San Miguel Anchor - 1715 Fleet

[ropesfish]

Note that all boats of that era carried anchors of different sizes for different purposes, much like modern sailboats do. Everything from the equivalent of a "lunch hook" to a sheet anchor kept below decks as an emergency brake would be aboard at the start of the journey. In fact, there were rules and regulations that dictated whaat kind and how many anchors were required as ship's equipment. When the ships were in eminent danger of grounding, every anchor aboard would be either deployed in an attempt to keep the ship off the bottom or jettisoned to lighten her load.
A couple of reference links on anchors and Spanish ships of the era and one just because it has great pictures:
Anchors) Stocked Anchors
Spanish_Shipbuilding) A Plague of Ships: Spanish Ships and Shipbuilding in the Atlantic Colonies, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries | Chuck Meide - Academia.edu
English anchors) http://nautarch.tamu.edu/pdf-files/Jobling-MA1993.pdf
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/heritagebranch/maritime/anchornorthheadsydney.pdf

and this one just because it explains why the Spaniards have to find their treasure in court - because they cannot find it themselves: Spanish Navy finds 100 shipwrecks in hunt for treasure - Telegraph

 

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[Au_Dreamers]

Lago,
WHEW I'm glad that came across as written....I had thought I should put my internet disclaimer out there but was in a hurry!!
It is just intended to help you along in your adventures, so not to shoot yourself in the foot by chance you have something there!

Pulling a mag is most definitely in the scope of exploration and an exploration permit is needed.

When these new HD personal sonar units came out there was a big uproar from a certain sector that laid claims pirates would be using them to plunder cultural heritage

If one were fishing they could see things with these new HD sonars that were once limited to deep pockets with traditional sonars.

It's really a catch 22 with non treasure stumbled upon artifacts. You need a permit to explore but you don't want to spend all that time and money for nothing.

Maybe the next time you're shooting fish or chasing lobster on the ledge near the anchor you could accidentally come up with some more details for yourself to determine your next steps....

If EVERYTHING in the ocean that came from mankind is historically important cultural heritage of the people then how can any exploration permit be denied for lack of historical importance?

 

[SADS 669]

Chris, outstanding post!!

 

[Lago]

@Ropesfish

Thanks for that, wasn't aware that older ships carried that many anchors.

@Au Dreamers

Good to know, wasn't aware that remote sensing required an exploration permit. I'll make sure that I file for one before I do anything other than look.

 

[ropesfish]

Since I was not present on any of these ships, I want to cite at least one source on the anchor inventory of early sailing vessels.
Here 'tis thanks to Sir Robert Marx: https://books.google.com/books?id=9...e&q=spanish galleons anchors carried&f=false