W - 90 Ft

A true New Jersey wreck, this Spanish passenger steamer sank on October 30,1890 after a collision with the coal schooner Cornelius Hargraves. Both ships sank within a 1/2 mile of each other. The 287-foot Vizcaya was heading south when the officers heard the engine room bell ring full astern. 

The 225-foot, four-masted schooner Cornelius Hargraves was fairly new; she had been launched in Camden, Maine, in September 1889. On October 30,1890 she was off Barnegat Light under full sail. The schooner from Philadelphia had taken on a full load of coal. As a sailing vessel the Hargraves had the right of way, but from all that can be learned, her officers saw the approaching steamer while yet a long way off, a slight change of course would have prevented the collision. Some of the Vizcaya's passengers and crew clung to debris and climbed the mast to survive.  Of the 103 passengers and crew, there were 60 casualties. Many wealthy Cuban voyagers of the Vizcaya were onboard. After holiday in New York, they were returning home. Most left their valuables abruptly trying to escape.

Over the years numerous coins and pieces of silver have been uncovered by divers fanning over the hull. More lays beneath the sands.