Centuries-old ship washes up on Florida beach

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - A ship dating back to the 18th Century has washed ashore in Florida.

Eight-year-old Patrick Turner and his mom Julie were walking on the beach in South Ponte Vedra Beach when they spotted some wreckage.

The wreckage appeared to be the wooden hull of a ship.

Immediately, they say they knew the object was a historical artifact.

A team of archeologists soon came to the site to survey the wreckage.

"This is hard to find under the bottom of the ocean, much less something that floats ashore in our backyard," Treasure Shop owner Mark Anthony said. "This is very rare. It's like the holy grail of shipwrecks."

Workers from the county's beach services division say they are working to move the hull to higher ground to protect it from high tide.