Hurricane Sandy left miles of devastation in her wake, destroying homes, vehicles, property, and several lives before it finally moved on. But sometimes, even the most destructive storms can uncover rare treats, and Sandy was no exception.

The weathered hull of a ship, believed to be the wreckage of the Bessie White, has appeared half-buried in a sand dune which eroded over 70 feet during the storm. The ship is so damaged it’s difficult to discern its origin for sure, but experts believe it’s the same one which ran ashore in the early ’20s after heavy fog turned it off track. All the crew members escaped alive, but the ship went on its own path and was eventually salvaged for the tons of coal it carried. The skeleton, however, remains on the beach of Fire Island in New York, where experts hope to study it before the tide takes it under again.

“There’s so little of it left we may not be not be able to determine which ship it actually is, but we may be able to learn more about its age,” spokesperson for Davis Park Paula Valentine said. “It’s just a rare treat to see something exposed.”

(image)
Image: Cheryl Hapke