Have you seen MAS in the news this week? We are so excited the word is finally out!

As part of a collaborative effort with Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, other local agencies, the Columbia River Maritime Museum, and SEARCH, Inc., timbers believed to be from Oregon’s Spanish Galleon Shipwreck, often referred to as the Beeswax Wreck project, have been recovered from a cave on the northern Oregon Coast near Manzanita. The timbers are likely from the Spanish galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos, last seen when it left the Philippines for Mexico in 1693. The timbers have been moved to the Columbia River Maritime Museum for preservation and further study.

MAS was founded as a non-profit in 2015, in part to provide the ability for project volunteers to seek grants to aid the search for the Beeswax Wreck Project.

Here is a roundup of some of some of the coverage:

• National Geographic:
  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/legendary-spanish-galleon-shipwreck-discovered-on-oregon-coast
• Smithsonian Magazine:
  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-timbers-from-17th-century-spanish-shipwreck-discovered-off-oregon-coast-180980290/?no-cache
• NewYork Times:
  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/us/beeswax-shipwreck-oregon.html
• Washington Post:
  https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/07/10/goonies-shipwreck-timbers-oregon
• Univ of Delaware professor Art Trembanis and members of his lab joined with SEARCH2O, the maritime archeology branch of SEARCH Inc for the timber recovery and remote sensing work:
  https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2022/july/goonies-shipwreck-search-oregon-santo-cristo-de-burgos-trembanis
• It was fisherman Craig Andes who discovered the timbers and brought them to our attention. He has extensive knowledge of the area and its history as well as an intense interest in the Beeswax Wreck Project:
  https://www.dailyastorian.com/news/local/on-the-north-coast-a-fisherman-makes-a-rare-find/article_4af1665a-ed9a-11ec-b090-bb5e2986b445.html
• MAS President Scott Williams, OR Parks and Rec archaeologist Stacy Scott, and archaeological investigator/senior vice president of SEARCH Inc James Delgado spoke to Portland’s KOIN6 news over Zoom on an iPhone while they were finishing up the timber recording at the Columbia River Maritime Museum on Thursday June 17:
  https://www.koin.com/local/oregon-coast/remnants-of-300-year-old-spanish-galleon-recovered-from-sea-cave-on-oregon-coast
• And a reminder that we had a support team and safety plan backing up the professional archaeologists while recovering these timbers. Conditions change quickly at the Oregon Coast and it can be a dangerous place, so please do not put your life at risk:
  https://shipreport.net/2022/06/17/when-archaeology-and-beach-combing-might-not-mix

More coverage:

• DailyMail:
  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10926417/Wreckage-legendary-Spanish-galleon-inspired-Goonies-coastOregon.html

• Oregon Public Broadcasting:
  https://www.opb.org/article/2022/06/18/north-oregon-coast-timbers-found-from-shipwreck-spanish-galleon/
• CNN:
  https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/26/world/goonies-shipwreck-oregon-discovery-scn/index.html
• NPR:
  https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1110882206
• Willamette Weekly:
  https://www.wweek.com/news/2022/08/03/a-conversation-with-the-archaeologist-who-maybe-found-the-wreckage-of-a-spanish-galleon-in-an-oregon-sea-cave/
• Jefferson Public Radio:
  https://www.ijpr.org/show/the-jefferson-exchange/2022-07-27/thu-8-30-underground-history-takes-up-the-timbers-found-from-the-beeswax-shipwreck

Thanks you so much for your support! With your help we were able to raise the funds to purchase a magnetometer.

MARCH 2021

We received some great news recently, and we must act quickly in order to take full advantage of two generous donations. Two long-time MAS members have very graciously donated $30,000 toward the purchase of a much needed magnetometer used for remote sensing to locate shipwrecks. Marine Magnetics has offered us a new Explorer magnetometer for $39,000. So, we are almost there.

Another longtime MAS member has offered to match additional funds raised during this appeal. We only need $9000 more to purchase the equipment. Any additional funds would go towards expenses including boat reimbursements for our members assisting with remote sensing expeditions. Every dollar raised will be doubled by this generous match up to $14,000.

Please consider making a donation to help us acquire the new magnetometer in time for this summer’s survey season. Any amount of donation will help since our anonymous donor will match it.

The summer survey season on the Oregon Coast is very short, and we do not want to miss this year’s limited window. We need to purchase the equipment and receive it soon. We have to allow time for technical integration of the system with the towboats, team training, and the development of an analysis plan for the data we record. 

This new system is vital to our mission to seek out and explore shipwrecks on the Northwest Coast and beyond. MAS is an all-volunteer 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. Your contribution may be all or partially tax deductible. All donations are appreciated.

Click the link below to donate with PayPal now.

If you would like to mail your donation send your check or money order to:
The Maritime Archaeological Society
PO Box 332
Astoria, OR 97103

Looking for a something new to read while you are trapped inside? Get the real story behind some of the most compelling historic wrecks in the PNW’s Graveyard of the Pacific. Combining archaeological analysis and new research, this unique collection takes a deep dive into the tales of peril and heroism, uncovers what remains of those ships today, and explores what may still be out there waiting to be discovered.

Check out this promo trailer for our new book and support Portland’s flagship local bookstore by ordering it here from Powells.com.

We lost one of our founding MAS board members, Captain Rick Rogers, unexpectedly in a plane crash in late February. He was a true friend and will be greatly missed.

Rick was a retired Hawaiian Airlines pilot, shipwreck diver and explorer, an avocational Historian and the author of Shipwrecks of Hawaii. He researched shipwrecks, particularly galleon wrecks, all over the world including Mexico, Hawaii, and off our Oregon coast.

Here is a YouTube video one of his fellow pilots put together to honor his memory: