Under the Sand of St. Augustine

"Bob Spratley has a lot of secrets.

He knows where to find 20 shipwrecks around St. Augustine, he can find gold and silver buried beneath the sands of local beaches, and he discovered one of the sites of the nation’s most notorious slaughters.

'He found the Matanzas site, the massacre site,' said John Powell, living history interpreter at the Fountain of Youth. 'Bob is beyond a metal detectorist. Bob is touched by God.'"

Read more HERE.

Image Credit: Daron Dean / The St. Augustine Record

The Ship Warwick

"'The loss of the good ship Warwick was not the only disaster that this cruel storm brought with it. It also meant the total ruin of the winter’s crop of corn, to such a great extent that all the inhabitants were very worried about a shortage of food. They had good reason to be anxious, for even though the islands were prolific enough in every respect, and had two harvests every year, yet careless wastage had become the custom with most of the people’ C.F.E. Hollis Hallett, Butler’s History of the Bermudas, 2007

On October 20, 1619, the third governor arrived in Bermuda at the behest of the Somers Island Company, the corporation that owned the 12,000 acres of the island.

The gentleman was Captain Nathaniel Butler, who succeeded in his position the first governor, Richard Moore (1612-15) and the second, one Daniel Tucker (1616-18)."

Read more HERE.

Image Credit: The Royal Gazette

Waterhawks?

I'm coining a new term... Waterhawks. In the UK they refer to illegal MD activities as nighthawking. Now, learning that at night, underwater sites are also being vandalzied by treasure hunters arms with underwater detectors... I think they need a name too.

"An illegal dive on a protected South Devon wreck site has been highlighted in news of a new crackdown on heritage crime.

English Heritage has brought in a top cop to lead the fight against the growing number of heritage crimes ranging from vandal attacks on historic buildings to damaging illegal excavations by treasure hunters local for historic valuable.

Illegal diving on wreck and illegal metal detector expeditions on protected sites are part of what is believed to be a growing problem."

Read more HERE.

Note: Image above is a view of Prawle Point, near the Salcombe Harbour.

Alleged Florida Shipwreck Found

"Claims by a local treasure hunter that there is a century-old shipwreck off our shores got a boost from a former diver in the area.

“I’ve seen that wreck,” said Joe Mecko, of Madeira Beach, after reading a story on the subject in the Beach Beacon.

The article told about Jim Leatherwood’s discovery of shipwreck artifacts while metal detecting on the beach in Indian Rocks Beach..."

Read more HERE.

FL T'Hunter Digs History Looking for Shipwreck

"Jim Leatherwood is convinced there is an as-yet-undiscovered shipwreck just off our shores. The treasure hunter from Largo backs his claim with dozens of ship-related artifacts, discovered while beachcombing with a metal detector.

His finds include large keel pins, used in building wooden ships. They connect the wood and keep the ship together. He shows a heavy pin that is bent, evidence it has been under stress. “That tells you it has been in a wreck,” said Leatherwood.

Weighty spikes, bolts and wedges were all part of a ship’s outfitting, and further indications of a nearby shipwreck, according to Leatherwood. A brass nail would have tacked down the metal sheeting on a boat, while a pulley was connected to the rigging."

Read more HERE.
Another article about Jim HERE.

Image Credit: Bayview News 9

Spanish Wreck Permission

"In 1985 aboard the Dauntless salvage boat, Jimmy Buffett sang atop a stack of silver bars while treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his crew swilled champagne to celebrate their jaw-dropping discovery.

After 16 years that included a U.S. Supreme Court victory and the death of his son, Fisher's dream had come true.

In waters 55 feet below them, divers Andy Matroci and Greg Wareham had found a virtual reef made of chests full of silver coins, silver plates, silver bars, copper ingots, stone ballast and artifacts. It was the $450 million mother lode of the 1622 shipwreck, Nuestra Senora de Atocha."

Read more HERE.

Image Credits: Suzanne K. Mast Lee / Miami Herald

HMS Investigator Discovery

"Parks Canada archeologists who found HMS Investigator, a British naval ship that was stranded in the Northwest Passage 155 years ago, are equally pleased to have discovered the graves of three of the ship's crew.

The wreck of Investigator was discovered this week at the bottom of Mercy Bay, just off Banks Island in the Northwest Territories. The site of the wreck is in Aulavik National Park.

Parks Canada archeologists located the wreck shortly after they started a sonar scan of Mercy Bay on Sunday, according to officials."

Read more HERE.

Image credits: University of Western Ontario