aue-mike
Contributor
Check out the largest shipwreck on Florida's central west coast - the BAYRONTO. A victim of the intense 1919 Florida Keys Hurricane, which also claimed the liner VALBANERA, the freighter MUNISLA, and numerous other vessels along Florida's coast, the BAYRONTO now rests upside down in 100 feet of water west of Boca Grande. The 400-foot long freighter was en route from Galveston, Texas, to Marseille, France, with a cargo of wheat when she ran headlong into the Category 4 hurricane. What most may not know, however, is the BAYRONTO was abandoned after capsizing approximately 35 miles northwest of the Dry Tortugas, and the turtled hull was carried over 120 miles north by the storm's fury to her final resting spot. The wreck of the BAYRONTO now supports abundant marine life serving as an artificial reef, and is a dive not to be missed!
