Mystery of tattered ‘ghost ship’ that washed up on Florida beach is solved – and there’s a heartbreaking twist

Pensacola Beach in Florida was the scene of something very unusual last month: a shipwreck.

Sometime on June 18, a dilapidated 45-foot sailboat washed up on the shore, drawing the attention of many local residents, who called it a “ghost ship.”

For people like 46-year-old Francine Farrar, who was one of the first to see the boat come in, it was mysterious and intriguing.

But to its owner, Michael Barlow, 39, the ship had a name: Lady Catherine III. And more importantly, he had spent a large chunk of his savings to buy the now-destroyed vessel.

He threw $80,000 into the sailboat with the intention of “exploring the world,” but was forced to abandon ship and call in the Coast Guard for a daring rescue operation.

Thus the empty Lady Catherine, which Barlow bought in May, would eventually end up on the sandy shores of the Florida Panhandle. The full story, however, is much longer and more complicated than that.

It started with Barlow’s dream of living a freer, more fulfilling life with his wife and 9-year-old son.

“We just went out and explored the world,” Barlow said NBC 6 South Florida.

“We’re normal people. We have normal finances, very, very basic. And this is the only way I could take my son and show him that there’s a whole world out there, beyond what’s in America,” he said.

A little over a month ago, Barlow and his friend set out on a 900-mile journey from Fort Pierce, Florida, back to Texas, where Barlow was about to close his digging business and sell his belongings to fund his new lifestyle.

They studied the weather patterns for days before officially leaving, WEAR News reported, concluding that ‘the forecast was beautiful.’

“On the return trip to Texas we had 15 to 20 knot wind gusts,” Barlow said.

A week into Barlow’s maiden voyage with Lady Catherine, the initially perfect sailing conditions changed dramatically.

“The sea started to rise, the wind picked up and it was 30 to 40 knots,” Barlow said. “It stayed that way for the next two days.”

A series of storms caused waves to pound the hull and the sails to be torn by the high winds, but Barlow remained undaunted.

Initial.

“When things started to get really out of hand, we knew the boat could handle it and we just did it.”

While he battled terrible weather conditions for three days that slowly damaged his ship, he was able to stay in touch with his family via a Garmin tracker.

They knew exactly where he was the entire time, one of the reasons Barlow would ultimately emerge from this ordeal alive.

Eventually, the ship was too compromised to sail any further. Worse still, its loyal crew member began to freeze to death.

“The autopilot broke in the first storm, so we had to steer by hand for three days,” Barlow told WEAR News.

‘[My friend] had all the symptoms of hypothermia and he went down and passed out. He was unconscious during all of this.

“I was sitting there watching the sea build up, so I started hammering on the radio and going over procedures, just to see if there was anyone around who could help us. No one was responding.”

Just when he thought all hope was lost, he pressed the SOS button on his Garmin, which immediately put him in touch with the Coast Guard in New Orleans.

Rescuers later said Barlow and his friend were picked up on June 1, about 200 miles (300 kilometers) south of Panama City, Florida.

A Coast Guard member radioed Barlow that he was “about to be hit again” and that it would be three hours before they could rescue the crew.

But he was told he had to make a sacrifice. His $80,000 boat or his life.

“We can come get you right now, but you’ve got to get off the ship,” Barlow said, remembering what the Coast Guard had told him. “You’re absolutely taking a chance with your life if you stay.”

Barlow chose to survive and fled his doomed ship.

Richard Hoefle, the rescue swimmer aboard the helicopters sent to Barlow’s position, told WEAR News they had to dodge several storms during their journey across the Gulf of Mexico.

And when they got there, it was already completely dark.

A night-vision video posted by the Coast Guard on Facebook shows the boat bobbing in the rough waves, with its mainsail nearly torn off.

The same video also shows the terrifying rescue operation of the two men, with Hoefle jumping from the helicopter and immediately landing in the water.

“It was like something out of a movie,” Barlow said. “Bro jumped out of a helicopter into those raging waves and swam out to us with just his snorkel gear on.”

Although this was no ordinary task for Hoefle, who became seasick just looking at the two men in the ocean, he showed undiminished self-confidence throughout the rescue.

“We’re the Coast Guard, we’re the absolute best in the world at this,” Hoefle said. “You just see the relief when they see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

The dramatic video shows Barlow and his friend being lifted into the air before flying back to Panama City.

For weeks, no one knew for sure where Lady Catherine was. But when Pensacola residents started posting images of the sunken ship on social media, Barlow was able to find her.

“I knew it was her,” he said.

Farrar, one of the people who saw the ship ashore, saw people stealing things from it.

She reached out to Barlow through social media and helped out where she could.

“I wish someone would help me. So I went and got a lock,” she said, adding that she watched over the boat until Barlow arrived in Pensacola.

Unfortunately, all of his valuables had already been taken away when he got there.

Barlow will face more nasty problems in the coming weeks now that state authorities know where his boat is.

Because he owns what authorities call a “derelict vessel,” he must remove it from the beach or face a misdemeanor charge that could result in a $5,000 fine or jail time, NBC reported.

“Yes, our officers have been in contact with Mr. Barlow,” Faith Fawn, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said in a statement. “He has 30 days from the date the uniform citation was issued to bring his vessel into compliance.”

His options are to pay $20,000 to have the Lady Catherine taken to dry dock for repairs. These repairs will most likely cost more than the original value of the boat.

Or he said he could have the building removed and demolished for a flat fee of $28,000.

“If we’re talking about business numbers, it would make more sense to scrap the boat,” Barlow said. “That’s just the cold hard truth.”

Barlow also set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for the relocation and possible repairs to the ship.

“The removal will be a huge job and so will the repairs. We have spent our last part on this, leaving our house and betting the farm. It has now washed up on the shore and I don’t know what else to do,” he wrote on the post.

So far, the campaign has raised over $9,000 and is quickly reaching its goal of $10,000.

Despite this tragedy, Barlow remains an ambitious sailor, undeterred by his near-death experience in the Gulf or the financial ruin he faces.

“This certainly hasn’t shaken my resolve about sailing. I love the ocean. I respect the ocean. It’s unforgiving and beautiful at the same time,” he said.