Nor'easter uncovers wreck of 19th-century schooner Warren Sawyer on Nantucket as missing swimmer phones police to say he's safe

From the Newshound archive · first published 28 September 2026.

A powerful nor'easter battering the US East Coast has exposed wooden beams and iron fastenings on Nantucket's south shore, believed to be the remains of the Warren Sawyer — a three-masted schooner that went down off Miacomet Beach on 22 December 1884. The storm also set off a major search at Robert Moses State Park after bystanders watched a man vanish into violent surf at the height of the tempest, only for him to contact police himself after seeing news coverage of the rescue effort.

Bound from New Orleans to Boston, the Warren Sawyer had 28 tons of scrap metal and 1,115 bales of cotton aboard when gale-force winds forced her aground.

The wreck previously surfaced in early 2023; researchers have yet to confirm definitively that the newly exposed fragments belong to the same ship.

The unidentified swimmer, who went into the water near Field 3 at around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, called New York State Police to confirm he was 'alive and well'.