For example, though I know the Caribbean quite well - I have family long-established in Jamaica - I had never heard of Tabonuco before, or the term pintle. Good that I'm not to old to learn?

Lovely undersea images. A joy to view them.

Sol

[Diving Doc]

Notes on 18th Century Hull? Protection

Since local ship fabrication privileges were initiated in 1511, the Spaniards witnessed the advantages exhibited by native woods whose resin and sheer resistance prevented hull disintegration experienced in the hands of the ever present Abroma. The broma or teredo worm (Teredo navalis), dug into the unprotected bottoms rendering them useless thus resulting in heavy leaking and unexpected forceful entries.(running the ship ashore)
Ingenuity had found substitutes for this kind of problem.? To protect the ship's planking Juan Ponce de Leon saw in the bark of the endemic Tabonuco tree (Dacroyde excelsa) a possible answer.? After careening the vessel, the sap was mixed with chalk, oil, and tar that was smeared on the surface through hot bath applications. (Spanish reference)
Walter A.? C.? Bonet, Shipwrecks in Puerto Rico's History, 1989, San Juan, Puerto Rico, p. 218
Until the late eighteenth century, the two problems were generally tackled separately.? For protection against the worm, ships on the way to the West Indies or India were sheathed.? A noxious composition, usually a mixture of hair and tar, was put over the underwater hull.? This was covered with light planks, usually 1/4 inch thick on British ships but thicker on French.? It was hoped that the worm would confine itself to the sheathing planks, and not penetrate the tar.
For protection against weed, other anti-fouling compositions were used, and put on top of the sheathing if that had been applied.? In the seventeenth century the most common was a mixture of train oil, rosin, or sulphur.? This gave a white appearance, and so was known in Britain as 'white stuff'.? Around the middle of the century some ships were tallowed as well, though this was probably a way of getting a smooth, frictionless surface, rather than for the protection of the hull.? A cheaper alternative to white stuff was 'black stuff', made from pitch and tar.? Though the work of model makers and marine artists suggests that the white stuff remained prevalent, most British ships of the first half of the eighteenth century were in fact coated with black stuff.? In the 1740's, 'brown stuff' became standard for British ships; it was black stuff mixed with sulphur, and it was said to have the advantages of both compounds.
B.? Lavery, The Line of Battle, 1992, London, p.? 142 (referring to British ships)
The seventeenth century ships that Pepys knew so well had the bottoms coated with tallow or tar mixtures, containing hair, felt or ground glass, over which thin fir planks were? fixed. (British reference)
C.H. Ellis, Ships, 1974, London, p.? 10
Great damage was done to the hull by the teredo worm, which infested the water in warm latitudes, and by the gribble worm in temperate latitudes.  Both worms bore into the hull of the ship.  Protection was given to some extent by sheathing the hull with pine below the water-line and renewing it at a subsequent refit@.
P.  Whitlock, Nautical Terms Under Sail, 1978, New York, p.  02.05

[Sovereign]

First, many thanks for that article. Great stuff!

The seventeenth century ships that Pepys knew so well had the bottoms coated with tallow or tar mixtures, containing hair, felt or ground glass, over which thin fir planks were  fixed.

Hair?! Wow, that's quite something. Horse hair I assume. Not mermaids 
Thanks.

[DeepDiver]

Well, I been standing outside and lookin' at you fellers for a while now. Sems like you're on the square so I'll ring in. Don't usually stick me nose into officers affairs. You put up some really first class intel an I'm enjoying the read and what your doing.
Be in touch,
Dave

[Diving Doc]

Welcome Aboard Dave,

Glad you decided to join. I'm sure you will find a lot of good history to read along with the rest of us.
Cheers,
Doc

[Sovereign]

I'm sure you will find a lot of good history to read along with the rest of us.

There *really* is loads of history to discover here 

[Diving Doc]

And.......................History is a Treasure!
Cheers,
Doc

Judging from the number of persons who have viewed this story in such a short while, I'm going to put up the scale drawing of the wreck site. It was scanned on graph paper so this may take some doing. I'll try and put it up tomorrow.
Cheers,
Doc

[Administration]

[Diving Doc]

Thank you Admin. I tried repeatedly but the scanned document was so large that my wireless transmission continually timed out. Admin was kind enough to pick up the dispatch so I could continue with this thread.

As may be seen from the location of the artifacts pictured in the body of the story the basis of my assumption as to the nature of this loss. My feeling is, that judging from the location of the broken Sheet Anchor in close proximity with the catting hook, or block if you perfer, the anchor caught and broke as the crew realized their danger and flung their biggest anchor into the sea. In a more or less straight line from this broken anchor are the Pintles where the rudder broke free from the ship on her initial impact with the reef. No longer held by the anchor and with her stern in the reef the vessel swung sideways to the starboard and lay there held by wind and wave. The Gudgeons were attached to the stern and mark her final resting place when the ship died. The Port and Starboard Bower anchors are not set, as is obvious from their rings, and lay where they fell. Now as to the cannon being on the Port side. I am assuming that the hurricane, for such I imagine it was, in passing backed the wind and threw the ship over from the Starboard side, spilling the cannon upside down and the ballast. So the end result is the picture told by the position of the artifacts observed. The position of the cannon trunnions say they have been capsized. Of course it always possible that there is some other conclusion for the position of the artifacts and I would welcome any input to my explanation as there is no end to learning.
Cheers,
Doc

[Solomon]

Very useful to see that detailed data. I don't know the waters she foundered in. Is it possible that the vessel may have grounded and the anchors used to try and haul the ship off?

Sol

[Diving Doc]

Solomon,
I'm afraid grounded wouldn't be the proper description. The reef behind is above water at low tide and awash at high tide. It shallows in front of the reef at an alarming rate. In those days the "bottomsounder' was the ship's boy with his hand on a lead line let out for two hundred feet, and at the bottom an 18# sounding lead. If the line jerked the boy was to give the alarm. The bottom in this location goes from over 200 feet to less than 20 in a little more than 180 feet. I fear the ship was against the reef and smashed in spite of the frenzied efforts of the crew but it is obvious they tried. Rudderless, grinding against the reef, with the stern smashed (I presume) and miles from land there was little hope of refloating the ship if weather had permitted. None of the other anchors were set and the ten foot long kedge anchor was found a mile and a quarter from the site along with one small caliber cannon. I presume that wreckage carried these artifact down the reef in high winds. If I can find the pictures of these artifacts I will post as well.

Doc

[Solomon]

Ha! It helps to know what was where. Half a century ago I was lying on a deck swinging the lead and calling out the depth to my father. Since then, I've been aground more times than... 

Well, in those circumstances, dropping those anchors would not have offered any hope. I don't know that I would have bothered, if I'd been in the same situation. Once, when I knew I couldn't stop an outrigger hitting a reef in the South Pacific - the current was too strong - I got out, stood on the reef and manhandled the boat around. That was a very near thing.

Sol

[Diving Doc]

From accounts I have read of occurrences like these, all hands would be called to wear ship, if there was room to maneuver, or cut loose the Sheet anchor on a short rode. As is evidenced by the catting block, it was a very short rode indeed but the anchor broke.
I found a large sounding lead and I will post a picture of same. Wonder what they did too the cabin boy? Then again, there may have been no survivors.

Doc