Anchor Recovered: British Capt. Vancouver's from 222 years ago?

A crane on Monday off Whidbey Island hauled up a lost ship’s anchor that a group of history buffs believe is the only surviving relic of Capt. George Vancouver’s famed 1792 voyage into Puget Sound. (Photo: Steve Ringman/The Seattle Times)



WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. -- A 900-pound anchor that some believe is from one of two ships British Capt. George Vancouver used to explore the Pacific Northwest  in 1792, was hauled up from the Strait of Juan de Fuca off the coast of Whidbey Island Monday.

The anchor -- which amateur historians believe broke free from the HMS Chatham, companion to Vancouver's HMS Discovery -- was taken to Port Townsend, Wash., media reports said.

The anchor was found and brought up by two local men who formed Anchor Ventures LLC -- Scott Grimm, a medical equipment salesman and amateur historian, and Doug Monk, a Port Angeles diver and fisherman who first spotted the anchor in 2008.

The Seattle Times said Grimm and Monk plan to have the anchor shipped from Port Townsend to Texas A&M University, where researchers will try look for any signs that ultimately could prove it belonged to the tall ship HMS Chatham, which lost its anchor 222 years ago.