Not exactly a ghost ship but it’s good enough to send shivers down your spine – a lost sunken ship called the ‘SS MONTE CARLO’ that was owned by the mobsters has appeared off the shores of Coronado, California.
The ship was lost and sunk around 80 years ago and was famous for gambling and prostitution. Mobsters used to advertise about girls, dining, and dancing, and would ferry customers on long boats every 15 minutes from the shore to the ship.
The SS Monte Carlo started life back in 1921 as an oil tanker, called the SS McKittrick. It later became a hotspot for gambling and dames in the year 1936, anchored just off the coast of Coronado California, where it recently reappeared.
The reason it was anchored off the shore was because gambling and prostitution was illegal. The SS Monte Carlo was anchored 3 miles offshore, on international waters, thus avoiding state and federal law.
The ship was initially anchored off Long Beach in 1933. It faced a lot of pressure from the law to get rid of gambling. Later, in 1936, the ship was brought down to San Diego and was anchored 3 miles off the coast of Coronado. The new year of 1937 was celebrated on this ship. The party was grand, but it was also the beginning of trouble for this once oil tanker.
On that fateful day, the ship lost anchor due to a storm and drifted toward the shores of Coronado, where the El Camino Tower is now located. Once the ship ran ashore, nobody took responsibility or ownership of the SS Monte Carlo, since it was illegal, and there was law to be followed.
The ship rotted away on the shore, the wreckage can be seen on low tides and occasionally during heavy storms. A recent storm washed away sand from the ship, and the wreckage re-emerged.
According to speculations, the ship might still have USD 150,000 worth gold and silver coins. The late Bud Bernhard has retrieved hundreds of dollars from the wreckage as a child and strongly believes that there is USD 100,000 in the form of gold and silver in the ship.
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Source: DriveSpark
