Clipper wreck excavation

An underwater exploration of what has been called the most important shipwreck in California history is providing new information about how the ship met its fate and may lead to the first detailed understanding of how the ships known as Baltimore Clippers were constructed.

A team of archaeologists has recently completed two weeks of diving on the 153-year-old wreckage of the Frolic, located just offshore near the Point Cabrillo lighthouse about 100 miles north of San Francisco.

Although amateur divers have been salvaging artifacts from the wreck for more than 40 years, this month's expedition marks the first time that the site has been formally surveyed, the first step in retrieving more artifacts and turning the site into a protected underwater state park.

Posted by David on September 3, 2003 12:56 PM