READ ABOUT THIS WRECK IN SHIPWRECKS OF THE SUNSHINE STATE!

The Vitric, a wooden schooner-barge, was built in 1911 and is 165’ long and 36’ wide, with a stern deckhouse. The ship capsized and sank in March 1944 in an area southeast of Molasses Reef. The exact position of the wreck is not known with certainty, but local fisherman know of a site called the "Molasses Wreck" in about 300’ of water which is probably the Vitric. No divers have been known to have visited this wreck, and there are no known photographs of the Vitric. The ship sank with a cargo of 134,000 gallons of syrup while enroute from Havana to West Palm Beach. The syrup was contained in about a dozen large tanks in the hold and on the deck.

In March 2000, a group of AUE divers confirmed the identity of the Molasses Wreck as that of the Vitric. The wreck lies in 300' of water on a clean sand bottom. A mast still is visible amongst the site; the Vitric was previously rigged for sail. Most of the wooden hull has disintegrated. Due to the normally excellent visibility encountered in this area, the entire wreck site is visible from either end. The majority of the wreck consists of the large syrup tanks, which are no longer sealed, and other portions of the wreck. Portholes still remain undisturbed amongst the wreckage. The steering quadrant lies on its side which helps to identify the stern, while the large windlass resides high off the bottom on wreckage, identifying the bow.