Skip to main content
Partly Cloudy icon
71º

What’s left of St. Augustine shipwreck after 95 years?

Local diver finds more than just sharks

Parts of the SS Cotopaxi host fish for nearly 100 years east of St. Augustine. (Joe Kistel, Joe Kistel)

A mysterious wreck lays about 40 miles offshore St. Augustine, which for decades had no name other than the Bear Wreck.

Earlier this year, it was determined to be the SS Cotopaxi, a coal-hauling ship that left Charleston, South Carolina, on a trip bound to Havana on Nov. 29, 1925.

Recommended Videos



A storm ended its passage prematurely, and none of the 32 people on board were ever seen or heard from again.

After nearly 100 years underwater, some structure remains and is host to big fish, including sharks and grouper. Local Diver Joe Kistel, from Think It, Sink It, Reef It, recently showed what’s left, which includes the ship’s bow and boilers.

Shark hovers above wreck. (Joe Kistel)

In the video below, watch as sharks circle Kistel and check out the large goliath grouper that’s unique to waters this far north along our coast.


About the Author
Mark Collins headshot

After covering the weather from every corner of Florida and doing marine research in the Gulf, Mark Collins settled in Jacksonville to forecast weather for The First Coast.

Loading...

Recommended Videos