The Hairy-Legged Phantom Ship: A Florida Yarn About Georges Valentine

Way down south on the tropical shores of Hutchinson Island, Florida, there sits a laughable grin from the olden days - the Georges Valentine Shipwreck Site. This wreck dates back to the turn of the 20th century, when the Italian barkentine, now known as the Cape Clear, was first brought to life in Wallasey, England by Bowdler Chaffer & Company for S. Meyers & Company in 1869. It seemed to be passing through hands as warm as the Florida sun, changing flags aplenty until it got its French moniker, Georges Valentine, in 1889.

After a spruce-up, they stripped it of all steam machinery, giving it new life in Dunkirk, northern France. The ship was well-known for its tough iron hide, often employed for shipping lumber from Pensacola, Florida, all the way down to South America. But on a fateful journey to Buenos Aires, on 16 October 1904, led by Captain Prospero Mortola and his crew of twelve, the vessel hit a snag off the coast of Hutchinson Island, sinking into the ocean depths.

The sea took four of the crew, and in a quirky twist, the Georges Valentine was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2006 as the eleventh Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. If you're in the mood for a Florida dive and a good yarn, swing by the Georges Valentine Shipwreck Site at the House of Refuge near the wreck site.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons