Cape Canaveral may be better known for its space program (being the launch site of many spacecraft) and for being the home of the Kennedy Space Center. But just off its treacherous shores are a wealth of sunken treasure ships just waiting to be found. The Cape's watery tale is the stuff of legends and childhood imagination.
There are many reasons to visit Cape Canaveral - including its beaches. The Cape Canaveral National seashore is unique - it's underrated compared to many of Florida's beaches. If one is interested in the cosmos then the Space Shuttles (now in museums around the country) were launched from the Kennedy Space Center.
Cape Canaveral and Its Hidden Treasures
Port Canaveral is more than the second-busiest cruise ship port in the world and the gateway to the cosmos. But few people on these cruises stop to consider what is underneath its pristine waters.
- Former Name: Cape Kennedy From 1963 to 1973
- Location: Brevard County, Florida
The Smithsonian Magazine states:
"Some of Cape Canaveral’s most storied attractions lie unseen, wedged under the sea’s surface in mud and sand, for this part of the world has a reputation as a deadly ship trap. Over the centuries, dozens of stately Old World galleons smashed, splintered, and sank on this irregular stretch of windy Florida coast."
The Treasures In The Waters Of Cape Canaveral
Today there is a veritable treasure trove hidden beneath the waves. Reminiscent of the Belgium comic series TinTin "The Secret of the Unicorn" there is everything down there. One can find boxes of silver and gold ingots, chests of emeralds, pearls from the Caribbean, ornate cannons, and much more.
This is the stuff of legends and something many would brush aside as unrealistic. But in reality, it is now big business. Advances in technology have made hunting for these treasures of the deep much more viable. Today explorers can use GPS, computers, detection equipment, and more.
Finding and exploring the wrecks is hard and expensive work. Technology can show things buried under a meter of sand. What may to the naked eye just appear as crusts of coral or worm-eaten wood can be identified as a long-lost shipwreck.
Cape Canaveral is known to contain one of the great concentrations of colonial shipwrecks of anywhere in the world. The majority of these shipwrecks (together with their treasures) have never been found.
- High Concentration of Shipwrecks: Cape Canaveral Is Home To One of The Greatest Concentrations of Shipwrecks In The World
It is estimated at some three million vessels litter the bottom of the world's oceans (most of these are old canoes and small vessels). It is thought that less than 1% have been explored to date.
- 1%: Of The World's Wrecks (Including Small Craft) Have Been Found
The Legal Battles
At Cape Canaveral, one can also see another battle taking place as the archaeologists are pitted against the salvors. The archaeologists think of themselves as the protects of history and the salvors as careless destroyers of heritage. While the salvors think they are doing all the hard work at finding the wrecks only to have their prizes ripped away.
Archeologists see the wrecks as the Rosetta stones of the seas.
The most valuable shipwreck dubbed the "Holy Grail of shipwrecks" to have been found is the San Juan just off the coast of Colombia. Its treasures have been estimated to be between $1 Billion and $17 Billion in value (extraction is on pause pending legal battles).
- San Juan: The "Holy Grail of Ship Wrecks"
The Discorvery Of The La Trinité
In 2015 Global Marine Exploration discovered the wreck of the La Trinite - a 16th-century French ship. First, they found an iron cannon, then a precious bronze cannon, and then a famous marble column engraved with the markings of the coat of arms of France. It has been called the most important shipwreck ever found in North America.
This ship had been engaged in a battle between France and Spain and the outcome changed the fate of the United States. Its association with three countries has made the legality of the ship even more complicated as it was tied to the history of the USA, France, and Spain.
- La Trinité: Set Sail For Florida In 1565
- Provisioned: The Fleet Was Provisioned With 1,000 Soldiers, Seamen, French Colonists, and Gold, Silver, Munitions, And More
- Goal: For The French To Gain A Colonial Foothold In America
- Sinking: The La Trinité and Three Other Ships Were Wrecked In A Storm
- Outcome: The French Were Massacred By The Spanish At Fort Caroline
- Saint Augustine: Founded By The Spanish After Their Victory - Now The Oldest City In The USA