Florida is a state that is known for its vibrant culture, superb weather and gorgeous beaches. However, Florida also has a rich maritime history. Ships have been using the waters around the state for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, a large number of these ships were caught in storms or faced other problems that caused them to sink. Today, many of these shipwrecks are considered famous and historic sites.
One of Florida’s most famous shipwrecks is the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. The Atocha, which was built in Havana, Cuba in 1620, was used to transport items, including jewels, gold, silver, tobacco and indigo to Spain. In 1622, the Atocha, along with 27 other Spanish ships, was loaded with its extremely heavy cargo. The fleet of ships set sail six weeks late, well into the beginning of hurricane season.
On September 6, 1622, a hurricane struck. The ship ran into reefs near the Dry Tortugas Islands and sank. Nearly everyone on board drowned. The following year, the Spanish attempted to recover the treasure, but after the marker was blown away, the location of the ship was lost. The ship was finally recovered by the famous wreck hunter Mel Fisher in 1985. The recovered treasure had an estimated value of about 400 million dollars. This is not an official dive site.
Another Florida shipwreck of note is the Lofthus. The Lofthus was an English-made iron hulled vessel designed to carry goods. In 1894, the huge sailing ship was carrying a load of lumber when it ran aground and wrecked on a beach on the eastern coast of Florida. The crew, along with the ship’s cat and dog, was rescued by another ship, but the weather and waves destroyed the Lofthus. The Lofthus was later blasted with dynamite in order to retrieve its lumber. The explosion scattered the ship, creating a massive wreck site of about 14,500 square feet. Despite pieces of the wreckage being spread far and wide, many pieces of this wreck rise up to 6 feet off the seafloor. Many local dive shops carry laminated guides to take with you on your dive, and the site is open to the public year-round, free of charge.
The Nuestra Senora de las Angustias was yet another Spanish ship that met its end off the coast of Florida. In 1733 the Angustias set sail from Havana loaded with a cargo that consisted of gold, silver, indigo, porcelain and other goods bound for Spain. On September 13, a hurricane struck and the ship began to come apart in the storm. The sinking ship dropped 20,000,000 gold and silver pieces along the ocean before finally sinking off of Long Key. Today, the Angustias shipwreck is mostly covered in coral, making it both historic and beautiful. This is a relatively little-known dive site, due to the strong currents that prevail here, so only those who are certified advanced open water and above should consider this dive.
