1641 Nueva Espana fleet

[Chagy]

The Almiranta of the fleet "La Concepcion" wrecked in DR and 4 or 5 ships of the same fleet wrecked in the the coast of Florida (broke into pieces)

has anyone found the ones that wrecked in Florida?

All the best,

Chagy........

[ScubaDude]

Hummm, I think there was an exploration lease down that way, I'm not sure.

[Salvor6]

What year did "La Concepcion" sink?

[Chagy]

What year did "La Concepcion" sink?

1641 its the one found by Burt Webber in 1978

[SEAHUNTER]

Hi Chagy
Any idea where in Florida the ships went down?
Seahunter

[Chagy]

Hi Chagy
Any idea where in Florida the ships went down?
Seahunter

Well my good friend that is the question...Where?

I was reading the "Armada Espanola" by Fernandez Duro at the end of each volume he wrote a list of shipwrecks I like to ake notes of every shipwreck I find as I was going trough the information I read about a few wrecks of the 1641 New Spain fleet it said that one wrecked in the Abrojo shoals, one wrecked in Cuba, one in Isla Santa Catalina and 5 broke into pieces in the coast of Florida.....I prosided to look for information on the hurricane in "Hurricanes of the Caribbean" by Carlos Millas and it referred me back to "Armada Espanola" vol 4 pag336 where I found more information and the name of the vessels....

Capitan Santisimo Sacramento
Almiranta Consepcion (wreck in Abrojo shoals today silver shoals)
Galeon San Antonio
Rosario
Candelaria
Nao Santa Ana (wrecked in Cuba)
San Jose
Nuestra Senora de la Pena de Francia(made it to Cuba)
Patache Presa

Then I realised that it was the same Cosepcion found by Burt Webber. I know that Jack Haskins made an extensive research for Webber on this fleet so I prosided to contact Webber to see what he could tell me on the subject......And this is what he said;

Luis,
With regard to the lost ships of the 1641 New Spain Fleet (of which the "N.S. Concepcion" was Almiranta), here again, in books like Potter's, reference is made to some of these ships being lost off of the Florida Coast which is very questionable. I nor any other professional researchers that I know have acquired any documentation to substantiate this. The extensive research as was done on the "Concepcion" provided a lot of testimonies, particularly that of Admiral Don Juan Villavicencio who indicated that they were well out of the "Bahama Canal" when the hurricane struck. I believe that most of these ships were lost due to foundering in deep water. Of course, the "Concepcion" having survived, made her way alone, headed for Puerto Rico, not being able to head south to return to Havana because of the northerly flow of the Gulf Stream. Because of the condition of the galleon and bad navigation she ultimately wrecked on the Abrojos (today Silver Shoals) north of Hispaniola.

If you want to discuss any of this, give me a call.

Burt

In other words its still a mistery......the information provided by Fernandez Duro came directly from the archives Coleccion Navarrete, t. VII, num. 23 & Coleccion de Jesuitas, t. CI, num. 28.......I wonder if Haskins went over these....

All the best,

Chagy........

[SEAHUNTER]

Hi Chagy
Great research.
Seahunter