History
United Kingdom
NameCape Clear
OwnerS. Myers & Co., Liverpool
Port of registryLiverpool
RouteUK to Australia
BuilderBowdler, Chaffer & Co., Wallasey, England
Launched1869
In service1870
Out of service1889
FateSold, 1889
France
NameGeorges Valentine
In service1889
Out of service1895
FateSold, 1895
Italy
NameGeorges Valentine
OwnerMortolo & Simonetti, Genoa
In service1895
HomeportCamogli
FateWrecked, 16 October 1904
General characteristics [1]
Tonnage882 GRT
Length189 ft 7 in (57.79 m)
Beam31 ft 2 in (9.50 m)
Depth20 ft 5 in (6.22 m)
Georges Valentine Shipwreck Site
Georges Valentine (shipwreck) is located in Florida
Georges Valentine (shipwreck)
Georges Valentine (shipwreck) is located in the United States
Georges Valentine (shipwreck)
LocationHutchinson Island, Florida, Florida USA
Coordinates27°11′55.8″N 80°9′49.8″W / 27.198833°N 80.163833°W / 27.198833; -80.163833
Built1869
NRHP reference No.06000619[2]
FUAP No.11
Significant dates
Added to NRHP19 July 2006[2]
Designated FUAP2006[3]

The Georges Valentine Shipwreck Site is the site of the historic shipwreck of an Italian barkentine[3] off the coast of Hutchinson Island in Martin County, Florida, with the nearest landmark being the House of Refuge at Gilbert's Bar.

The iron-hulled barque was built in Wallasey, England in 1869 by Bowdler Chaffer & Company for S. Meyers & Company. Originally christened Cape Clear with Lloyd's of London in 1870, she started her career as a screw steamboat with auxiliary sail carrying passengers on the Australia - Liverpool run. She was purchased by a French firm based in Bordeaux in 1889, re-christened Georges Valentine and turned into a sailing bark by being stripped of all steam machinery except the boiler. Rigged as a three-masted barkentine, she was then sold to a firm based in Dunkirk, northern France. In 1895, she was sold to Mortolo & Simonetti, based in Genoa, Italy. She was based in Camogli, northern Italy and transported lumber regularly from Pensacola, Florida to South America.

In October 1904, the Georges Valentine, with a crew of twelve men commanded by Captain Prospero Mortolo, sailed with a load of milled mahogany from Pensacola bound for Buenos Aires. On 13 October 1904 the ship sighted Havana, Cuba, but she later hit a storm in the Florida Straits and was blown up the Atlantic coast of Florida where on 16 October 1904, despite her crew's attempts to keep her in deeper water, she ran aground in shallow water and wrecked off Hutchinson Island near Gilbert's Bar. Five crew members perished. Their bodies were not recovered. The seven survivors found refuge at the House of Refuge just 100 yards from the wreck site, where the House of Refuge's keeper, Captain William E. Rea, rendered aid to them.[3][4]

On 19 July 2006, the Georges Valentine Shipwreck Site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[2] On 16 October 2006, it became the eleventh Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve.[3][5]

References

  1. ↑ "Lloyd's Register of Shipping". archive.org. 1896–97. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Weekly List Of Actions Taken On Properties: 7/17/06 through 7/21/06 at National Register of Historic Places
  3. 1 2 3 4 The State We're In - Official Newsletter Of The Florida Department Of State, Volume 10, October 2006
  4. ↑ "Georges Valentine Underwater Archaeological Preserve" (PDF). Florida Division of Historical Resources. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  5. ↑ The Underwater Archaeological Preserves

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