No 1715 vessels made it over the Dunes ....

[goldcoastwayne]

The question was previously asked about hunting the dunes....not a good idea....unless you don't mind a major fine. You can hunt from the "toe of the dune" to the ocean. From experience, I can tell you...all cobs that I have found at the ocean side of the dune were at least 3 feet down the side of the wall from the top. Also the original archaeological dig on the survivors camp found the majority of artifacts about 3 feet down. Hunting the top of these dunes will not do you much good and put you in a world of trouble if you are caught.

As far as ships heading over the dunes..that is a very good question...I have read that the beach and dunes extended, (back in the period) likely 300 - 400 feet further east. That seems to make sense to me...otherwise, why would the present known site of the survivor camp be a short distance from the surf? Especially, after a hurricane?

Wayne

 

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[ourhistory153]

I have an idea that none of the 1715 fleet made it over the Dunes. Large waves have a crest and a bottom, the smaller vessels may have floated over the reefs, but most likely sunk before hitting the reefs in ruff water, and even if they did float over the reefs they would not have washed up over the dunes. When Kathrina hit the Waveland and gulfport area which does NOT have dunes, its all low land beach, a few boats of only the 50 foot length size only washed inland several blocks and the waves were over 20 feet, 28 feet if I remember right. A 80 ft tugboat was only across the street (hwy 90 which runs along the beach) in a low shoreline area when Camille came thru decades ago. What I saw of the Treasure Coast beach and dunes, the average tide line is 20 feet or more below the dunes line. We don't know the size of the 1715 storm but chances are it was not of the Camille or Katrina size in surge and wave height.....

Is it known if survivors from EACH of the 11 ships were found? And either way, I guess we don't know if they were found north of the main camp.

I read an oral history where the descendant wrote that the great hurricane of the early 1920's unveiled the remains of a Spanish galleon on
the Cape Canaveral/Cocoa Beach area. But it was beachside and not across the barrier island.

I recently interviewed a local resident who showed me an interesting artifact he found in the Banana river made of bronze. What ships used bronze for a fitting of sorts? I'm going to take a picture of it and upload it soon here and get your collective thoughts. If anybody has seen anything like it maybe we can pool our info to discover more about it.

Great thread of postings though. The 1715 wreck was a fascinating event. It is said that it ushered in the golden age of piracy on the Caribbean.

-RKO

 

[ourhistory153]

I have an idea that none of the 1715 fleet made it over the Dunes. Large waves have a crest and a bottom, the smaller vessels may have floated over the reefs, but most likely sunk before hitting the reefs in ruff water, and even if they did float over the reefs they would not have washed up over the dunes. When Kathrina hit the Waveland and gulfport area which does NOT have dunes, its all low land beach, a few boats of only the 50 foot length size only washed inland several blocks and the waves were over 20 feet, 28 feet if I remember right. A 80 ft tugboat was only across the street (hwy 90 which runs along the beach) in a low shoreline area when Camille came thru decades ago. What I saw of the Treasure Coast beach and dunes, the average tide line is 20 feet or more below the dunes line. We don't know the size of the 1715 storm but chances are it was not of the Camille or Katrina size in surge and wave height.....

Is it known if survivors from EACH of the 11 ships were found? And either way, I guess we don't know if they were found north of the main camp.

I recently came across another historic reference (FHQ) to a Spanish Galleon that was discovered on the Cocoa Beach shore. I imagine it was picked over pretty well if it was that visible. But if that were the case then their should be more oral histories about it. Of course I realize just because it was a Spanish galleon does not mean it was carrying treasure.


-RKO

I recently interviewed a local resident who showed me an interesting artifact he found in the Banana river made of bronze. What ships used bronze for a fitting of sorts? I'm going to take a picture of it and upload it soon here and get your collective thoughts. If anybody has seen anything like it maybe we can pool our info to discover more about it.

Great thread of postings though. The 1715 wreck was a fascinating event. It is said that it ushered in the golden age of piracy on the Caribbean.

-RKO

 

[ivan salis]

it is my veiw that one of the wrecked vessels near the cape area is one of Echeverz's 3 vessels that broke away from the 1715 fleet , they and the griffon (the french vessel that was the only vessel to survive the storm , returning to brest ,france) were running on a more "northly tack" and had broke away from the remaining 8 vessels of the fleet 1 to 2 days in time before the storm hit the the fleet as was testified by the fleets main navagator when he was later questioned in havana ,cuba to account as to what had "occured" - I do belive according to the records currently availble at this time to me that the * Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion * sank off of the cape area * reportly there was 4 survivors who had survived by floating on a hatch cover for a couple days till washing up on the beach , they were found by soldiers and taken to st augustine .

 

[ourhistory153]

Interesting view. I know the French and Spanish were enemies in 1565 but were they friends enough in 1715 for a ship carrying a French flag in their
own fleet? Or was it the like the British ship, "The Hampton Court" which was captured by the Spanish and employed in the traffic of treasure
back to Spain?

Still I'd be interested in hearing if there was a decent treasure found just a little South of the Cape.

BTW are these just views or educated guesses from sourced information?