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Home » Featured, Tourism

Sunken Treasure Ship of Playa de Oro Beach Manzanillo

Submitted by Manzanillo Blogger on Monday, 17 November 200811 Comments

Every year thousands of tourists flock to the shores of Manzanillo’s Playa de Oro to enjoy the surf, sand, and sun. This beach is a small stretch of sand in between the beaches of Olas Altas and Mirimar. You may have visited this beach as well, possibly enjoying one of the mean margaritas served by ‘Bora’s Music and Beer House’ while sitting under an umbrella or playing in the ocean. However, what many do not know is there is another beach not too far North also called Playa de Oro (it’s a small sign). This beach has an amazing history, a shipwreck, and an exciting legend which is its namesake.

Legend of Playa De Oro

146 years ago on the Sunday evening of July 27, 1862 this beautiful beach provided a much different scene. The surf was up that afternoon, viciously beating the shores. Reflected in the violent waters was the inferno of flames pouring out of a nearby wrecked ship. The very waves that surfers now carve were strewn with the battered bodies, wreckage, and gold that had fallen overboard. The screams of the drowning burning men must have been terrible, covered over only by the roar of the unrelenting surf and explosions from the nearby shipwreck.

How did this happen? It was the middle of the American Civil War. The boat was the S.S. Golden Gate, one of the fastest paddle steam ships on the West Coast. 338 passengers and crew, along with a reported $1.4 million in gold were sailing on a voyage from San Francisco to Panama. They never made it.

When the S.S. Golden Gate was just 15 miles off the shore of Manzanillo Mexico it was reported that there was a fire in the engine room. Since they were only a short distance away from the safety of shore the ship headed towards the beach. The spot where they landed was at a rock called Pena Blanca. The passengers were ordered off into lifeboats, but many never made it. The fire spread rapidly, quickly engulfed the entire ship in an inferno of flames. The survivors were forced to jump overboard, putting themselves at the mercy of the currents and violent waves. Many died in the relentless surf, too weak and injured to make it to shore.

How Playa De Oro Got Its Name

When help finally arrived 204 of the passengers and crew of the S.S. Golden Gate had already died. The ship itself was completely destroyed by the flames and pounding seas. The massive iron boxes that had contained the golden treasure sunk down into the sand were quickly buried.

Much of this gold, though, washed to shore. Either from the boxes or the money belts that were abandoned by the drowning sailors due to the weight. The beach Playa de Oro got its name from this source. There is a Manzanillo resort which also has this beach as its namesake. Before you break out the metal detectors and diving equipment you should know that most of that gold has already been salvaged. Although it is still rumored that an occasional gold coin will still wash up on the sand…

Local legend has it that the founder of the hotel La Posada Bart Varelmann actually salvaged a good amount of gold from this site in the 60’s and used it to build his bed and breakfast. People still comb the beach to this day to find gold coins. There is even a pirate themed resort named after Playa de Oro.

So next time you are relaxing for a drink on the beach, or enjoying the ocean down at Playa de Oro, take a moment to reflect on the history of the area. Oh, and don’t forget to look around you, you might find some of the gold from Manzanillo’s very own sunken treasure ship!

Sources:
Sinking of the S.S. Golden Gate
Diving the wreck of the S.S. Golden Gate
Ocean Research Group

*Update Nov 17: I originally thought the Playa de Oro by Bora’s was where the wreck occured, it actually is the Playa de Oro further North by the MZO airport about 4 kms off the Mex 200. Here is the actual rock, called the Pena Blanca, where the S.S. Golden Gate made its last stand. It is of interest to note that this rock is not actually white, look at the water line, it is bird droppings that cover the rock giving it the white color.

11 Comments »

Tarzan said:

Read Barts book “The Inn Keeper” it’s a good read and talks about how things were in the old Manzanillo.

- 17 November 2008 at 11:34 am

Revolution Day in Manzanillo Mexico | Manzanillo Mexico Travel Blog said:

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- 20 November 2008 at 3:30 pm

Aubrey said:

This was a very nice article. I’ve lived here 5 years and didnt know the true history of that ship wreck. Thanks manzanillo blogger!

- 20 November 2008 at 6:05 pm

James said:

A bit of misinformation, the Golden Gate did not crash into Pena Blanca, rather it caught fire and was grounded on the beach. New evidence has been found which puts the theory of Bart Varelman salvaging the treasure in doubt –read below

31. The Wreck of the Golden Gate Treasure Archive, San Francisco, CA 1931-1932

This is a rare archive from a salvage attempt in 1931 to 1932 and provides details not known before.

The wreck of the Golden Gate in 1862 has long been one of the most sought after wrecks in history for the treasure she reportedly held. A whopping $1.4 million was reported lost, plus the personal fortunes held by private passengers. Through time, the rumors and stories have grown, so that today the treasure is reported as worth millions, which to this day remains lost to the sea.

Background

The Golden Gate sank 300 yards off the coast of Manzanillo, Mexico in 1862. Many passengers and crew died in the horrible wreck. A detailed, well researched and written story of the sinking, salvage and loss was published by Andrew Czernek on the Internet. The archive was recently discovered consisting of about thirty letters, documents, photographs and treasure maps. It details a salvage attempt in 1931 that lasted until at least 1932. A series of letters and information from an investigation into past salvage efforts of the Golden Gate revealed that the majority of the gold treasure was salvaged by representatives of the insurance companies, and some by various local divers. Rumors remained however, for nearly a century that there were millions in gold still awaiting discovery on the bottom of the sea. These rumors persist to this day.

The Golden Gate Archive

Primarily Mining Engineer Charles Pouliot, who spearheaded efforts at the recovery, wrote this archive. At the same time, Pouliot was endeavoring to find another treasure on land known as the Pedro El Negro, which was a treasure placed deep in caves by bandits who had robbed Spanish bullion shipments. The archive is complete with at least two different treasure maps of the El Negro treasure and much on the Golden Gate. Pouliot raised money during the depth of the Depression a few dollars at a time for his treasure quests.

Pouliot was excited by the use of what today might be known as a “black box” scientific device that showed the location of treasure. Was this an early form of a geophysical device? Research by the company in January 1932 revealed that of the $1.4 million lost on sinking in 1862, $1.2 million was salvaged by early 1863. Later that year, another $333,000 was salvaged. Once this knowledge was learned, the treasure hunting effort fizzled, and efforts turned to other treasures. This is a very choice archive containing detailed information about real treasure searches with suspect results of efforts after August 1932. It includes a number of certificates reflecting subscription. None of this has been previously published to our knowledge. No photograph. $7,500.

- 20 November 2008 at 10:47 pm

Manzanillo Blogger (author) said:

@Tarzan- I took a look at it the other day actually. It does have lots of info from the days of old in Manzanillo. Things certainly have changed.

@James- Cool information, thanks for the post! What is it about treasure and mysterious black boxes that sparks the imagination? Makes me want to go out on my own expedition! I guess I’ll just have to settle and watch Indiana Jones again instead.

- 21 November 2008 at 12:34 am

Aaron said:

hey cool post! i dove that wreck for two years and never knew i should have been looking for gold while i was down there! that surfer in your picture looks quite firmiliar…

- 21 November 2008 at 8:37 pm

Manzanillo Blogger (author) said:

Actually you are thinking of the wreck that is at La Boquita, this wreck is further north. I should do an article on the wreck at La Boquita though…

And I thought you might recognize the surfer dude. Bet he’s not so tan anymore… probably looks more like a polar bear.

- 21 November 2008 at 10:16 pm

Tarzan said:

We recommend La Posada to all our friends visiting ZLO, it’s pretty much the last laid back hotel around that is right on the beach.
Tarzan

- 22 November 2008 at 2:44 pm

Aubrey said:

Hey! i recognize the guy in the surfer picture too… interesting. cool shot tho. someone pretty cool must have taken it *cough*

- 22 November 2008 at 6:05 pm

Miguel said:

Great nugget of Manzanillo history.

- 2 December 2008 at 8:13 am

Susan said:

wonderful story and bit of history.
There are still sunken ships from the priate days when New jersey was one of the 13 colonies. Rumors are still rampant that there is treasure down below.
I do not recognize the surfer

- 4 December 2008 at 4:12 pm