Casino ship "The Monte Carlo" off of Coronado Island

[Captain Trips]

Casino ship "The Monte Carlo" off of Coronado Island

Anyone familiar with this shipwreck? It was a casino ship, concrete hull, that went down off of Coronado Island (near San Diego) around 1936. Any and all info about this would be welcomed, as I am getting interested in searching the beach near there. (It broke its mooring 3 miles out, and came to rest about 100 yards off shore! I've heard stuff keeps coming ashore, but have nothing more than third-hand hearsay about it.)

 

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[buscadero]

Re: Casino ship "The Monte Carlo" off of Coronado Island

Cap: Here's a bit of info: http://www.sdreader.com/php/bestshow.php?year=2000&id=80

Joe

 

[ScubaDude]

Re: Casino ship "The Monte Carlo" off of Coronado Island

Sounds like Biloxi after Katrina.

 

[Captain Trips]

Re: Casino ship "The Monte Carlo" off of Coronado Island

Cap: Here's a bit of info: http://www.sdreader.com/php/bestshow.php?year=2000&id=80

Joe

Thanks for the link, but I've already checked it out. As well as others I found through googling around. I'm looking for info you can't find that easily, and thought that some of the folks here might know more.

 

[mad4wrecks]

Re: Casino ship "The Monte Carlo" off of Coronado Island

I think that any attempts to salvage this ship or even spend time searching the beach would be a big gamble. But hey, let the chips fall where they may. You just might beat the odds and hit the jackpot!



Apologies, Tom

 

[ScubaFinder]

Re: Casino ship "The Monte Carlo" off of Coronado Island

You just had to roll the dice didn't you Tom.....

Trips,

I read a little about this wreck somewhere, I believe it was in Potter's "Treasure Divers Guide", I'll try to locate it when I get home and copy the passage for you here. Why wander around on the beach though...put your swim trunks on man! The bulk of the wreck is in shallow water as I recall, I'd suit up in SCUBA gear and tie a lift bag to a slot machine or two. All the coins would be pre 1936, which would mean a good portion of it would be solid silver. For proper beach hunting, you'd have to pinpoint the exact location of the wreck, learn about the tides and currents between the wreck and the beach, and make an educated guess about where the coins would land on shore. I would imagine that the wreck has been well hunted by now, but the scatter is likely washing up on the beach somewhere nearby.

To give yourself the best chance, find a county plat map and see what the last beach house was in 2000 when the article was written, I bet several more have been built since then, and you might find yourself in someones front yard by now. In Florida the coast is all public land short of a very few instances. Not sure how it works in CA but I'd check before you leave. Sounds like there is a good possibility for some nice modern silver, let us know what you find and I'll get back to you with the info I have.

Jason

 

[Captain Trips]

Re: Casino ship "The Monte Carlo" off of Coronado Island

Well, the reason I'm not diving the wreck (even skin-diving) is that I can't swim more than a basic dog-paddle. I can tread water, so am not worried about drowning, but I can't dive worth spit. Besides, the water this time of year is practically frigid!

In California, virtually every inch of the beach (at least up to the mean high-tide mark) is public access. I know this is true in Coronado, except along the navy bases, so I'm not worried about legalities of searching that beach.

I don't need a map to find where the wreck is, it's only 100 yards off shore -- and quite visible above water during a minus tide, such as this week will have. It's located by the southernmost tower of the Coronado Condos, and the beach there is at least 200 feet wide, so I don't think the "someone's frontyard" scenario will apply.

I think I can scout it out by sight and find the best area to search. Heck, I could easily go several hundred yards north and south of it, which should cover things by random chance if nothing else!

I actually only found out about this a couple of weeks ago (despite my living in San Diego for 37 years) from my wife who was sailing with someone who said her husband has had some good luck hunting the beach there. I'm planning on hitting it at least once this coming weekend myself, and was wondering what additional info might be known. I would be most grateful for your posting a copy of that passage for me.