About This Book
On July 13, 1733, a Spanish Galleon, the San Marco, under the command of Juan Manuel de Sica, set sail from Vera Cruz, Mexico, and headed for Spain. The 1,500-ton wooden ship and its crew were among more than two dozen similar ships in the Nueva Espana Flota, commanded by Don Rodrigo de Torres. The holds of each ship were heavily laden with gold bars, silver ingots, tons of newly minted silver and gold pesos, doubloons, emeralds, and hoards of precious jewels of every description.
Shortly after the flotilla passed Cuba, it encountered a hurricane and many of the ships were lost, including the San Marco. The only survivor of the San Marco was its first mate, Raul de Sanz. A few years later, and shortly before his death, de Sanz recorded a secret entry in his chronicle giving the approximate location of the sunken wreck just off the southwest coast of Florida.
The discovery in the year 2003 of that entry in de Sanz's chronicle led Brad Mason and his three closest friends to set out on a venture to locate the lost wreck and attempt to salvage its valuable cargo.
