Shipwrecks are never good, right? People drown. Cargo is lost. They’re a cause for sorrow, I’m sure. They’re tragedies. They couldn’t not be.

That being said, though, shipwrecks are awesome.

There’d be no diving on shipwrecks or underwater treasure hunting without these tragedies, so when it comes to shipwrecks and books about shipwrecks, count me an instant fan. The past is over, so let’s go ahead and make something fun of the present!

Book Summary

This book is an introduction for kids to the adventures of treasure hunting and shipwrecks. It follows the fates of three Spanish Galleons that left the Havana harbor in 1628 with their fleet of 28 ships headed for Spain and laden with treasures from the New World.

Storms sank the Candalaria, the Margarita, and the Atocha, and within days, Captain Cadereita had ordered searches to be made of their whereabouts. Although the first two ships were soon found and some of their wealth recovered, the Atocha seemed completely lost to history. In fact, three centuries passed before any headway was made in identifying her resting place.

The final portion of this book follows treasure-hunter Mel Fisher’s search for and recovery of artefacts from a wreck that his team was eventually able to ID as the Atocha, thanks to a series of nine 3,000-pound canons they salvaged. Although they were able to recover some gold and silver and find both ends of the ship, the central hull with all its load of treasures still lay buried somewhere in the vicinity beneath the silt and unrecoverable (as of publication, at least).

With such an open-ended conclusion, I bet many a kid left reading this book daydreaming about the day he’d step foot in the ocean to solve this 300+-year mystery himself.

Similar Shipwreck Tales

This book reminded me so much of Expedition Wydah by Barry Clifford with Paul Perry (1999), only in a format suited for kids. The discussions of adventure, danger, costs, and technology fit right in line and whet my appetite for another adult version with a similar theme.

Recent books like Wrecks and Reputations by Don Charlwood (1977) or Great Stories of the Great Lakes by Dwight Boyer (1966) don’t got into as much great detail, though they’re still exciting. Perhaps it’s time to read The Sea Hunters II by Clive Cussler, since his first Sea Hunters was so wrought with treasure-hunting detail.

Another option could be that touches on the Oak Island Mystery. In fact, this book mentioned Sir William Phips, the 17th-century English treasure-hunter (35), who I recall might be an important figure in the Oak Island mystery.

Conclusion

Sometimes a nonfiction book for kids stirs my appetite for something more, and this little find did just that. It’s likely out of print and not really worth hunting down for yourself, but if you’re into shipwrecks and treasure-hunting, any of these other works I’ve referenced are well worth checking out…despite the ancient tragedies they represent, of course.

©2025 E.T.