AH-WR-1065

Melbourne Beach Wreck

Galleon · Spain · Lost 1715 · Florida's Atlantic Coast

A scattered 1715 treasure fleet wreck off Melbourne Beach that one archaeological team argues is a long-"missing" galleon, though the case remains unproven.

Become Captain of Record

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

The Melbourne Beach Wreck is a scattered debris field of an 18th-century Spanish vessel from the 1715 Plate Fleet, lost in the hurricane of 31 July 1715 and lying directly offshore of Melbourne Beach in south Brevard County. Seafarer Exploration Corp surveyed and partially excavated the site under state permit between 2014 and 2017, and its staff archaeologist has proposed the wreck is the long-unlocated Santísima Trinidad y Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, though the company's own final report called for further work to confirm the identification.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Spanish Crown

Loss

Date: July 31, 1715
Cause: Storm
Location: Offshore of Melbourne Beach, Florida
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Havana, Cuba → Cádiz, Spain
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Fleet-wide, an estimated 1,000 lives were lost among the eleven wrecked ships; ship-specific figures are not established.
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: A scattered debris field of wooden shipwreck remains identified through remote sensing surveys.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Investigated under Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research permit MB514.

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Melbourne Beach, Florida
Region: Florida's Atlantic Coast

No published decimal coordinates found; site is described only as directly offshore of Melbourne Beach.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Sparsely documented (40/100)

The wreck's identity as the Santísima Trinidad y Nuestra Señora de la Concepción is a hypothesis advanced by the excavating company's archaeologist and is not independently confirmed; the site's own final report called for further excavation and analysis.

Seafarer Exploration Corp (Dr. Robert H. Baer report)
Proposed identification, fleet background, site location.
Seafarer's Quest 2014-2017 final excavation report (Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research permit MB514)
Excavation history, artifact findings, and conclusion that further work is needed to confirm ship identity.
Space Coast Daily
Regional history of the 1715 fleet loss between Melbourne Beach and Vero Beach.