There was a buzz on social media on Wednesday with rumors of an ’18th century ghost ship’ reportedly washing up near St. Augustine, Floridaafter Hurricane Milton. Despite several inconsistencies, the story went viral and fascinated thousands of users.
However, it was eventually debunked as false.
The rumor started a week after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida. Despite the fact that the storm hit on October 9 – exactly a week before the alleged sighting – and on the other side of the state, ghost ship story still gained significant traction. The original post was shared more than 21,000 times, with users spreading the story widely.
It turns out that the ghost ship story was a piece of satire. It originated from Casper Planeta Facebook page known for its humorous and completely made-up stories, similar to The Onion.

Casper Planet posted a follow-up story on Friday morning with the title: “Tourists outraged after discovering non-existent 18th century Pirate ship in Florida it was “not real” all the time. The page continued to poke fun at the viral spread of the ghost ship story.

In its first post, Casper Planet claimed that the ship “emerged from the depths of the ocean when the Category 4 storm (Hurricane Milton) churned up the Atlantic Ocean and sent the old ship beached.” The dramatic description added a sense of mystery, but was factually incorrect. Hurricane Milton had made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key, on the central west coast of Florida. It then crossed the state’s peninsula and ended up near Brevard and Indian River counties – more than 120 miles from St. Augustine.
To make the story believable, the page included a made-up quote from a fictional marine archaeologist named “Dr. Andrew Clarke,” who said: “This is unprecedented. To see such an old ship, in such good condition, emerge from the ocean during a hurricane – it is both fascinating and horrifying.”

Expert debunks the myth

According to First coastal news report, Chuck Meide, director of the Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum. Meide debunked the ghost ship claim, explaining that the ship’s depiction was unrealistic.
“Most of the wood from a ship hundreds of years old would have been eaten by bugs like shipworms,” Meide explained. In cases where parts of such old ships survive, it is usually the lower part of the ship that becomes buried beneath the seabed.

Can hurricanes actually cause ‘ghost ships’ to wash ashore?

Although the ghost ship story was a hoax, there is some truth to the concept of hurricanes washing abandoned ships ashore. In fact, such incidents have occurred in the past.
According to Weather.com, on June 18, a 45-foot ghost ship named Lady Catherine III washed up on Pensacola beach during Tropical Storm Alberto. The ship, battered but still intact, was found with no passengers on board. It was later discovered that the boat belonged to Michael Barlow, a Texas man who had abandoned it earlier that month after dealing with the storm.
In another case, a 45-foot sailboat named Cuki broke loose from its mooring in Key West during Hurricane Irma in 2017. The boat drifted more than 300 miles along Florida’s east coast before washing up at Spessard Holland South Beach Park. USA Today reported that the boat was there for two years before being scrapped. The owner, Jeffrey Sundwall of Key West, was later jailed at the Jackson Correctional Institute in Malone, Florida, on charges including sexual battery, possession of cocaine, obstruction of a criminal investigation and possession of child pornography.
(Input courtesy of Pensacola News Journal)