It’s a wreck out there – a shipwreck!  A couple hundred feet off the Delray Beach Municipal Beach lies the “S.S. Inchulva”.  The ship went down in the historical hurricane of 1903. This sunken steel-hulled freighter has become a very popular diving location in South Florida, and it is excellent for the beginner diver. The nearly 400-foot freighter rests in only 25 feet of water and is a great dive or snorkeling spot.

 The "S.S. Inchulva" set sail from England in July 1903, bound for Galveston to receive a shipment of agricultural products. In what became its final voyage, the ship left Galveston Sept. 6 with a cargo of wheat, lumber and cotton. Its destination was Newport News, Virginia.  It is not known if the ship was aware of a hurricane forming in the Bahamas. The "S.S. Inchulva" sailed directly into the path of the tropical storm. Capt. G.W. Davis and his crew of 27 were soon battling for their lives counter to the wind and huge waves, with minimal visibility along the coast.

In the ship log, the Captain wrote on September 11, 1903, "At 2 a.m. I was 15 miles off Fowey Rocks (southeast of Miami) by bearings, and gale increasing. By noon the hurricane was fearful." The Sept. 15, 1903 newswire report stated, "The ship's steering gear broke and she floated at will, striking the beach at great force and breaking into three pieces. The captain, mates and 14 of the crew were saved. Nine crew drowned.” 

Take a dive into the past just offshore Delray Beach.