The Story Behind Florida’s Most Famous Shipwreck Will Completely Captivate You

While Florida has been a state known for having fabulous culture, indulgent food opportunities, and stunningly pristine beaches, there is also another side of the state that many seem to overlook—the maritime history. Ships have been coming to and from Florida for centuries, however, many of these ships succumbed to the treacherous weather, causing them to meet their fate at the bottom the sea. In case you didn’t know the story behind one of the most famous shipwrecks in Florida’s history, here it is in all its fascinating glory.

One of the most famous shipwrecks in Florida is the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, a ship built in Havana Cuba in the 1620s.

The Nuestra Señora de Atocha was used to transport items back and forth to Spain from Cuba, including items such as tobacco, silver, gold, and many different types of jewels.

It was 1622 the Atocha was set to sail to Spain once again, this time with 27 other Spanish ships, all carrying extremely heavy cargo aboard.

The trouble, however, was that the fleet was running behind on schedule—six weeks to be exact, which put them right at the start of hurricane season.

September 6, 1622, the worst fears were realized when a hurricane hit, thrusting the Atocha into the nearby reefs of the Dry Tortugas Islands, where it sank to the bottom of the sea, taking almost every passenger aboard with it.

The next year, Spanish ships went to where the wreckage site was determined to be, however the marker was blown away, and the location of the ship was lost.

However, centuries later in 1985, avid wreck hunter Mel Fisher recovered the ship and the treasure, which in total had an estimated value of over 450 million dollars.

The treasure which was recovered from the wreck included 40 tons of gold and silver, 114,000 Spanish silver coins, Colombian emeralds, artifacts and silver ingots.

The emeralds that were found as part of the treasure are said to be some of the rarest and finest in the world.

Mel Fisher obtained 75% ownership of the wreckage from the Supreme Court of the United States of the appraised value of all the recovered materials from the wreckage.

Today, visitors to Key West, Florida can visit the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum to get an up close and personal look at the history of Mel Fisher and some of the recovered treasure from one of the most famous wrecks in Florida history.

Have you ever been to the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum? The address is 200 Greene St, Key West, FL 33040-6516. Share with us your favorite parts of the visit in the comments section!