The lucky buyer who closes on the beach house at 13110 Highway A1A in Ambersand Beach offered by Treasure Coast Sotheby’s broker-associate Janyne Kenworthy will get a piece of Florida history along with a charming Nantucket-style home.
The three-story, 2,370-square-foot house was built by a commercial ship captain and has an antique canon in the front yard.
The canon came from one of the treasure ships that went down off this coast in a storm in 1715 while hauling gold, jewels and other valuable cargo from South America back to Spain. Millions of dollars’ worth of emeralds and doubloons have been found near the house, and there is more treasure out there on the beaches and shallow waters near shore.
Just a year ago, a treasure hunter found 48 gold coins worth a quarter million dollars nearby.
“Right behind this house is where much of Spanish treasure was found,” says Kenworthy. “We sold three lots down the beach recently and the seller told the buyer to be sure and be onsite when the pilings are dug for their home because gold might very well be unearthed.”
“In 1715 the Spanish treasure fleet left later than usual in the season and was caught by a hurricane off the coast of central Florida,” according to www.catamaransite.com/1715_treasure.html. “The entire fleet was lost on the reefs off the coast of Florida. Six of the 11 shipwreck sites have been discovered, the other 5 shipwrecks remain to be found with only a general idea as to their location. The consensus is that they should be found between Cape Canaveral to the north and Fort Pierce to the south … [since] many artifacts have been found washed up on our local beaches, we can only surmise that these undiscovered shipwrecks are located right here.”
“The galleons are out there,” says Kenworthy. “That is one of the things that makes this such a special place.”
Besides Spanish loot and the associated sense of Errol Flynn tropical adventure that comes with the house, it is also blessed with ecological and geographical treasures. The half-acre lot stretches from the Indian River Lagoon on the west to the Atlantic Ocean on the east, offering unobstructed sunrise and sunset views fringed with swaying palm trees and cut across by flocks of pelicans.
Manatees and bottlenose dolphins inhabit the lagoon in front of the house and beach behind is part of one of the most prolific nesting sites for sea turtles on the east coast of the United States, with thousands of the prehistoric creatures coming ashore each spring and summer to lay their eggs.
The white and blue 3-bedroom, 3-bath beach house itself is another treasure. Kenworthy says the sea captain who built it from poured concrete and cement-filled, steel reinforced concrete block made it like a fortress because he was familiar with the power of the sea.
The house sits on pillars that would hold up a four-story office building that can be seen in the carport area beneath the home, but most of its fortress-like strength is hidden behind attractive hardi-board siding set off by New England-like single-hung windows with impact-resistant glass and blue decorative shutters.
The home’s main living area is raised one story above the sand. Entry is via a front set of wooden steps with traditional picket-style handrail that goes up from the carport entrance to the front porch/deck, which takes in wide-open river views extending all the way across the lagoon to the Sebastian waterfront.
A colonial-looking red door with a sidelight opens into a short front hall. One of the three bedrooms is directly ahead, above the front of the carport. Next to the bedroom is a one of three full baths.
The rest of the main floor is completely open, encompassing a bright white and blue kitchen, a spacious dining room wrapped with windows and glass doors that lead out onto the back deck, a living room with a Chicago brick fireplace and the open-sided stairs that lead to the third floor.
Upstairs are a large en-suite master bedroom with a high cathedral ceiling and private deck with sweeping views of the beach and ocean; a second bedroom with full bath, and a cozy office that overlooks the first floor. The office has built-in shelves on the back wall with a desk between that faces an ocean-view window and a heavy hardwood door salvaged form a ship. Nearby is the obligatory brass captain’s telescope.
“The house has a nice nautical theme,” Kenworthy says, pointing out ships lanterns that illuminate the steps down to the private wooden walkway that leads over the protective dunes to the beach. The image of a whale is either painted or affixed to the back gable.
“This is a perfect second home for someone with a small family who wants to enjoy the best of Florida living,” Kenworthy says. “The house comes with an approved permit for a dock. When that is built, owners with a boat can enjoy everything the river has to offer,” which includes waterside restaurants, yacht clubs and marinas in Sebastian, Vero, Melbourne and Fort Pierce, along with access to the Atlantic via the Sebastian Inlet just a mile or so north.
Parks, wildlife refuges, treasure museums and ecological education centers are nearby.
“This is one of the few places in the state with ocean-to-river living,” says Kenworthy. “And there are no neighborhood restrictions. It is a little piece of paradise. If you want the freedom to live your life the way you want to in an idyllic tropical setting for a reasonable price, this is the place.”
The home is turnkey. It is being sold furnished and is ready for immediate occupancy.