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Press Release
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Anomaly 27
The Last Voyage of the S.S. Copenhagen
Archaeology – Florida History – Maritime Exploration
Professional Archaeologist, Dr. Robert Baer, announces the publication of his book, Anomaly 27, The Last Voyage of the S.S. Copenhagen. In May 1997, Bob Baer and his team of divers were performing a diver verification survey, pursuant to a scheduled beach re-nourishment project, offshore of Pompano Beach in Broward County, Florida. A prior remote sensing (magnetometer and side scan sonar) investigation had recorded a number of anomalies - unknown objects on the sea floor. The magnetometer, a high-tech metal detector, records the relative weight of iron (ferrous) objects (called anomalies) lying on, or buried, in the seabed. Side-scan sonar compliments the magnetometer, and records the silhouette of man-made and natural features on the bottom. Of course iron objects are not natural, so anomalies could be iron anchors, cannons, or an iron hulled vessel, or just junk. Used together the magnetometer and the side scan sonar offer the archaeological investigator a fairly comprehensive view of the seafloor.
Anomalies recorded by a magnetometer are referred to as ‘hits’ and given a number – thus Anomaly 27 was just one of many recorded during the survey. But Anomaly 27 recorded as a huge ‘hit’, lying about 2400 feet away from a known shipwreck site, the remains of the S.S. Copenhagen, a State Underwater Archaeological Preserve. Bob Baer dived on the anomaly, and what he saw was as exciting as any historic shipwreck he had ever seen. But first, a little bit about the archaeological preserve, and the remains of the steamship Copenhagen.
* * * *
In 1900 the twin screwed S. S. Copenhagen ran aground on the “Pompano Ledges’, a reef-line located about a mile offshore of present Pompano Beach. In 1900 the barrier island where Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach are located was largely uninhabited. Earlier in the mid nineteenth century, Houses of Refuge had been constructed along the Florida Atlantic coast and stocked with water and food; mariners stranded on the coast often died of thirst and hunger before reaching civilization - St. Augustine or the New River Community at present Fort Lauderdale. The Copenhagen was 325 feet in length, and was a relatively large transport vessel for the time. In comparative terms, the infamous ocean liner Titanic that sank in the North Atlantic in 1912, twelve years after the Copenhagen was 882 feet in length and considered an unsinkable super-ship.
After the Copenhagen ran aground, attempts to free the vessel were unsuccessful. The Copenhagen was abandoned on the reef and over time was looted of fittings and her wooden deck, and fisherman used the hulk for an offshore camp site. During World War II, the Copenhagen was used as a bombing target, and deteriorated even further. The aircraft that bombed the vessel took off from Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station, the same field where Flight 19 originated, the 5 Avenger aircraft that disappeared in 1945 that helped fuel the Bermuda Triangle Legend. After the war the remains of the vessel, considered a hazard to navigation, was dynamited, and remain - strewn along the reef in twenty-five feet of water. The site soon retreated into oblivion, but was known to fisherman and divers. In 1994 the site was designated an archaeological preserve.
* * * *
When Dr. Baer entered the water he observed what appeared to be a ships bow jutting out of the bottom sediments in 55 feet of water. Diving to the bottom he began to survey the site. He was able to enter the site as a nine foot nurse shark decided to seek sanctuary elsewhere. Following the completion of his diver verification of the site, Bob Baer began to research the Copenhagen shipwreck, and further examined the site with his research divers, along with his archaeology students from Nova Southeastern University. He began to develop and test a theory that perhaps - what appeared to be a ships bow - was the bow of the Copenhagen. But a major question remained - why was the bow so far from the flattened shipwreck site. The answer to this riddle was answered through the examination of the shipwreck site; the shipwreck site plan, as well as scientific testing that consisted of scanning electron microscopy, corrosion and accretion tests, and examination of comparative shipwreck construction.
* * * *
Anomaly 27, The Last Voyage of the S.S. Copenhagen also examines behavioral questions, how did the ship come to be lost on a much navigated coast in good weather, and what was the behavior of the shops captain that might have led to the shipwreck. Baer documents other shipwrecks and groundings in the area. In 1997 the U.S.S. Memphis, a nuclear submarine ran aground near the Port Everglades ship channel at Fort Lauderdale. The reader will be drawn into the archaeological investigation, and after reading Anomaly 27 will be able to visualize the southeast Florida coast in the same manner as a nineteenth century mariner.
The Copenhagen site is regularly visited by Broward County dive boats, and is a favorite site for night time drift-dives, and fish watching – visit the resident Moray Eel. After reading Anomaly 27, the history of the Copenhagen and the importance of the archaeological preserve will become more relevant to divers and readers interested in Florida pioneer history.
* Anomaly 27 may be purchased by visiting the publisher’s site at www.Signumops.com, or directly from the printer at www.lulu.com. Please direct comments to the publisher at: armstrot@bellsouth.net
* Dr. Robert Baer is a Registered Professional Archaeologist (RPA) and was educated at the undergraduate and graduate level at The University of Oxford, England. Bob has performed numerous archaeological investigations in the underwater and terrestrial environments. Bob has two books scheduled to be published in the near future, titled: The Lost Monasteries of William Randolph Hearst; and a history-memoir of his experience as an archaeologist working at Jupiter Inlet, Florida; this book is titled: The Last Voyage of the San Miguel De Archangel.
* * * *
Anomaly 27
The Last Voyage of the S.S. Copenhagen
Archaeology – Florida History – Maritime Exploration
Professional Archaeologist, Dr. Robert Baer, announces the publication of his book, Anomaly 27, The Last Voyage of the S.S. Copenhagen. In May 1997, Bob Baer and his team of divers were performing a diver verification survey, pursuant to a scheduled beach re-nourishment project, offshore of Pompano Beach in Broward County, Florida. A prior remote sensing (magnetometer and side scan sonar) investigation had recorded a number of anomalies - unknown objects on the sea floor. The magnetometer, a high-tech metal detector, records the relative weight of iron (ferrous) objects (called anomalies) lying on, or buried, in the seabed. Side-scan sonar compliments the magnetometer, and records the silhouette of man-made and natural features on the bottom. Of course iron objects are not natural, so anomalies could be iron anchors, cannons, or an iron hulled vessel, or just junk. Used together the magnetometer and the side scan sonar offer the archaeological investigator a fairly comprehensive view of the seafloor.
Anomalies recorded by a magnetometer are referred to as ‘hits’ and given a number – thus Anomaly 27 was just one of many recorded during the survey. But Anomaly 27 recorded as a huge ‘hit’, lying about 2400 feet away from a known shipwreck site, the remains of the S.S. Copenhagen, a State Underwater Archaeological Preserve. Bob Baer dived on the anomaly, and what he saw was as exciting as any historic shipwreck he had ever seen. But first, a little bit about the archaeological preserve, and the remains of the steamship Copenhagen.
* * * *
In 1900 the twin screwed S. S. Copenhagen ran aground on the “Pompano Ledges’, a reef-line located about a mile offshore of present Pompano Beach. In 1900 the barrier island where Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach are located was largely uninhabited. Earlier in the mid nineteenth century, Houses of Refuge had been constructed along the Florida Atlantic coast and stocked with water and food; mariners stranded on the coast often died of thirst and hunger before reaching civilization - St. Augustine or the New River Community at present Fort Lauderdale. The Copenhagen was 325 feet in length, and was a relatively large transport vessel for the time. In comparative terms, the infamous ocean liner Titanic that sank in the North Atlantic in 1912, twelve years after the Copenhagen was 882 feet in length and considered an unsinkable super-ship.
After the Copenhagen ran aground, attempts to free the vessel were unsuccessful. The Copenhagen was abandoned on the reef and over time was looted of fittings and her wooden deck, and fisherman used the hulk for an offshore camp site. During World War II, the Copenhagen was used as a bombing target, and deteriorated even further. The aircraft that bombed the vessel took off from Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station, the same field where Flight 19 originated, the 5 Avenger aircraft that disappeared in 1945 that helped fuel the Bermuda Triangle Legend. After the war the remains of the vessel, considered a hazard to navigation, was dynamited, and remain - strewn along the reef in twenty-five feet of water. The site soon retreated into oblivion, but was known to fisherman and divers. In 1994 the site was designated an archaeological preserve.
* * * *
When Dr. Baer entered the water he observed what appeared to be a ships bow jutting out of the bottom sediments in 55 feet of water. Diving to the bottom he began to survey the site. He was able to enter the site as a nine foot nurse shark decided to seek sanctuary elsewhere. Following the completion of his diver verification of the site, Bob Baer began to research the Copenhagen shipwreck, and further examined the site with his research divers, along with his archaeology students from Nova Southeastern University. He began to develop and test a theory that perhaps - what appeared to be a ships bow - was the bow of the Copenhagen. But a major question remained - why was the bow so far from the flattened shipwreck site. The answer to this riddle was answered through the examination of the shipwreck site; the shipwreck site plan, as well as scientific testing that consisted of scanning electron microscopy, corrosion and accretion tests, and examination of comparative shipwreck construction.
* * * *
Anomaly 27, The Last Voyage of the S.S. Copenhagen also examines behavioral questions, how did the ship come to be lost on a much navigated coast in good weather, and what was the behavior of the shops captain that might have led to the shipwreck. Baer documents other shipwrecks and groundings in the area. In 1997 the U.S.S. Memphis, a nuclear submarine ran aground near the Port Everglades ship channel at Fort Lauderdale. The reader will be drawn into the archaeological investigation, and after reading Anomaly 27 will be able to visualize the southeast Florida coast in the same manner as a nineteenth century mariner.
The Copenhagen site is regularly visited by Broward County dive boats, and is a favorite site for night time drift-dives, and fish watching – visit the resident Moray Eel. After reading Anomaly 27, the history of the Copenhagen and the importance of the archaeological preserve will become more relevant to divers and readers interested in Florida pioneer history.
* Anomaly 27 may be purchased by visiting the publisher’s site at www.Signumops.com, or directly from the printer at www.lulu.com. Please direct comments to the publisher at: armstrot@bellsouth.net
* Dr. Robert Baer is a Registered Professional Archaeologist (RPA) and was educated at the undergraduate and graduate level at The University of Oxford, England. Bob has performed numerous archaeological investigations in the underwater and terrestrial environments. Bob has two books scheduled to be published in the near future, titled: The Lost Monasteries of William Randolph Hearst; and a history-memoir of his experience as an archaeologist working at Jupiter Inlet, Florida; this book is titled: The Last Voyage of the San Miguel De Archangel.
