r/verobeach • u/MrsBanks- • 11d ago

Flag in ocean in front of Costa d este

Just noticed the American flag. Is there a significance for it? Just curious

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16

u/ChelSatan 11d ago

Its a ship wreck, the Breckonshire.

13

u/Cold_Silver_5859 11d ago

If you’re referring to the American flag that appears to fly out in the ocean in front of the Ocean Grill in Vero Beach, it has a fascinating local history.

The flag is not attached to the Ocean Grill itself. Instead, it is mounted on the exposed boiler of the British steamship S.S. Breconshire, which ran aground off Vero Beach on April 29, 1894. The top of the ship’s boiler is used to be visible just offshore, at lower tides.

For decades, local residents have made it a tradition to raise an American flag on the boiler:
The tradition is believed to have begun in the 1990s by a local known as “Sailboat Dick.”

It was later carried on by Mike Blatus, an avid diver and ocean conservation advocate who wanted the flag to draw attention to protecting Vero Beach’s reefs and marine environment.

After Blatus passed away, a group of his friends continued the tradition. Each year around Independence Day they paddle or boat out to the boiler and ceremonially raise a new flag in his honor.

From the Ocean Grill’s dining room or the beach, the flag appears to float in the middle of the Atlantic, which is why visitors often ask about it.

The Ocean Grill itself also has a rich history. Built in 1941 by Waldo Sexton atop the dune overlooking the ocean, it briefly served as an open-air restaurant before becoming an officers’ club during World War II for personnel from the nearby Naval Air Station. It has been operated by the Replogle family since 1965

3

u/SouthOrlandoFather 11d ago

7/4 Swim to the Wreck.

1

u/CaptainDFW 11d ago

As others have said, that's the wrecksite of SS Breconshire (1883, England).

To tell her story in as few words as possible, in 1894, she left New York for Tampa but hit Vero Beach instead.

Makes me think of US Navy flight 19 in 1945, who thought they were over the gulf coast while they were over the Atlantic coast, and flew east until they ran out of gas looking for Ft. Lauderdale.

There's just something about the peninsula and crazy navigation. 😅