The ''Vamar'' is a

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

(which sank on March 21, 1942) near

Mexico Beach Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located 3.7 miles offshore from Mexico Beach. It became the ninth

Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve The Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserves are a system of underwater parks in the state of Florida, USA. They consist of shipwrecks of historic interest, both off the coast and inland, and are open all year round, free of charge. Similar prog ...

when it was dedicated in 2004. On April 10, 2006, it was added to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History

The ''Vamar'' underwent several name changes in its history: * 1919 - 1920 built as a gun boat for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, named ''HMS Kilmarnock'' * 1920 - 1923 S.S. Kilmarnock * 1926 - S.S. Kilmarnock, registered Canadian * 1928 - renamed the ''Chelsea'' after being sold to a private firm * 1928 - 1930 Rear-Admiral Richard Byrd acquired the ship for his journey to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. He renamed the ship the ''Eleanor Bolling'', in honor of his mother, Eleanor Bolling Byrd. During the voyage, due to rough seas, the crew nicknamed the ship the "Evermore Rolling". * 1930 - sold to a

seal hunting Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. Seal hunting is currently practiced in ten countries: United States (above the Arctic Circle in Alaska), Canada, Namibia, Denmark (in self-governing Greenland only), Ice ...

company * 1933 - the Vamar Shipping Company bought the ship and renamed it the ''Vamar'' * 1941 - sold to Bolivar-Atlantic Navigation Company, registered Panama * 1942 - March 21, after leaving

Port St. Joe, Florida Port St. Joe is a city located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and State Road 71 and the county seat of Gulf County, Florida. As of the 2020 census,the population was 3,357. This was a decline from 3,644 as of the 2000 census. Histo ...

carrying a load of lumber to Cuba, ''Vamar'' ran aground, capsized and sunk in heavy seas in 25 feet of water off

Mexico Beach, Florida Mexico Beach is a city in Bay County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Panama City, Florida, Panama City. The population was 1,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The community was extensively damaged by Hurricane ...

() under suspicious circumstances. The

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

reported that the ship was overloaded and top heavy. Local suspicions that the ship had been sabotaged to block the channel into Port St. Joe led to a

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

investigation, which was unable to verify the suspicions. * 2004 - ''Vamar'' became Florida's Ninth

and was listed on the

References

External links

* Original Vamar Underwater Archaeological Preserve Proposal (
pdf
' or
MS Word format
') a
The Underwater Archaeological Preserves
{{National Register of Historic Places in Florida Parks in Bay County, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Bay County, Florida Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserves 1919 ships Maritime incidents in March 1942