The Lost Ships of Baja

By Crusader1307

Long a ‘’Legend;; in far Southern California, The ‘’Lost Desert Ships’’ are a mythos that can be traced to at least the 1870s (in writing) – and to the mid-17^th Century orally. It is believed by some, that buried in the sands of The Baja Desert is a fortune in gold and jewels still resting in rotting hulks of long ago ‘’lost’’ Ships. Several versions of The Legend can be found. Some of the more popular are as follows. Most in the 1870s version state that when the tidal influence was more active and large portions of The Baja Desert (very close to The California/Mexican Coastline of today), a Pirate Raider became stuck and floundered. The Crew ‘’disappeared’’ and left untold riches and plunder. In time, the sand swallowed up the Ship, preserving it and it’s treasure. MANY expeditions have attempted to locate the Lost Ship (to no avail). In the 1890s, The ‘’Pirate Raider’’ became a Lost Spanish Galleon, which would have proven that Spain had in fact ‘’discovered’’ The Pacific and California – far earlier than other Nations. But this too was a unverified claim. The final ‘’Lost Ship’’ Tale centers around a ‘’Lost Viking (Norse) Ship’’ – that too was lost with treasures (and too establishing another Norse discovery of ‘’The New World’’ with The West Coat of America and The Pacific Ocean to boot). The most accepted explanation (but still no less odd) – is set in the 1940s and World War II. It is believed (and somewhat substantiated) – that The US Navy placed two captured Imperial Japanese Warships in The Desert and used them for target practicing. After The War, they were left to ‘’rust and be buried by the ever shifting sands). Some cite that The Ships were actually built of wood and steel and NOT actual Warships. Few official records exist to prove the story either way.