Salvage of the S.S. Golden Gate
The lure of the Golden Gate and its $1.4 million in gold is so strong that a legend has built up around it in Manzanillo, Mexico. It is said that Playa de Oro still sees an occasional gold coin wash onshore.
But thoughts of salvage began as soon as reports came in of the ship's sinking. When the Golden Gate ran aground it was only 300 yards from shore; as she burned to the water line and broke up portions of the ship and its cargo came even closer. Captain W.W. Hudson commented on the possibilities of salvage in his written report to the company the day that he and the survivors were rescued, July 29.
Beyond the $1.4 million in gold, passengers lost thousands of additional dollars that were left with the ship's purser or taken off in sacks or money belts in haste. Money had just started appearing in paper bills in the east, but these western passengers all carried their money in gold and silver coins. Many left the ship with money belts tied about their waist -- quickly abandoned in the water because of the weight. Much of the money washed ashore to create "Playa de Oro" came from this source.
The steamer Active almost immediately went to Manzanillo from San Francisco to try to recoup the gold on-board, which had been insured by four different companies. Heavy surf and shifting sands made it impossible on the first attempt.
San Franciscan William Turkington also went to Manzanillo to search for remains and valuables of victims. He was back in San Francisco via the steamer Uncle Sam at the end of the 1st week in September.
By the end of 1862 both New York and foreign underwriters had been to the scene of the wreck attempting some salvage. Before sailing, the Daily Alta California listed the underwriters of the gold as Indemnity Mutual Insurance, Marine Insurance Co., Royal Exchange Insurance Co. and London Assurance Co.
Those efforts failed, but a San Francisco native, T.J.L. Smiley mounted another expedition and managed to salvage an estimated $300,000 of the gold in early 1863, which was shipped to San Francisco onboard the Pacific Mail steamship Constitution.
For his efforts, Smiley was prosecuted in San Francisco. By the end of August, 1864, the charges against him were dropped. So, in December, 1864 Smiley mounted another expedition aboard the ship Commodore.
With the invention of compressed gas diving and scuba gear, local divers continued to visit the wreck and take off pieces of the ship.
Jorge Sosa, of Neptunes Diving in Manzanillo, reports that the White Rock in the survivors accounts is called "Pena Blanca" locally. It's still the end of the Playa de Oro.
Sosa notes that "Records in Manzanillo are non-exsistant, claimed to have been lost over the years due to various hurricanes and earthquake. Though I did find a childrens coloring book in Spanish, called "Puertas de Oro," which told the story of the Ms. Manchester who held on to a floating chest until she was saved. The information for this coloring book, came from a thesis completed by a local Ph.D from the University of Colima."
The beach area continues to be rough, Sosa notes, changing quickly from tranquil to 20' waves. Evidence of the wreck is gone, though local stories say that as late as the 1960s a man named Veralman salvaged an amount of gold from the site and used it to build a hotel called The Posada. Sosa notes that it is possible that the ship came ashore near Pena de Torecillo (pictured on the intership page of the Neptunes Diving website.
Revision: 9/28/2007