Saint John's Bahamas Wreck (Santa Clara?), c. 1564

Country: Bahamas

Place: Little Bahama Bank

Type: 300-ton nao

Identified: Santa Clara? (tentative identification; David Moore, pers. comm.)

Dated: 1564

History of the shipwreck

The identity of this ship is unknown, although it has been tentatively identified as the Santa Clara, a 300-ton nao that ran aground on the Little Bahama Bank in 1564 (David Moore, pers. comm.). It was found in 1991 by St. John's Expeditions, a treasure-hunting company from Florida, and excavated by that company together with the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society, under the direction of Corey Malcom and David Moore.

Description of the site

The site covers 150 m². Along with several guns, a wooden structure was found extending 19.9 m, formed mostly of planking and several very eroded frames; fragments of the keel were also found (Malcom 1997, 351-352).

Cargo

Not described in the source text beyond the guns noted in Description of the site.

Hull Remains

The surviving structure consists mostly of planking and several very eroded frames, extending 19.9 m; fragments of the keel were also found (Malcom 1997, 351-352).

Caulking

Not described in the source text.

Ballast

Not described in the source text.

Size and scantlings

Frames: 20 cm sided, 15.3 cm molded (eroded). Room-and-space: 48 cm. Planking: 20-30 cm wide, 5.8 cm thick.

Wood

Not described in the source text.

References

Malcom, Corey. "St. John Bahamas Wreck." In Delgado, James P., Encyclopedia of Underwater and Maritime Archaeology. London: Yale University Press, 1997: 351-352.

Malcom, Corey. "The St. John Bahamas Wreck: Research and Excavation Plan." Report on file, MFMHS, Key West, Florida.

Malcom, Corey. "The St. John Bahamas Wreck: Interim Report 1: The Excavation and Artifacts 1991-5." Astrolabe, Journal of the MFMHS (1996) 9.1.