The Sunken Fleet

The Florida Keys are rich with history. By George Nassar.

On the morning of July 13, 1733, a flotilla of twenty one ships under the command of General Don Rodrigo de Torres y Morales, left Havana harbor, nineteen bound for Spain and two bound for St. Augustine. The ships sailing to Spain had over 12 million pesos in gold, silver and gems as registered cargo and untold millions in unregistered treasure. Two days later on July 15, 1733, the fleet was struck by a hurricane off the Florida Keys. Of the twenty one ships only 1, the El Africa, was able to survive the storm and sailed back to Havana. The rest of the fleet had either sunk, run aground or were dismasted.

During the Spanish salvage efforts that were to follow for the next several years, eighteen of the twenty lost ships were found. Four were able to be refloated and or refitted enough to return to Cuba. They were the Senora de los Delores, the Rosario de Murguia, the El Gran Poder de Dios, and the La Balandrita.

Fourteen other ships were too badly damaged to be saved. Their cargo was salvaged as best as could be done for the time period. After the salvage was complete, whatever was left of the ships was burned to the waterline. Two ships of this 1733 fleet remain lost to this day; they are the San Fernando and the El Floridano. Both are thought to be located somewhere between Knights Key and Duck Key.

The final resting places of the ships of this fleet were then forgotten until 1938 when a charter boat captain, Reggie Roberts, told his friend, an ex-navy hardhat diver, Art McKee, about a large rock pile with what looked to be cannons scattered nearby. Located between Crocker and Davis reefs, that "rock pile" turned out to be the El Rubi. This was the dawn of the treasure hunting days of the Florida Keys.

The 1733 fleet was salvaged for many years to follow by a small army of treasure seekers until The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Act of 1990 was entered into law. Today, with a few exceptions, all treasure salvage has been halted by the Sanctuary. The wreck sites are now designated as historical places in the National Register.

One of the wreck sites, the San Pedro, south of Indian Key, has become the first State of Florida Underwater Archaeological Park. The San Pedro has been restored to its original appearance as it looked before its modern day salvage, complete with cannons.

All of the wrecks of the 1733 fleet make for a very interesting dive. Should you plan to visit these wrecks, please remember to set your anchor away from the ballast stone pile, take only pictures and leave only bubbles.

Location Name	LAT.	LONG.
El Populo	25º 21.833'	80º 09.676'
El Infanti	24º 56.556'	80º 28.531'
San Jose	24º 56.919'	80º 29.334'
El Rubi	24º 55.461'	80º 30.899'
Chavez	24º 56.171'	80º 34.985'
Herrera	24º 54.329'	80º 35.532'
Tres Puentes	24º 53.607	80º 35.011'
San Pedro	24º 51.801'	80º 40.779'
El Lerri San Felipe	24º 50.755'	80º 42.850'
San Franciscde Asis	24º 49.187'	80º 45.421'
El GallIndiano	24º 48.105'	80º 45.418'
Las Angustias	24º 47.455'	80º 51.738'
El Suecde Arizon	24º 46.379'	80º 53.478'
San Inganco	24º 41.552'	80º 56.309'