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Woodland Beach Shipwreck Revisited Traditional Cache

Hidden : 10/9/2017
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
4.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Caution! This cache is accessible only at Low Tide.
This is a strenuous hike that may involve mud, small stream crossings, and a changing tidal landscape. In the warm months, beware of agressive biting flies and mosquitoes.  The cache is located 1.4 miles south of the Woodland Beach pier. 


Walk south along the beach from the Woodland Beach parking area. This section of beach may be impassable at high tide. The best approach time is 1-2 hours before low tide. Check the Tide Tables!
 
But for your efforts, you will be rewarded with a facinating shipwreck, located on the shores of Fraland Cove, and visible only at low tide.  Not much is known about this wreck, but if you have any more information, let me know, and I'll update the cache.

One story claims that this was a Spanish ship, the Brig Newbern, which ran aground here in September of 1821.  The Newbern was a sailing ship with two square-rigged masts.  When returning from Gibraltar, heading for Philadelphia, Captain John Cushing lost the Brig Newbern in a storm, when she was driven ashore and stranded near Bombay Hook after a loss of cables and anchors.  The Brig Newbern was a merchant ship, frequently sailing from Philadelphia to Madeira, Lisbon, Gibralter, Buenos Aires, and other ports.  Perhaps this is the Newbern?

Another possiblity is that this wreck was a barge used to move stones up and down the Delaware bay for the purpose of building stone Jetties.

This wreck has been here for at least 50 years. In his 1968 account of his wanderings on the Delaware Bay, titled "Taylor's Gut in the Delaware State", Dudley C. Lunt had this to say about Fraland Cove:

"I well remember the April afternoon when I traversed its length with the sun warming my back and a stout wind out of the northwest tossing the fronds of the feather grass and the tops of the trees and blowing out over an ebbing tide. Upon my left hand there stretched forth in easeful contemplation the blue water of the Delaware Bay. Upon my right hand lay a rugged shoreline of wild land. When rounding the upper point of the curving cove, the blackened timbers of an old wreck had come into view and this gave a romantic tinge to the scene."

This is a small cache located near the high water water mark, on top of the rocks. Do not venture onto the private property inland beyond the treeline.  This cache replaces an older one here (https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC479YM_woodland-beach-shipwreck) that washed away at some point.
This can be a difficult hike, depending on conditions. Bring water, bug spray, appropriate clothing and plan accordingly!!!  Gloves may aid with accessing the cache. The cache contains a log, a pencil, and a bit of treasure (one per visitor please!)

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gur obj bs gur fuvcjerpx cbvagf qverpgyl ng na Nzrevpna Ubyyl gerr (gur fgngr gerr bs Qrynjner). Gur pnpur vf n fznyy grfg-ghor fvmrq pbagnvare gvrq gb gur ybjre oenapurf arne gur gehax. Jngpu sbe funec yrnirf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)