The Beach That Held Its Breath

by Peter Tattersfield

Pamela Lara, one of Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH) lead marine archeologist, called out for us from an inclined portion of the beach.  I had been following a debris trail in the tidal zone. We had just arrived at this specific spot on Isla Margarita after developing archival clues and survivor accounts for months, but nothing prepares you for the moment when history stops being theoretical and becomes physical.

It began with a subtle bump in the sand — a contour that didn’t match the natural shape of the beach. As she gently cleared the surface layer of sand with a paintbrush, a form emerged: the crown of a skull, exactly where Captain Parsons had ordered the dead to be buried after the ship burned and broke apart on February 16, 1853.

More than seventy victims had washed ashore in the chaos that followed the wreck. Over 250 Survivors, dehydrated and traumatized, dug graves above the high‑tide line under a blistering sun. They raised a sail for shade. They worked in silence. They buried their shipmates with whatever dignity they could muster.

Standing there 167 years later, brushing sand from the edges of that burial site, I felt the weight of their exhaustion and grief.  This burial site evidence and the nearby wreck remains provided the undeniable evidence of the discovery of Cornelius Vanderbilt’s SS Independence and the culmination of my Explorers Club Grant to locate her on November 4, 2020.  This solitary beach on the Pacific coast of Baja California had held its secrets for generations, waiting for someone to acknowledge what happened there.

Exploration isn’t always about discovery. Sometimes it’s about recognition — about giving voice to the places where history has been quietly waiting.

MY JOURNEY

My diving journey began in a pool in Mexico City, progressing to open water dives in Cozumel in 1976, where the thrill of plunging into the unknown crystal clear waters ignited a lifelong passion for underwater exploration. Over the years, I earned several certifications, including Instructor, Cavern, and Technical diving, constantly pushing the boundaries beneath the waves. I spent 10 years in the late 90’s living in Merida, the capital of the state of Yucatan, and it was here that my diving focus shifted to archaeology as I ventured into the region’s enigmatic cenotes, uncovering hidden Mayan histories and sharing groundbreaking discoveries with local INAH offices. This collaboration blossomed into a long-term partnership supporting INAH’s SAS marine archaeology division, where I participated in numerous expeditions filled with discovery and adventure.  They Included:

The Lost Fleet of Cortés — A fleet of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés’ ships deliberately scuttled in 1519 to prevent mutiny and secure his conquest, now resting silently in the bay of Villa Rica Veracruz, holding centuries of untold secrets; The expedition led by INAH in collaboration with the University of Miami and American Archeologist Chris Horrell. In 2018, the team uncovered 5 anchors from the era, after removing over 1 meter of sediment to expose the source of the metal signature given by the magnetometers being pulled by pangas.  

The team’s discovery celebration was short-lived as the political climate in Mexico at the time did not include celebrating the discovery of Spanish Historical heritage.  At the end of our successful summer campaign, the team was forced to re-bury the anchors to prevent any potential looting from taking place. Today, the anchors and whatever they were tied to remain where the team found them.

The Manuel Polanco Galleon on Chinchorro Bank, a 200-year-old English sailing shipwreck named after the humble fisherman who first uncovered its secrets, stands as a silent witness to colonial trade and hardship. Manuel was my fisherman guide who led me on my first expedition to Chinchorro Bank in 1992. During this first trip, he showed me the remains of El Ingles, which wrecked on the windward side of the reef in 15 feet of water. The identity of the wreck was unknown, but the cannons’ design is of English origin, and her anchor, encrusted in a coral head, marked the spot and certainly indicates an attempt to keep the ship from the sharp coral heads where she now rests.  Manuel’s knowledge of this reef was developed over decades of lobster fishing; he led numerous expeditions with Mexican Explorer Ramon Bravo.  It was obvious that I had found the right person.  He would lead us on multiple expeditions to this vast coral atoll, 30 miles off the Quintana Roo coast and the border of Belize, for 10 years.  It was only recently, in 2018, that I returned with INAH personnel to register this wreck site, and tradition dictates that if you assist in registering a wreck you earn the privilege of naming an unknown wreck.  For me, the choice could only be the Don Manuel Polanco wreck, and the site was aptly baptized formally by INAH in 2019.

The H1 Seawolf- A US Navy submarine was on her final leg back to the San Pedro Base in California after serving East Coast duty during World War I.  It was a stormy, moonless night on March 12, 1920, when the young Captain James Webb attempted to enter Magdalena Bay with H2 following closely behind.  Without the aid of modern navigation instruments, Webb mistakenly led the Submarine up to the beach, where she ran aground on a sandbar.  The pounding surf started battering the submarine, and the young Captain, poised beyond his years, instinctively signaled in Morse code to the H2 to reverse course, but when the salt waters reached the battery compartment and started mixing with the batteries, it created a toxic cloud in the cramped sub, he immediately called for the most dreaded order a submariner captain could give…. “Abandon ship”.  Webb was last observed directing the evacuation from the conning tower when he was knocked overboard by a wave and never spotted again. 25 sailors jumped into the angry sea… only 22 made it to the beach.   After recovering 2 of the remains of their drowned seamen, the rest of the crew buried themselves up to their necks in the sand to preserve body warmth.  Submarines at the time did not carry lifeboats, so the H2 could only watch the struggle unfold and provided guidance the following day in rescuing the survivors.  When the US Navy attempted to salvage the H1 a week later, she sent the Nestral to pull her off the beach, but once she cleared, her watertight integrity had been compromised, and she quickly took on water and sank in 60 feet of water.  The US Navy, wanting to keep this situation a secret, claimed that she was damaged beyond repair and sold for scrap.  She was only recently discovered in 2016 by a fisherman and reported to INAH.  I participated in an assessment dive of the wreck site in 2019, which included former 20-year US Navy submariner Dr. Richard Hendren, who wrote his thesis on the H1.  Nobody knew more about this submarine than Dr. Hendren. We were lucky to have him on board.  It was during this excursion that we discussed the development and installation of a plaque to memorialize the tragic sinking of the H1 and recognize the lives lost.  After much red tape and deliberation in a joint military exercise between the Mexican and US Navies, we laid the plaque on the wreck site on October 23, 2023.

A common thread weaving through all these discoveries was the remote, humble fishing communities that became our steadfast hosts and guides during each mission. Each expedition was as much about the people as the past, with these resilient communities becoming our trusted hosts and guides. These communities, often lacking basic infrastructure, welcomed us with open arms and deep knowledge of their seas. Recognizing their vital role, we established the Kaxaan Nautical Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting these communities and empowering them as custodians of the wreck sites. Our mission is to inspire nautical conservancy through exploration, discovery, and community engagement, ensuring these hidden histories are preserved and respected for generations to come.

New Adventures

Our current and upcoming projects continue this legacy of exploration and community engagement, and include participation in the Explorers Club.

The SS Orus- A 19th-century Cornelius Vanderbilt steamship lost on Rio San Juan in Nicaragua in 1850, was recently discovered by our team last March and featured as an Explorers Club Flag expedition with member Josh Gates. This expedition was presented on the Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown program last November. The Orus was introduced by Vanderbilt as a river steamer for his Nicaragua route during the Gold Rush and was to be used to shuttle migrants arriving on Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast town of Greytown, transporting them up the 120-mile river, leaving travelers only a 12-mile land crossing to reach the Pacific where another steamer would transport them up to San Francisco.  She was lost on her maiden voyage up the river as she wrecked on the treacherous Machuca rapids. Today, she rests engulfed by the jungle as a silent testament to the Gold Rush era, a time of rapid growth and expansion in US history. During the expedition, we dove and discovered a total of eight wrecks, encountered numerous alligators, and again collaborated with local fishermen with thorough knowledge of the river.

The Flach Submarine- In Chile, we are embarking on an expedition to locate the remains of this Submarine, a pioneering mid-19th-century vessel that represents a significant chapter in naval innovation. The loss of the Flach submarine carries eerie similarities with the implosion of the Titan Submersible, in which fellow Explorers Club members lost their lives. Both vessels were under the direction of a leader who bent the rules to facilitate rapid deployment, and both carried a father and son on board at the time of the sinking.

The Flach Submarine’s story places us in an era in the 1860s when the Spanish Armada was blockading the major Chilean port town of Valparaiso as Spain and Chile were at war over control of the Chincha Islands. These islands held a strategic item that Spain wanted: guano, bird excrement used as fertilizer, saltpeter, and gunpowder. The president of Chile, José Joaquín Pérez Mascayano, petitioned the populace to develop a submarine to assist in breaking the blockade, which was severely impacting the Chilean economy. A German naval architect, Karl Flach, designed and built a submarine with lessons learned from the Hundley. He ran initial sea trials and, for the deeper trials, invited members of the public, and was so sure of his design that he took his own son along as well. The submarine descended on May 3, 1866, with eight hours’ worth of air for the 11-man crew and was never seen again. Based on divers’ accounts, British naval ships involved in the recovery at the time, and modern technology including sub-bottom profilers and metal detectors, we hope to locate and provide clear evidence of her discovery as this wreck represents an important part of Chile’s rich nautical heritage. For myself, it introduces the need for cold water diving; I received this certification and training last year in preparation for this expedition while wreck diving in Lake Champlain and off Nova Scotia last summer.

CECOM Alcatraz, Isla Margarita- Closer to home, we are currently building a communications center (CECOM) for the community of Alcatraz, a remote fishing village on Isla Margarita on the Pacific coast of Baja California. This community, which lacks basic infrastructure, has no consistent cellular signal and is home to a humble fishing community of 150, including 30 children. Alcatraz has hosted us during a dozen expeditions, and this center is a small way for us to give back.

This project is not only about infrastructure but about empowering the community, preserving their connection to the sea, and supporting their role as custodians of local maritime heritage. The center has a full satellite communications system and will serve as a hub for education, communication, and cultural preservation, reinforcing the vital link between exploration and community stewardship.

Each of these projects embodies our mission to inspire nautical conservancy through exploration, discovery, and community engagement, continuing the work of honoring the past while building a sustainable future.