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DATA ON LOCATION OF LIMA'S REFUERZO

1. The ship named Santisima Trinidad y Nuestra Senora de la

Concepcion, also called sometimes "El Refuerzo” or "Urca de

Lima". Her captain was Juan Antonio Laviosa, her owner Miguel de

Lima. She was Dutch built of three decks, 305 tons and carried

twenty iron cannon. Her pilot was Manuel Chavez and her Chaplain

was J. Fabrega.

2. 5 Aug. 1715 - Lima at Ays to Mirallas.

"Thanks to God all of the silver on my ship has escaped and I

wait for the cochineal to be saved as well. (He asks for aid

assuring him that since his cargo has almost all been saved, he

will be able to pay him back). My ship is at Palmar de Ayz in 27

degrees 15 minutes latitude. From here we can leave for the

Capitana and Almiranta of Ubilla, which all of them are in the

coast at a distance of six leagues and my ship is the nearest one

towards the Cayos de la Florida. The salvage and supply boats

should come here first as it is the only anchorage there is, so

that I can advise Salmon and all the people when they come

because I am at the mouth of a river which makes it easier."

(I am sure he means that he can navigate up the Rio de Ayz to

where the Reals of the Almiranta and Capitana are with relative

ease, not having to risk going out into a rough, enemy filled

ocean. Try St Lucie Inlet ...JH).

3. 5 Aug. 1715 - Armenta at Ayz (See Nancy, p.23, she forgot to

put his latitude which was in his letter) to Casa Torres.

He states that he is in 27 degrees 10 minutes latitude

and I thought it was strange why he was here. Reason was that he

had sailed on Lima's Refuerzo and that's why he was so far south.

4. INTERESTING FACT, If Lima's wreck was actually the wedge

wreck which is located at 27 degrees, 30 minutes latitude, we know

that Ubilla's patache was two leagues or about six miles from it.

We assumed that it would be the colored beach wreck, because it

is located five to six miles south of it. However, there is a

good possibility that Sandy Point is site of Ubilla's Patache, as

it is located in 27d 36m 20s, which would also be six miles from

the wedge wreck. If Sandy Point is the patache, this would make

it right for Lima to say that he is the southern-most wreck. From

the amount of gold found on the colored beach site it looks as if

this ship was not well salvaged. It is certainly possible that

it was one of the other wrecks, like the small frigate Ubilla

bought in Havana, and there might not have been survivors and

thus reason its treasure was not salvaged.

 

5. 7 Aug. 1715 - Declaration of Mendez made in St Augustine.

He was the pilot of Nuestra Senora del Carmen of

Echeverz Squadron. "His ship was lost and all others too, one

after another, at Palmar de Ayz on the coast in 28 degrees 10 minutes

... From all the ships, only victuals were recovered from

Lima's Urca and Echeverz Capitana ..all of the lost ships are in

one area comprising nine leagues from north to south.

PAGE 21. (Lima's Refuerzo-Continued)

6. 8 Aug. 1715 - Salmon at Ayz in 27 degrees 50 minutes latitude

to Viceroy of Mexico.

"The ship of Lima was wrecked in the best place,

suffering the least damage, and almost all of its cargo has been

salvaged ... We are within a distance of 10 leagues from one to

another .. " (that's more like it-JH).

7. 9 Aug. 1715 - Lima at Ayz to Mirallas.

"My ship is the only one that has had anything salvaged

and will be sent to Havana. So the vessels from Havana should

land here and I will notify Salmon to send the survivors of his

ship and the Capitana here to embark. I am at Palmar de Ayz in

27 degrees 15 minutes."

8. 9 July (must be August) Casa Torres. 1715, Ayz. Captain Rafael de Eliza

to Casa Torres. (Note Nancy has him as the Captain of Lima's Urca,

but Lou has another man as captain - see .#1)

LIMA'S REFUERZO (Continued):

He was sending this message on the Refuerzo's

launch .."Thanks to God preserving this ship we had the joy in

salvaging or saving all of the silver and part of the cochineal,

indigo, vanilla and other products and we are continuing to off

load these items with the launch of the patache, trying to save

all we can.”

9. 16 August 1715 - Havana, orders from Casa Torres (Governor)

to the captain of the boat leaving there for Ayz.

"...whenever you arrive at the site of the disaster

take great caution to discover the nao of Miguel de Lima, which

is the first of the wrecks, and once reaching there deliver my

letter to Armenta and also the supplies. Then continue until you

reach the Real where Salmon is and give him my letter and

supplies."

10. 24 Aug 1715 - Salmon to Casa Torres, from Ayz.

He states that Lima's Refuerzo is ten leagues from his

Almiranta and for this reason the people off Lima's wreck have

not been brought to his Real.

11. 14 Sept 1715 - Havana, Domingo Gil de Araujo to Casa Torres.

Araujo was a merchant who was on Lima's ship and was

entrusted by Armenta with taking back the goods salvaged from

Lima's wreck. Lima's ship ran aground on the coast of Ayz

because of the force of the storm and remained intact, so that

they have been able to recover most of the cargo.

12.   20 Sept 1715 Salmon at Ayz to King.

"All of the (lost) ships are on the same island ..."

13. 19 Oct 1715 - Havana, Don Miguel de Lima y Molo to Viceroy

of Mexico.

"… All of the ships, with the exception of mine,

broke to pieces. My ship stayed intact for 30 days after..

PAGE 22.

..this disaster until we recovered part of the cargo

and then burned the ship. At the time of the disaster I was able

to recover not only enough victuals for the men on my own ship

but also to sustain all of the people who escaped from the

patache which wrecked two leagues from my ship, and which went to

pieces without even a piece of biscuit being saved. We also

aided our Admiral Salmon and his people, and the same with the

survivors of the Capitana, which wrecked at a distance of 10

leagues from my Real. By recovering these victuals off my ship

was able to sustain all of the survivors of this disaster until

supplies finally arrived from Havana, which was 31 days after the

disaster ...And on these deserted beaches, which are very barren

and dry, God permitted us to find sweet water, enough to drink,

by making wells the height of a man, which are called Sasimbas

(water reservoirs).

All of the cargoes of the other ships were all lost,

less a few leather bags off my ship, but this was little because

by the day following the disaster the hold of my ship was

completely full of water with over a codo and a half (27 inches)

over the main hatchway. This was caused because we were unable

to cut the rigging on the leeward side of the ship to dislodge

the foremast. By the movements of the sea, caused by the mast

still being erect, the bottom part of the ship opened and if this

hadn't happened I would have been able to recover all of the

cargo of my ship.

However, for the first eleven hours following the ship

wrecking, the ship was as strong as it had been before the

disaster which is the ultimate proof of its great strength … I

have been fortunate in bringing much of what we salvaged to the

Havana, but the remainder is buried underground in my Real and

I'm hoping it all could be picked up by the next

schooners that arrive there. But Sir, most of the cargo is badly

damaged and wet due to the water entering my ship and in carrying

the things from my wreck to the shore in a small boat ...Only my

small boat and another of the Capitana were the only launches

which were left after the disaster. My boat was the one which

carried the news to Havana. All of the heavy rains further

damaged my goods once ashore, as there were too few sails left

from our wreck to cover all the goods once ashore.

I have suffered such great losses from this disaster

that I lacked the funds. to get back to my home or even maintain

myself here in Havana ...On my own ship we lost only 30 seamen and

marines, which were carried away by waves while in the waist of

the ship before it finally ran aground on the coast ...”

NOTE: I wouldn’t put too much stock in Lima’s claim of being so

poor and not recovering much. Everyone usually wrote letters to

the King hoping for a handout).

14. 21 Oct 1715 - Armenta in Havana to the Viceroy of Mexico.

"...after leaving Havana we navigated until reaching

the-

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latitude of 28 degrees, when the wind started to blow from the NE

and we had to run bare masts (Armenta was on Lima's Urca) because

of the massive seas which were running, our masts were all

knocked down (conflicts with Lima's account) and the people in

the waist of the ship were swept away by the seas. We were

unable to resist this violent hurricane and all the ships were

wrecked on the coast of Florida at Palmar de Ayz in 16 leagues

distance from one another ...All of the ships of our Flota went

to pieces except that of Miguel de Lima, which stayed intact but

full of water due to their not chopping down the foremast ...by

the grace of God the launch of the Capitana escaped and we sent

it commanded by Nicolas de Ynda, the main pilot of the Almiranta,

to give notice at Havana of our plight....”

15. 28 Oct 1715 - Havana, Armenta to the King.

"All of the main ships were broken in pieces and

wrecked at a distance from one another of 15 or 16 leagues. The

only one which remained intact was the Refuerzo of Lima, under

the command of Rafael de Eliza, on which I was sailing, although

later it gradually filled with water so that the greater part of

its cargo in the hold was lost and we set fire to the hull ..."

16. Undated Vatican Document.

"The Urca as has been said moored (anchored) between

two reefs and would have been saved if in the first storm it

hadn't lost the foremast and this hadn't gotten entangled with

the keel so it split and filled with water, its silver had been

recovered and so had the major part of the cargo."

17. Duro - Armada Espanola, Vol VI, pp 121.

"The Urca of Lima was stranded at the mouth of a river;

33 men died."

NOTE BY JH: There could be another good reason why Lima's ship

fared so well; it was the farthest to the South and may not have

experienced the strong winds the others faced. Another plus for

that river mouth as being the St Lucie Inlet.

18. Bernard Romans, PP 273.

Places a Dutch wreck of the 1715 fleet laying in 3

fathoms of water near the mouth of a river in 27 degrees 30

minutes, (NOTE: There was also one ship with the alias La

Holandesa, which means the Dutch ship.) [Then there was one of

Echeverz' prizes, JH]).