Sea Venture. an Interim Report on an Early 17Th Century Shipwreck Lost in 1609
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The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology and Underwater Exploration (1982), 11.4: 333-341 Sea Venture. An interim report on an early 17th century shipwreck lost in 1609 Allan J. Wingood PO Box 254, Hamilton 5, Bermuda Introduction In the months that followed the shp was By 1609 King James had occupied the thrones stripped of as much useful material as could be of England and Scotland for six years, and in salvaged, and two smaller vessels, Patience and the two preceding years two expeditions had Deliverance, were built, enabling the survivors left England with settlers and supplies for the to continue on to Jamestown, where they infant colony at Jamestown, Virginia. The third arrived on 24th May 1610. Not all the original supply, comprising 600 colonists in seven shps survivors went on to Virginia. Two men and two pinnaces, and led by the flagship Sea remained in Bermuda-later joined by a third, Venture, or Sea Adventure as she is called in after Sir George Somers had returned inpatience some contemporary accounts (Brown, 1898: to fetch supplies for ‘the languishinge Virginia 92) set out from Plymouth, Devon on 2nd June colony’ (Lefroy, 1882: 15). These three (Strachey , 161 0). remained alone on the island until they were Six weeks later, on 23rd July, a great storm joined by 60 settlers, under the leadership of arose, scattering the ships amidst the howling Governor Moore in 1612. At that point, winds and tremendous seas of a hurricane. Sea Bermuda was established as an English colony. Venture, separated from the rest of the fleet, found herself in a perilous situation, having A preliminary investigation of the wreck ‘received likewise a mighty leake’ (Strachey, In 1958, Edmund Downing, a keen amateur 1610). After four days and nights of continual diver who was employed at the US Naval bailing and pumping, the ship’s company was Operating Base, Southampton, Bermuda, located completely exhausted and had abandoned hope. a shipwreck that he believed to be Sea Venture, However, Sir George Somers, who held the title lying between two reefs and in a sandhole, at a of admiral of the flotilla, had remained alert depth of about 9.1 m. Downing, a Virginian and watchful throughout this ordeal. He and a direct descendant of Sir George Yeardley, noticed land ahead when hope was almost lost. captain of soldiery on Sea Venture, had begun The shp, now in a foundering condition and looking for the wreck in June 1958 inside the ‘in every joynt almost, having spued out her ship channel using a grid system, but to no avail. Okam, before we were aware, was growne five After talking to fishermen at St Davids Island, feet suddenly deepe with water above her he took their advice to look in an area on the ballast’ (Strachey, 1610), was headed in and seaward side of the channel; and in October of driven aground, where she lodged firmly that year, with the idea of duplicating Sea between two reefs, unable to capsize or sink. Venture’s course, he headed in towards Fort Boats were lowered and the 150 passengers St Catherine, dropping anchor over a cut in and crew landed on Bermuda, a place known as the rccf. On his first dive he saw ballast stones ‘The Isle of Devils’ and feared by seamen of all and evidence of the timbers of a very old wreck. nationalities (Fig. 1). In his letter of 20th June Since 1959 was the 350th anniversary of the 1610 to the Earl of Salisbury, Sir George landing of the survivors of the shipwrecked Sea Somers gives 28th July as the date of the landing Venture, such a find sparked great interest both (Brown, 1890: 401). locally and abroad, and an investigation was 0305-1445/82/040333+15$03.00/0 Q 1982 The Nautical Archaeology Trust Ltd. NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 11.4 Figure 1. Map of Bermuda, showing approximate position of wreck site on Sea Venture Flat. undertaken. Because Edmund Downing was old’ and ‘of historic interest or value’. Con- only able to dive part-time, the Bermuda sequently, under Bermuda law, there are now Government, with his consent, employed the two categories of wrecks, hstoric and un- Canton brothers, Bob and Donald, and Teddy protected. While it is permissible for anyone at Tucker to proceed with excavations and, in any time to dive on an unprotected wreck, a consultation with museums in the United licence to explore or conduct research on any Kingdom and the USA, to attempt a positive particular historic wreck, or historic wrecks identification of the wreck. generally, is required from the Receiver of Artefacts recovered were found to be of the Wreck. right period for Sea Venrure, with the exception The newly formed Bermuda Maritime of a cannon that was wrongly identified as a Museum Association applied to the Govern- saker when it should have been classified as a ment in 1978 for a licence to dive on this minion (Fig. 2). The authorities at the Tower protected wreck in order to conduct a con- of London opined that this ‘saker’ would have trolled archaeological excavation. The licence been a century too late for this ship, and in the was granted on the understanding that the face of such advice the Bermuda Government Receiver of Wreck would be provided with a discontinued the investigation. Interest there- report on each dive and a description of all fore waned, and the wreck slumbered on artefacts recovered. Since the writer is a retired undisturbed for another 20 years. professional diver and a member of the board In 1958 there was virtually no legal pro- of directors of the Bermuda Maritime Museum tection for historic wrecks, and the Wreck and Association, it became his responsibility to Salvage Act of 1959 still left much to be conduct the excavation. desired. Realizing the inadequacy of the 1959 To date, 27 dives have been made. The Act, the Bermuda Government amended it in wooden remains of the vessel have been exposed, 1964 to specifically protect historic wrecks, using a portable water suction dredge, photo- defining them as being ‘not less than 50 years graphed and re-covered to prevent attack by 334 A. J. WINGOOD: SEA VENTURE -L PLAN ELEVATIOR BORE 3 25' CANNON RECOVERED FROM SHOT DIAMETCR 3-02' 'SEA VENTURE" WRECK SITE. SHOT WEIGHT 3.84~85 scale i'to 10' GUN WEIGHT 20c~c~as. f INBANKEd MINION ,I\UN~LETT L JONES PERIOD l7lH CFNTURY 'li*dLTOlr SEPIVJ7A MAKER RICHAq(3 PHILLIPS ,ua? ,LPT 1 ,e Figure 2. Iron cannon-minion, 7 ft 7 in (2.5 m) long, 3G in (0.082 m) bore, and 15 in (0.38 m) maximum width. shipworm. All the artefacts have been recorded, reefs as in the plan (Fig. 3). Approximately photographed, researched and put through a 54 ft (16.45 rn) of keel remain with a corres- conservation process where necessary. ponding number of floor timbers.These measure 0.30m square and average 0.61 m on centres, The hull and although there are a number of first As ships of this period are not well docu- futtocks, none of them are long enough to indi- mented, very little is known about the specifi- cate the turn of the bilge. The flooring was cations of Sea Venture and we know only that found to be pegged and treenailed with split she was 300 tunnes (Lefroy, 1882: 11). The and wedged treenails, and the measurement of residual timbers of the hull are still available for four of the planks uncovered was 0-064rn thick, study, having survived the ravages of shipworm by 0.26, 0.35,0.44 and 0-49m, respectively. A by being covered over with flint ballast stone, horizontal stringer still in position on the port sand and mud after settling down between the side indicates a strong, heavily built ship (Fig. 335 NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 11.4 336 APPROXIMATE LOCATION OF WOODEN TIMBER CORAL REEF FACE a LUMPS A NASH 19/8/80 REMAINS a LOCATIONS OFITEMS FOUND ON APPROX AREA OF BALLAST GRAVEL -1 8'tO 1' TIMBER 9EMAI'dS SHOWiYG <EEL, FLSOH TIblEERS SITE (SEA VENTURE) DURING SUMMER 1980/81 lSt FUTrOCK ENDS, CElLlNu 8 REMAINS OF PLANKING I 1980 21 MUSKET SHOT h POT FRAGMENT 1 AFTMOST ENCRUSTED KEEL BOLT 22 LEAD PATCH 2 2Cd " 23 BELLARMINE JUG 3 3rd 24 LEAD 1Ib 'EC WEIGHT 4 ENCRUSTED KEEL BOLT 25 LEAD VENT COVER 5 LAST WOODEN REMAINS OF AFTMOST FLOOR TIMBER 26 IRON BAR ON REEF FACE 27 . .. 6 " FORE MOST " 7 CAULKING FROM GARBOARD 28 SPANISH OLLA JAR REMAlNS 8 LIMBER HOLE 2Y"w 3'IN HEIGHT 29 to 33 incl ENCRUSTED LUMP UNCOVERED 9 FLAT ANIMAL RIB 10 1" PORT FUTTOCK 11 NOTCH IN BILGE STRINGER 1981 12 WEDGED BUTT IN CEILING 34 SWORD HANDLE 13 WEST OF ENGLAND PLAIN POT ( upside down 9'In mud under coral ) 35 CANDLESTICK 14 TUDOR GREEN JUG (~~0~~)uprigntin 16"mud 36 MUSKET BALL a PISTOL SHOT (MERCHANTS LEAD WEIGHT - JAMES 1 I 15 BONE SMALL ANIMAL 37 SMALL CLYSTER OR SYRINGE 16 BASE OF JAR (WEST OF ENGLAND PLAIN POT) 38 ' 17 WOOD TWIG 39 PEWTER SPOONS(3) 18 LEAD SHEET h SLATE RECOVERED ( IRON GRATE POSITIONED AFT -12 ) 40 DIRK OR DAGGER 19 TWO DOUBLE HEADED SHOT 41 CANNON BALLS 42 BALL PADLOCK 20 " w w 4 $Figure3. Plan of wreck site by Anson Nash, drawn by Ian Waddington. NAUTICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 11.4 Figure 4. View of oak flooring planks, looking forward from a point above midships (Photo L. Gould).