Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about an unsolved disappearance: the case of the Flor de la Mar ship!
The Flor de la Mar ship (Flower of the Sea) was built in 1502 and she was known to be one of the finest vessels of her time with her being over 118-foot long, 400-ton and having three mast carrack. The same year, she set sail to India from Portugal with Vasco de Gama’s cousin, Estevão da Gama. However, that voyage was not an easy one and she had a few leaks, even had to stop at Mozambique Island for almost two months. The next several years, she went on various other journeys and voyages but continued to face numerous leaks and problems, that at times, she would need to be repaired and had to stop on occasion. Especially since many India ships were deemed to only last for four to five years, but she was around for more than five years, and when she was fully loaded for sail, she was not viewed as seaworthy.
In 1511, the Flor de la Mar ship left Malacca and set sail for the north-east Sumatran state of Pasé, in the Strait of Malacca. However, she was caught in a severe storm, wrecked in some shoals – basically a reef bar or also known as a sea of fish. She had split in half, killing many of her passengers and crew. On November 20th, 1511, she sank off Timia Point in the Kingdom of Aru, Sumatra. Her wreckage and lost treasure remain yet to be found.
There is a replica of this ship available to view at the Maritime Museum in Malacca, Malaysia.
I hope you have enjoyed this storytime as much as I did, DETECTIVES! Please let me know in the comments if you want to have more storytime! Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post; until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!
Detective Writer 