Hurricane of August 11th 1644

[Capt Miles]

We are looking for information about the ships sunk off Veracruz Mexico, in 1644, any information would be helpful

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[Boatlode]

The only 1644 hurricane I could find reference to was in early October (Millas p117). It came out of the extreme western Carribean and crossed the Yucatan peninsula and the western tip of Cuba. I could not find any reference to ships lost off Veracruz.

 

[ropesfish]

I got a copy of Pickford and looked up those three ships sunk off Mexico in 1644. They were sunk off the Leceheros Reefs south of Cape Catoche, which is the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula near Isla Mujeres and Cancun, 621 miles east-northeast of Veracruz. I would look here for information about Leceheros Reefs, which show zero results in an online search.
The voyages of Captain William Jackson : (1642-1645) (Book, 1923) [WorldCat.org]

I cannot find any reference to the word "Leceheros" in any language...it could be that 'Leceheros' is a slang description instead of a formal or widely-used place name.

Google claims these books have additional information.

• Lane, Kris E. Pillaging the Empire: Piracy in the Americas - 1500-1750. London: M.E. Sharp, 1998. ISBN 0-7656-0256-3
• Rogozinski, Jan. Pirates!: Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend. New York: Da Capo Press, 1996. ISBN 0-306-80722-X
• Vaitilingam, Adam, Polly Thomas and Polly Rodger Brown. The Rough Guide to Jamaica. New York: Rough Guides Ltd., 2004. ISBN 1-84353-111-9

This link to early Mexican, South American and Caribbean maps may prove useful to some.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/benson/historicmaps/index2.html

Here is a great 1732 map of the region.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/1732_Herman_Moll_Map_of_the_West_Indies,_Florida,_Mexico,_and_the_Caribbean_-_Geographicus_-_WestIndies-moll-1720.jpg

cheers.