Nuestra Señora de Atocha

Type

Galleon

Period

17th Century

Nation

Spain

Overview: Nuestra Señora de Atocha was a Spanish treasure galleon built at Havana and lost in a 1622 hurricane off the Florida Keys. It is the most famous vessel of that year's wrecked Tierra Firme fleet, and its 1985 rediscovery by treasure hunter Mel Fisher made it one of the best-documented Spanish galleons for modelers, since the recovered hull remains and cargo gave researchers real physical data rather than relying solely on period treatises. Specifications: The ship was rated at 550 toneladas, roughly 34 m (112 ft) long with a 10 m (34 ft) beam and a 4.3 m (14 ft) draught, carrying three masts (square-rigged fore and main, lateen mizzen, plus a spritsail on the bowsprit). She mounted around 20 heavy bronze guns plus several smaller swivel versos, with a complement/crew of roughly 90-110. Unusually, her hull was built from Cuban mahogany and roble hardwoods rather than traditional European oak, a construction detail worth noting for anyone building an accurate model. Service History: Ordered in 1620 and completed in Havana in 1621, Atocha served as the almiranta (rear-guard escort) of the Tierra Firme treasure fleet, sailing behind the other ships to guard against attack from astern. On her return voyage to Spain, heavily laden with copper, silver, gold, tobacco, gems, and indigo from Cartagena, Portobelo, and Havana, she was caught in a hurricane on 6 September 1622 and driven onto reefs off the Florida Keys, sinking with the loss of over 260 people; only five survived by clinging to the stump of the mizzenmast. Notable Facts: Spanish salvage attempts over the following decades failed to relocate the wreck after a second hurricane scattered the debris field. Mel Fisher's expedition finally found the site in 1985 after a sixteen-year search, recovering a spectacular cargo of gold, silver, and emeralds; the discovery triggered a lengthy legal battle with the State of Florida that the finders ultimately won. Because no contemporary painting of the ship survives, modelers typically rely on the archaeological data from the wreck and comparable early-17th-century Spanish galleon draughts to reconstruct her appearance. Image Note: The reference image shows a bronze cannon recovered from the Atocha, now on display at the Archivo General de Indias in Seville - a genuine surviving artifact from the ship itself, useful for verifying gun proportions and detailing since no period painting of the vessel survives.