SAN PEDRO Lower Metecumbe Key

The Merchant nao San Pedro under the command of Captain Gaspar Lopez Gonzalez carried a cargo of 16,000 silver pesos, bullion and crates of Chinese porcelain. She was part of a fleet of 22 ships that set sail from Havana for Spain on July 13, 1733. Only two days later, hurricane winds forced most of the ships into Florida's reefs. The San Pedro was carried over a reef and sunk in Hawk Channel off Indian Key. This site has been heavily worked for artifacts, and thousands of I-real cobs dating from 1731 to 1733 have been recovered. Many still think that more coins remain buried, just waiting to be uncovered. In fact Martin Meylach, in his book, DIVING TO A FLASH OF GOLD, writes that "anyone desiring to recover more need only continue the work beyond where it stopped before". A few years ago the state moved the San Pedro's ballast pile into Pennekamp Park. The state also recreated her cannons, which had been salvaged, out of concrete. The new fake wreck site was designed for tourist snorkelers and glass bottom boats to observe.

Basic shipwreck information and images for this section of this site was taken with permission from the book Florida Shipwrecks by Daniel Berg. You are invited to submit your shipwreck related articles, images and information. As long as the text, photographs, sketches etc are of professional quality we will showcase them. Full credit will be provided and a same page link to your web site can be arranged.