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The Treasure Coast is named for the twelve ship Spanish “Plate Fleet” that sank along its shores on July 30,1715 Florida’s “Treasure Coast” stretches along the Atlantic Ocean coast from Jupiter to Sebastian sixty miles to the north. Tucked in alongside Highway 1 the Treasure Coast ambles along luring visitors to its Gulf Stream kissed beaches of fine grained sand.

Amateur treasure hunters stroll along the beaches, metal detectors in hand, attempting to appear disinterested in the trinkets that they scoop up from the sand in wire-meshed baskets. “Perhaps that wasn’t a quarter that he just picked up and slipped into the small leather pouch on his waist. Maybe it was a gold doubloon, a piece or eight or a gold necklace. Did you see him note his position on the shore by glancing at the line of sand dunes on the hill? Maybe he will come back later tonight with a shovel?”

The Cartagena and Vera Cruz Spanish treasure fleets arrived in Havana in May 1715 on their way back to Spain. They planned to replenish stores and sail a few days later. The captain of the Vera Cruz fleet had 1,000 chests of silver in the cabin beneath his own and had stuffed the holds of his other ships with gold bullion and silver ingots. The Cartagena Fleet was loaded with silver and gold coins from the mints in Columbia, gold jewelry from Peru and 166 chests of Columbian emeralds.

The combined ships, now named the “Plate Fleet” departed Havana Harbor the morning of July 24, 1715 to enter the Gulf Stream and proceed northward along the Florida coast. However, on July 30 a hurricane struck the fleet. All but one of the ships had its bottom ripped out on coral reefs and sank resulting in the death of more than 1,000 Spaniards and the scattering of treasure from Sebastian to Stuart. Historical records indicate that much of the treasure was salvaged, but one ship, the “Urca de Lima” has yet to be found.

Each summer hopeful treasure salvers from around the world come to the Treasure Coast to try their luck. Won’t you visit us as well? You might catch sight of Rat, Mack or Tina and can even wet a line in hopes of catching a record setting “cat-snapper.”