Headed for open waters

06.15.2006
by Kevan Goff-Parker, The Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY – For C.H. Guernsey & Co.’s David Oman and his crew, buried treasure was unknowingly underfoot in the form of the remains of a rare Spanish ship that has been buried in 18 to 28 feet of sand for centuries in Pensacola, Fla.

Oman, director of architecture for the Oklahoma-based engineering, architecture and consulting firm, said Guernsey crews have been redesigning the Aviation Rescue Swimmers School at Pensacola’s U.S. Naval Air Station since the historic ship was discovered in March when old carved wood was brought up during the digging of de-watering wells.

“We’ve been scrambling around about how to get it relocated,” Oman said. “It was a happy accident, but from a construction timeline, the Aviation Rescue Swimmers School had to be fast-tracked because it was intended to be turned over to the client by December of this year.”

He said in an effort to allow further excavation, the facility’s design isn’t changing, just the site where the building will be located.

“We are able to redesign so that the building will be on the site, but 100 feet straight north,” Oman said. “We’re redoing all the underground utilities, landscaping and parking.”

Guernsey won a $79 million design-build contract to restore destroyed facilities at the Naval Air Station after the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons produced the largest disasters in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s history. The project includes the 34,844-square-foot Aviation Rescue Swimmer School, a 53,377-square-foot Physical Fitness Center and two Visitors Quarters facilities that will total 196,000 square feet.

Oman said an archeologist was on-site when the ship was discovered and later used ultrasound equipment to map out the general direction and location of the ship, which is 80 feet long.

Published reports state that while excavating the site, U.S. Navy construction crews found the ship buried upside down with the keel jutting upward.

“They were able to expose enough of it to determine if it was a substantial find,” he said, “but the U.S. Navy doesn’t have the funds to fully excavate and bring everything up right now. They believe it is dated to the late 1500s. We’re excited about it.”

Oman said he has heard of a fleet of 11 ships from that time period and documentation has shown that nine of the ships sank.

“The archeologist kept 6 to 8 feet of the ship uncovered just long enough to run tests,” he said. “They had to limit the time the ship was uncovered because of deterioration.”

Oman said the only thing he’s been involved with that had a similar historic feel was when he worked on the renovation of the former 1920s-era Journal Record Building in 1998 and 1999, which is now home to the Oklahoma City National Memorial.

“We uncovered quite a few items that were encapsulated in the walls and stairwells,” he said. “Inside a wall cavity, we found a billfold with photos, there was a Mason’s hat on a corner post on a stair and while removing some plaster and tearing out a wall, I found a lengthy message written into the back of the plaster.”

The message was destroyed by demolition crews before he could ensure its safety.

“There were some real interesting findings in that building,” Oman said.