The remains of an old ship were lost to the ocean for almost 200 years, until they mysteriously washed up onto Ponte Vedra Beach, drawing researchers, neighbors and pirate pals Coral and Thomas Puleo.
On Friday, the daddy-daughter duo dressed up as swashbucklers to see the ship that washed up Wednesday.
“Once in a lifetime so with that we'd head on down here for the day,” Thomas Puleo said.
They didn't find any gold or jewels, but there is a treasure of knowledge archeologists plan to find in the vexing vessel.
“Today we're getting more details to tell more and more of the story,” said Brendan Burke, associate director of archeology at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum. “We've got the 18-wheeler of the 19th century right here. This is a ship or a vessel that was probably built between 1820 and roughly the Civil War.”
Researchers discovered Roman numerals etched into the wood and evidence that the ship is likely American-made.
They did not find much evidence of repairs which means the ship was likely relatively new when it sank.
It's still unclear if Hurricane Irma washed it up the coast, or dredged it up from just offshore, but researchers do know the remains are too fragile to move and with the high tide approaching, they have to strap it down Friday afternoon.
"That's to keep it from moving around and falling apart on the beach,” Burke said.
As the day wore on, the time to learn grew limited, both for the team of archeologist and the pair of precious pirates.
“The kids and everybody out here are loving it,” Puleo said. “It’s quite a sight to see.”