It’s well before sunrise and Sexton Plaza’s oceanfront parking lot is already abuzz with swimmers, snorkelers, kayakers, and paddleboarders preparing for the quarter-mile sprint to the 300-foot-long British cargo ship that ran aground in 1894 while en route from New York to Tampa. From its bow an American flag flutters triumphantly in the warm, salty air. To the uninitiated, it looks like an aquatic fire drill. But to those who treasure this sun-drenched town with its postcard-perfect beaches, it would be a sacrilege to kick off the July 4 holiday any other way.
“The Swim to the Wreck began over a decade ago as a fun way to enjoy and celebrate our beautiful ocean and reefs,” explains Vero Beach Realtor and longtime runner Lori Strazzulla, who broadcasts the event to fellow members of the Sunrunners of Vero Beach. “Last year we had around 1,000 people, which was so fun and humbling. I also love that it’s accessible to anyone who can hop on a kayak or paddleboard—even a pool noodle—and paddle out,” she smiles, adding, “This year we even saw people with floating coolers for the traditional champagne toast, which was amazing. I’m getting one this year for sure!”
It’s the greatest Vero Beach tradition going, agrees local real estate attorney Barry Segal, who joined in the annual swim 10 years ago. “It combines so many things: the beauty of the ocean, the camaraderie of the people, the Fourth of July, and the history of the wreck.”
When the SS Breconshire went down on April 30, 1894, all 24 crew members survived. For over a century, the ship’s boiler protruded from the water and remained visible from the shore. Thus, locals often refer to it as the “Boiler Wreck.” In the early 2000s, however, the boiler gradually disappeared below the surface as the wreck aged and settled deeper into the sand below.
For Vero Beach native Flynn Fidgeon, communications manager with the St. Lucie County Board of County Commissioners, the annual tradition is a family affair shared with his wife, Chelsea, and young son, Andrew. “It’s an awesome community connection, being out there afloat with friends old and new while hearing a chorus of champagne corks popping”—which participants dutifully retrieve from the water, he assures. “To have this beautiful beach and ocean in our own backyard makes me feel so grateful and blessed every year when it comes around.”
“It’s utterly amazing what we have here,” says Keith Hennessy, a fellow native and owner of Deckmasters, one of the town’s oldest marine construction companies. “Because we have three reef lines that run parallel to our shore just a few hundred feet off the beach, you can put on your dive gear in the parking lot, walk to the shore, and within 150 feet be floating in 20 feet of water over a reef that’s 8 to 10 feet tall and teeming with everything from turtles and pilot whales to stingrays and sharks. It’s so shallow you can dive on one tank for an hour and a half. It really is a whole other world, which you wouldn’t have a clue about if you didn’t see it for yourself.”
The Breconshire is also a tangible reminder of what makes Vero Beach’s shallow coral reefs both extraordinary and dangerous. Unpredictable weather, especially hurricanes, would force passing vessels onto the jagged limestone shoals that fringe the coastline. The most notable case of such a fate, of course, long predates the Breconshire; 11 Spanish ships famously sank and spilled their treasures here in 1715…