"I don't know what it is," said the Jupiter resident, who swims often at the beach just south of the Jupiter Inlet. "It's out there too far to see any identification. I'm a little scared."
The $2 million ship, known as a jack-up barge, is a research vessel owned by Jacksonville-based Amelia Research.
For the next month, divers will use the vessel to search for coins and artifacts from the Spanish galleon "San Miguel Archangel," which sank off Jupiter in about 1660, said Dominic Addario, a Jupiter resident who will be diving.
Addario is one of the owners of Jupiter Wreck Inc., which the federal government granted as custodian of wrecked ship. All materials from the wreck - discovered in 1987 - must be turned over to state historical officials, who can keep up to 20 percent, Addario said.
"So far, we've discovered about 15,000 coins and other artifacts from the galleon," said Addario, who operates Jupiter Coins.
Pollution or reef damage during the search are unlikely, said Mike Grella, director of the Jupiter Inlet District, which is in charge of dredging the Jupiter Inlet.
"They must comply with the same regulations we have," Grella said.
The three legs are lowered to the sand below the surface to lift the vessel above the water. Each leg has a 4-foot-by-8-foot platform at the bottom that sits in the sand to keep the vessel stationary. The vessel, which arrived Saturday, is moved periodically, said Addario.
"Three legs are more stable than four," Addario said.
Divers use pumps to move sand around in search of the artifacts. No chemicals are used, said Addario.
"The fishermen love it, because we stir up the whole ecosystem. That attracts bait fish, which attracts bigger fish," said Addario.
Bauer was relieved when told the ship was used for research.
"Fishermen and people at the beach don't know what that thing is," she said.
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