The remains of a schooner buried for decades at Acadia National Park’s Sand Beach have suffered significant damage since two storms slammed into Maine’s coast last week.
The spine and ribs of the Tay’s hull were uncovered in the Jan. 10 storm, but three days later, when another storm brought high winds and storm surge, waves dragged the remains out into the water. Since then, parts of the skeleton have separated and drifted apart as subsequent tides have brought what’s left of the ship up against large stones at the western end of the beach.
“It’s not in the same condition it was,” Amanda Pollock, spokesperson for the park, said Tuesday. “It has been damaged.”
The sand dunes at the beach naturally move back and forth from the water over time as weather changes. As was the case at many Maine beaches, last week’s storms devoured large sections of the dunes, exposing what is left of the Tay’s keel and ribs.
The recent series of events that have befallen the schooner’s remains has captured the imagination of local residents and park visitors.
During the two days after the Jan. 10 storm, people have flocked to the beach to see the wreck. Photos of the ship’s jagged ribs and rusty spikes protruding from the sand were plastered on social media, and an anonymous account on Instagram lightly poked fun at the attention with photos of the wreck adorning fake Valentine’s Day cards.
More images and information about the Tay have been posted online since Saturday’s storm, but how long the wreckage might last, and whether it stays on shore, appears to be in doubt.
One local resident posted an anecdote on Facebook about how someone took a piece of the wreckage back to their car, but he convinced them to return it to the beach. Another Facebook user posted a picture that showed a few ribs protruding from the roiling surf on Saturday along with the comment, “Last photo of the Tay.”
The park has long known about the Tay, which wrecked on a nearby ledge in 1911, Pollock said. Park officials have documented its condition and told the schooner’s story as storms have periodically exposed the wreck over the decades.
As Acadia officials try to assess and repair storm damage that occurred all along the park’s shoreline, they are monitoring the Tay’s current situation but have limited options, Pollock said.
The park’s practice for all archaeology sites in the park, where traces of past human activity can be found, is to leave artifacts in place and, when appropriate, to present historical information about them to park visitors, Pollock said. Federal law prohibits visitors from disturbing or removing any items, archaeological or otherwise, from all national parks.
The park itself does not have storage facilities or preservation capabilities for such artifacts that turn up, Pollock said.
There are other wreckage sites in Acadia — or where the park has an easement — that have been left as they are and attract far less attention because they are in more remote and less-trafficked areas. Two of them — where another ship’s skeletal remains lie buried in mud on the western side of MDI, and the wreckage of a small plane on a mountain — are not publicized by the park.
The story and location of the Tay has been much more widely told, however, which may help to explain why the latest chapter in its saga has gotten so much reaction, Pollock said.
“It’s definitely captured people’s attention,” she said. “We’re trying to figure out what the next steps should be.”
