Shipwreck That Inspired “The Goonies” Finally Found Off Oregon Coast
Parts of a long-lost ship that inspired the world-famous movie "The Goonies" have finally been found!
Parts of Ship That Inspired Goonies Found
You have most likely seen the movie "The Goonies", but did you know the story was inspired by an actual missing shipwreck off the Oregon coastline? The movie's pirate character One-eyed Willie was based on the true story of the Santo Cristo de Burgos, a ship filled with valuables like silk, beeswax, and porcelain that went missing and sank off the coast of what is now Oregon. For the last 200 years, explorers and treasure hunters have been searching for the lost ship and now pieces of it have been found. Historians had a pretty good idea the wreck was somewhere off the coast of Oregon after finding reports from around 1813 that members of the Clatsop tribe were seen grabbing beeswax off of the sand. Now those stories have been confirmed with the discovery of multiple timbers from the long missing ship.
12 Wooden Hull Pieces Confirmed to Be Recovered
The Maritime Archaeological Society (or MAS) controlled a recent expedition to find the long-lost ship. A fisherman named Craig Andes found the pieces and alerted the society who then launched an investigation. At first, the MAS thought the findings must be regular driftwood and doubted the fisherman's story. The tests showed the wood came from Asian tropical hardwood from the late 17th century, immediately bringing the society to the site of the wood timbers, an ocean cave on a beach near the town of Manzanita. Scientists think that the Santo Cristo de Burgos hit bottom in shallow water and sank off the coast. Then pieces of the wreck were washed into the caves and preserved until found over 200 years later. They also think the cold & salty conditions of the coat also helped preserve the wood over that long period of time. There will most likely be no actual treasure to be found, but I am sure One-Eyed Willie would still be proud. You can read more about this amazing find and see actual pictures of the timbers found by clicking here.