St. Augustine: Did Hurricane Milton really wash an 18th century ghost ship ashore in Florida?

Rumors of an “18th century ghost ship” washing ashore near St. Augustine, Florida due to Hurricane Mliton sparked excitement and interest on social media on Wednesday. The story went viral and, despite some inconsistencies, thousands were curious.

However, to the disappointment of many, it turned out to be false.

The rumor began a week after Hurricane Milton hit the Florida coast. Despite the fact that the storm hit on the opposite side of the state on October 9, the ghost ship story received significant attention. The original post was shared over 21,000 times, and social media users spread the story widely.

The ghost ship story was just satire. It comes from Casper Planet, a Facebook page known for its humorous and completely fictional stories, similar to The Onion.

Casper Planet published a follow-up story Friday morning titled “Tourists outraged after discovering non-existent 17th-century pirate ship in Florida that wasn't real all along.” The site continues to have fun with the viral one Spreading the ghost ship story.

In its first post, Casper Planet claimed the ship “emerged from the depths of the ocean as Category 4 churned up the Atlantic, sending the ancient ship onto the beach.” The dramatic description evoked something mysterious, but was factually inaccurate. Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key on Florida's central west coast. It then crossed the state's peninsula and emerged near Brevard and Indian River counties – over 120 miles from St. Augustine. The page also contained a made-up quote from a fictional marine archaeologist named “Dr. Andrew Clarke,” who said, “This is unprecedented. “To see such an old ship in such good condition just emerge from the sea during a hurricane – it's both fascinating and frightening.”

Expert debunks the myth

According to a report from First Coast News, Chuck Meide, director of the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum, refuted the claim of a ghost ship and stated that the depiction of the ship was unrealistic.

“Most of the wood from a ship hundreds of years old would have been eaten by creatures such as shipworms,” Meide explained.

In previous cases where parts of ancient ships have been preserved, it is usually the lower part of the ship that sinks beneath the seabed.

Can hurricanes actually cause “ghost ships” to wash ashore?

While the ghost ship story was a hoax, there is some truth to the idea that hurricanes wash abandoned ships ashore. In fact, such incidents have occurred in the past.

According to Weather.com, a 45-foot-long ghost ship named the Lady Catherine III was found on Pensacola Beach on June 18 during Tropical Storm Alberto. The damaged but still intact ship was found with no passengers on board. It was later learned that the boat belonged to Michael Barlow, a Texas man who abandoned it earlier this month after being exposed to the storm.

In another case, a 45-foot sailboat named Cuki became loose from its dock in Key West during Hurricane Irma in 2017. The boat drifted more than 300 miles up Florida's east coast before washing ashore at Spessard Holland South Beach Park. USA Today reported that the boat remained there for two years before being demolished. His owner, Jeffrey Sundwall, was later incarcerated at the Jackson Correctional Institute in Malone, Florida.