Looking for Info on the SS Golden Gate

[davebr]

I have been doing some research into the SS Golden Gate that caught fire and sank off the coast of Manzanillo. In 1986 the president of Colima granted an exclusive lease to Michel Lecler Sr and his wife Velma Lecler. As Mr Lecler started to salvage the ship in 1986 he was murdered. The efforts then stopped.
Does anyone believe there is still treasure there? There are a few accounts that say the majority of all the gold has been recovered. But why would Michel be so insistant to pull up the ship if there was no more gold?
Is our lease with Mexico worth anything?

Thanks for any comments.

 

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[Mackaydon]

Dave: First, welcome to Treasure Net!
Listed below are a couple of sites; the first relates the ship's history and the second site is a 'years ago' response to your question. I can tell you that the surf at that location is so loud that you can hear it from over a half mile away; and it consistantly breaks very close to shore. The sand is very loose, almost like quicksand. The early divers (about 100 years ago) wore excessive weigths to stay relatively stationary. It's no place for a novice. As to permits, it's my understanding that treasure hunting permits are not issued in Mexico: period--and this has nothing to do with UNESCO. But the road to the site is passable (if it isn't raining) from the main highway and you might just get lucky on the beach.
It's great reading regarding those early salvage ops; including amounts recovered. You can find a lot of information in the NYTimes archives.
Don........
Sources:
http://freepages.misc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ssgoldengate/
https://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=497366

 

[Mackaydon]

Adding further:
Item 31 here (http://www.holabird.org/HKA-Spring2008-Cat1/Treasure.htm) may be of further interest to you in that it mentions various (successful) salvage ops.

 

[allen_idaho]

The SS Golden Gate is located about 18 miles North of Manzanillo, Mexico, roughly 150-300 feet from shore at a depth ranging from 8-19 feet.

It's gold cargo consisted of 96 boxes of gold coin and bullion valued, at the time, at $4000-$37000 per box. Each varied depending on size and contents. The entire cargo was valued at roughly $1.5 million.

At the time of loss, $100,000 worth of gold was saved from the wreck and shipped to San Francisco aboard the SS Constitution.

Several unsuccessful salvage attempts followed.

In 1878, highly successful salvor Sidney Cook was hired to recover the treasure from the wreck. After two successful seasons, he was able to recover $1,298,000. The remaining treasure was around $102,000 as well as an estimated $60,000-80,000 locked in the unrecovered purser's safe. A third attempt the next season failed to recover anything. He then moved on to other ventures.

In 1908, another group attempted to recover the remaining treasure. 3 people were killed in the attempt and nothing was found.

Since then, there have been various other attempts to find the gold which is pushed deeper and deeper into the shifting sands each year. I don't have any record at this time as to whether anything more was found. That's all I've got on this wreck.

So, attempt at your own peril. The ship is in a horrible location and conditions are constantly very rough, making any salvage work very dangerous.

 

[davebr]

I can tell you that the surf at that location is so loud that you can hear it from over a half mile away; and it consistantly breaks very close to shore. The sand is very loose, almost like quicksand. The early divers (about 100 years ago) wore excessive weigths to stay relatively stationary. It's no place for a novice. As to permits, it's my understanding that treasure hunting permits are not issued in Mexico: period--and this has nothing to do with UNESCO.

Don,

Yes, Mr Lecler was in the process of building an artificial reef around the site when his murder occurred. I have seen the lease as well as photographs of the event when the president signed the lease in 1986. The government was to receive a percentage of any gold salvaged. The Mexican "Marines" were even sent to guard the site on a 24 hour basis.
Since I have access to the lease, I'm trying to figure out if its worth pursuing?

Dave

 

[Mackaydon]

Dave:

A Mexican marine salvage lease issued 23 years ago, during the reign of a previous political party's dominance, being still valid under a different political party's control today.........fails my test of 'reasonableness' to assume it's still valid.

Also, in view of the experience of the 'Somers' botched salvage (Vera Cruz 1986) and the more recent influence of CEDAM and INAH.......may I suggest you get a legal opinion as to today's validity of that lease.

Anyway, if that lease were at one time valid, wasn't it only valid for 5 years?
Don.........

 

[FISHEYE]

With mexico on the brink of a civil war right now I would stay far away from there.500 killings a month.

 

[davebr]

Dave:

A Mexican marine salvage lease issued 23 years ago, during the reign of a previous political party's dominance, being still valid under a different political party's control today.........fails my test of 'reasonableness' to assume it's still valid.

Also, in view of the experience of the 'Somers' botched salvage (Vera Cruz 1986) and the more recent influence of CEDAM and INAH.......may I suggest you get a legal opinion as to today's validity of that lease.

Anyway, if that lease were at one time valid, wasn't it only valid for 5 years?
Don.........

Don,

Its hard for me to say what exactly the lease states---Its in Spanish. But from talking to Velma, the widow/owner of the lease, there is no date of expiration on the lease. She is a very savy diplomat from Costa Rica, so I do believe she knows exactly what she is talking about. She says Michel was really more interested in the Nuestra Senora de los Juncal. That the lease covers both ships.
I found an article that the Oddyessy people were trying to salvage that ship and the government wouldnt let them.
It sounds like I need a fancy lawyer or a way to get in touch with the Oddyessy people. They probably have fancy lawyers.
Any thoughts or ideas?

Dave

 

[Mackaydon]

Dave:
I'd contact Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropologia y Historia (INAH) at www.inah.gob.mx/ (click on 'Contacto') and ask them about treasure hunting in Mexico. At the same time, you might inquire about the validity of the permit you have access to. Maybe get a local librarian to translate the document.

Another source who may be able to help is Dr. James Delgado, the arch. involved with the 'Somers'. http://www.jamesdelgado.com/contact.htm

In essence, do as much research you can on the subject without hiring anyone.

Be prepared for what I first said: There are no treasure hunting permits issued in Mexico, though I'd be delighted to hear otherwise.
Don....

 

[Darren in NC]

NOTE: I am posting this on another thread here on Tnet, as both of these turn up on Google results when searching for the info on this vessel.

Great book with a terrible ending! There seems to be no general knowledge that this steamer was completely salvaged in 2003. There are many posts and articles online in the past 15 years, stating that there is more to be recovered. But CEDAM contracted an outfit in 2003, and dove with them to recover more than 30 million USD in gold. The recovery effort is fascinating to read, but the ending was very anti-climatic.

*SPOILER ALERT*
Don't read this if you want to read the book and it's ending for yourself.
The book mentions the past recovery efforts on the Wells Fargo gold. This is what everyone is still searching for...the the leftovers of that shipment that was not recovered in the 1800s. However, a descendant of the purser says there was unknowingly more in the purser's safe than what was in the known Wells Fargo shipment. So there is a long buildup to finding the purser's massive safe in the treacherous waters, only to end with it being hauled off to a military base. It was later taken to Mexico City, and there are no details given as to what was actually in the safe when opened. It simply says it was opened and worth more than 30 million USD. It's thrilling to see the story of the safe turns out to be true, but the opening of the safe is only left to the imagination and the book ends abruptly.