book authorerd by Juan Carlos Mill~as

This book is about all the recorded Hurricanes, their dates and tracks. It mentiones shipwrecks that sank caused by the storms. Look for information about Hurricanes, ther you will find the book. I believe it was printed only once and is out of print since a long time.

Treasurediver
 

I have a copy of this book, and if Mel had been fortunate enough to have had a copy, he would have found the Atocha in very short order.
Bill
 

Bill,
Can you tell me if the book list Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and does it show the tracks?
Thanks
Peg Leg
 

It lists hurricanes by year, starting in 1492 up to 1800, but does not show the exact path, rather giving the countries and islands affected.
 

This would most likely give the information I am looking for. Now all I need is a list of ships that were lost in the Gulf.
" ::)I WANT TO GO WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE" Star Trek saying with a little change. :-\
I am ordering the book today-the one with all the b/w drawings.
Peg Leg
 

There are tons of information available on East coast wrecks but I have not been able to find anything on the wrecks in the Gulf.
I can only assume that the reason for this is that the Indians killed all those that may have survived so there are no records available. What a bummer.
Peg Leg
 

You're right. I have been researching west coast wrecks for 20 years and there is very little info available. The survivors of any 17th century wreck on the w. coast faced certain death before they could make it back to civilization not just from Indians but from sharks, gators, snakes and swamps. Also the Gulf can be very hostile to ships. Consider the vessel El Cazador that left Vera Cruz in Jan. 1784 with 450,000 pesos to help support the Spanish in New Orleans. They got caught in a storm and sank with no survivors. The Gulf swallowed them up with no wreckage to indicate where she sank. The Cazador was found by accident when a shrimp net snagged the wreck and brought up coins in 1993. I probably have the largest collection of shipwreck records for the Gulf. Most of it came from the National Archives in Atlanta. Stay away from treasure hunting books. The best way to find info is to go out to archives and find it yourself. Another good source is the P.K. Younge Library at UF in Gainesville.
 

Does anyone have any idea how many ships went down in the Gulf- Not the new wrecks but the 1500s to the early 1800's. Not interested in anything later than that.
I guess that I have some serious research to do.
Thanks
Peg Leg
 

Peg Leg,

In Pensacola, FL alone there are an estimated 150-300 sailing-era ships that sank in the bay, within the inlet, on the beaches, and just off the coast. Most of these were lost due to hurricanes - some of the notable ones that I'm searching for are the 14 British ships that sank at anchor in Pensacola Bay during a hurricane in 1775. There are also at least 4 ships of the Tristan De Luna colony fleet that sank in the bay in 1559 - only one of these is confirmed to have been found.

Pcolaboy
 

Thanks for the information. This in itself tells me that there MANY shipwrecks that noone has any idea where they went down or what they were carrying.
What I am looking for is early Spainish ship that went down carrying Aztec/Mayan artifacts and includes Pirate ships.
Peg Leg
 

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