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Photo courtesy of Indiana University.
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The 287-ton Dutch-built sailing ship San Pedro and 21 other Spanish vessels under the command of Rodrigo de Torres left Havana, Cuba, on Friday, July 13, 1733 bound for Spain. Upon entering the Straits of Florida, the fleet was struck by a hurricane which scattered and sank or swamped the ships along the 80-mile length of the Florida Keys. Spanish salvors recovered most of the fleet’s cargoes, but only a few of the vessels could be refloated. San Pedro’s discovery in the 1960s in Hawk Channel under 18 feet of water led to the modern recovery of small silver coins, porcelain fragments, and cannons trapped under her ballast pile. Today, the site is among the most picturesque of the 1733 fleet wrecks due to her location in a white sand pocket surrounded by turtle grass, and the prolific marine life that inhabits her grave. In 1989, San Pedro became Florida’s second Underwater Archaeological Preserve, and now is part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Shipwreck Trail. Located approximately 1.25 nautical miles south of Indian Key at 24° 51.802’N and 80° 40.780’W, the site is marked by a spar buoy surrounded by several moorings.
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