SCMM receive’s historic propeller from sunken ship

The Georgetown Propeller Club and the South Carolina Maritime Museum teamed up with Lowcountry Marine Salvage to place the propeller from the wreck of the Leif Eriksson outside of the museum on Front Street.


“We’re all excited about the propeller being part of our collection here at the S.C. Maritime Museum,” said Susan Sanders, executive director of the museum. “It will be displayed prominently, leaning against the museum building facing toward Front Street.”


The propeller, which measures more than 14 feet in diameter and is estimated to weigh over 22,000 pounds, was moved by Liberty Terminals of Georgetown from Hazzard Marine down Front Street to the museum location. 


Members of the Propeller Club worked with Lowcountry Marine Salvage to coordinate the equipment and logistics for lifting the propeller from the salvage ship docked off Front Street onto a flatbed trailer and then having it placed by crane or forklift into the final display location on Front Street.


Sanders said that the museum will show a video produced by RS Taylor Media that shows the discovery of the boat and raising of the propeller.


To see that video now go HERE

The Leif Eriksson was carrying a load of sugar from Cuba to Philadelphia on February 4, 1905 when it was struck by a steamship named City of Everett off the coast of Cape Romain, S.C. during a winter gale with limited visibility. 


The ship sank in less than 10 minutes and the lifeboats and crew of the Leif Eriksson were picked up by the City of Everett.

The City of Everett returned to New York, and news of the ship wreck never reached South Carolina because of a winter storm that snapped the telegraph lines into Charleston.


The historic propeller, lost when the ship sank, was recovered off the sea floor near Georgetown and is on loan from Lowcountry Marine Salvage to preserve our maritime history. 
The wreck was known as the Anchor Wreck to local divers, and the ship was identified by Mike Barnett in 2007 using recovered artifacts provided by Kent Rogerson.


Although the wreck of the Leif Eriksson was fished on and dived on for 100 years, it’s identity was unknown until 2007, when a February 1905 article in the New York Times, describing the collision, was discovered and linked to the wreck. 


The efforts of Lowcountry Marine Salvage to preserve the history of this wreck saved this propeller from being sold into the scrap metal market. 
Last Tuesday night and early into Wednesday morning, the crew of the Rio Bravo worked tirelessly to save the propeller from pirate scrappers that threatened to take this piece of history and melt it down for profit.


“Fortunately, the crew of the Rio Bravo was working nearby and got to the wreck of the Leif Eriksson just in time to save this historical find.” said S.C. Rep. Stephen Goldfinch, a principal of Lowcountry Marine Salvage along with Kent Rogerson and Billy Kennon.


“This important recovery could not have been made without the relentless passion and pursuit of these shipwrecks by the partners and the crew.”


For more information, call the S.C. Maritime Museum at 843-520-0111.


By Clayton Stairs
cstairs@gtowntimes.com


Susan Sanders and Mac McAlister, both with the SC Maritime Museum, and Steve Strickland with the Georgetown County Propeller Club contributed to this story.

The Wreck of the Leif Eriksson Prop Salvage (August 2013)

SCMM Video Archive.  Producer: Rich Taylor – Flooded Lens Productions