AH-WR-0063

Urca de Lima

Sailing Vessel · Spain · Lost 1715 · Florida's Atlantic Coast

A Spanish plate-fleet cargo ship wrecked by hurricane off Fort Pierce in 1715, now Florida's first Underwater Archaeological Preserve.

Become Captain of Record See Shipwreck on Map

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

Urca de Lima was a round-bellied Spanish cargo vessel that sailed with the 1715 plate fleet from Havana toward Spain. A hurricane struck the fleet off the Florida coast, wrecking eleven ships including Urca de Lima near present-day Fort Pierce. Salvagers, both Spanish and later treasure hunters, worked the wreck over the centuries. In 1987 it became Florida's first Underwater Archaeological Preserve.

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 flota system

Loss

Date: July 31, 1715
Cause: Storm
Location: Off present-day Fort Pierce, Florida
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Havana, Cuba → Spain
Cargo: Colonial cargo typical of the 1715 flota
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: 15
Condition: Flat-bottomed, round-bellied hull remains visible on the sand bottom.
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve No. 1; National Register of Historic Places