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A heavy contributor to the sunken wealth off the southern California coast was the Spanish treasure galleon SAN PEDRO, loaded with over $4,000,000 in gold, silver bullion, and Spanish coins when she went down.
By the late 1500s, the truce between Spain and the Netherlands was deteriorating into war. Already there were reports of Dutch ships raiding Spanish coastal colonies in Caribbean and the Pacific. In this atmosphere of distrust and terror, the SAN PEDRO lumbered toward Panama. Her cargo was to be unloaded there and shipped overland to the Atlantic coast, where another galleon would transport the treasure to Spain. However, the SAN PEDRO never arrived at Panama.
While still a weeks sailing from Panama, a lookout spotted a Dutch man-of-war on the horizon. The SAN PEDROs captain turned the ship about and struck northward, hoping the Dutchman wouldnt follow him in to the still uncharted northern waters. By the third day of the chase, the Dutchman was far behind and out of sight. Nevertheless, the Spanish captain figured his enemy would simply lie in wait to the south, so he held the SAN PEDRO on her northward course.
As the Spaniards sailed further up the coast they were caught in a summer squall. The captain quickly lost his bearings and sense of direction. The ship floundered about in the choppy water until July 4, 1598, when she grounded on the reefs off Arrow Point on Santa Catalina Island, just off the California coast. She quickly sank with her treasure in 84 feet of water. Despite the stormy seas, most of the crew managed to swim to shore and were eventually rescued by other Spanish tradesmen.
Four years later, Francisco Pedilla was commissioned to salvage the SAN PEDROs treasure. The waters proved too treacherous for his ill-equipped divers. Over 20 men drowned, including his only son. Francisco abandoned his salvage attempt. In the years that followed, the Spaniards were under considerable pressure from Dutch warships and thoughts of the SAN PEDROs treasure quickly dwindled. The treasure has never been found.
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