treasurediver
Full Member
- Mar 13, 2005
- 180
- 276
The one that got away.
Like the fishermen, every treasure hunter has at least one story about ?the one that got away?. To get that close, almost,? but not quite. Please tell us YOUR story. Here is one of mine.
Below, a photo of a gold chain. Tom, if you read this story, please tell us if that is the one that you found and lost again under that rock south of that island, where you saw the antenna when you looked up.
In order to protect the people involved, I changed the names and do not give the names of the islands of the happening.
So this is how it went: Tom joined a group of tourists on a dive trip. At the dive site, while the tourists descended for a wall dive, Tom, being a famous treasure hunter checking out some rumors, went snorkeling in the shallows looking for treasure. He came across some debris indicating the presence of an old shipwreck. Then, under a large rock, shooing a nurse shark away that had been sleeping, he spotted a gold chain. He pulled on it but it was stuck in a crevasse. Slowly, carefully he dug it out, inch by inch, but as its free end got longer and longer, the other end was still stuck. How long could it be? There was no way telling, but such gold chains, up to 40 feet long have been found on shipwrecks, so he was reluctant to rip it, for fear never to find the buried end anymore. Who knows, there even might be a gold locket on the end.
The tourists were coming back to the boat and he did not want to share his find with strangers. So he rolled some large rocks over the chain and closed the cave with a very heavy chunk of fire coral.
It took more than a year until he made it back to the spot. This time I was with him, his apprentice. He told me to search the area of the cut in the chain of rocks, where the tide came running out from the shallows. Himself, disappeared behind the rocks to the south. My search was fruitless (lack of experience) so after some time I gave up and went looking for him. There he was, frantically digging under some rocks. Upon questioning, he told me the story of the gold chain. The problem, he said, a Hurricane had passed through the region and moved the rocks around. He could not find the spot anymore. ? I remember very well, looking up from the entrance of the cave, I could see the high antenna tower of the island just in front of me.? He was saying. After hours of searching in vain, we left, wowing to come back an other day.
Myself? I went back some 5 years later. I made a methodical search of the whole area. I drew up a site map. And then I made an interesting discovery: Looking to the Northeast, there was the antenna tower of the one island. But looking to the south, there was a very similar antenna tower on the other island. There were several overhanging rocks. I dug up every one to its deepest corner. I burned myself badly and nearly broke my back on some large fire coral that was blocking the entrance of a cave.
Now I ask you Tom: does that look like your gold chain? Or a piece of it?
I also did some research in the archives for the identity of the shipwreck. And collected local information. There used to lay cannon in the cut, but they were removed years ago. An old timer showed me a gold coin that he had hanging around his neck, and claimed it was stuck to one of the cannon.
I wonder how much more treasure could be there. Further in, in the deep sand under the eel grass? Has anybody ever searched the area with a metal detector?
posted by Treasurediver
Like the fishermen, every treasure hunter has at least one story about ?the one that got away?. To get that close, almost,? but not quite. Please tell us YOUR story. Here is one of mine.
Below, a photo of a gold chain. Tom, if you read this story, please tell us if that is the one that you found and lost again under that rock south of that island, where you saw the antenna when you looked up.
In order to protect the people involved, I changed the names and do not give the names of the islands of the happening.
So this is how it went: Tom joined a group of tourists on a dive trip. At the dive site, while the tourists descended for a wall dive, Tom, being a famous treasure hunter checking out some rumors, went snorkeling in the shallows looking for treasure. He came across some debris indicating the presence of an old shipwreck. Then, under a large rock, shooing a nurse shark away that had been sleeping, he spotted a gold chain. He pulled on it but it was stuck in a crevasse. Slowly, carefully he dug it out, inch by inch, but as its free end got longer and longer, the other end was still stuck. How long could it be? There was no way telling, but such gold chains, up to 40 feet long have been found on shipwrecks, so he was reluctant to rip it, for fear never to find the buried end anymore. Who knows, there even might be a gold locket on the end.
The tourists were coming back to the boat and he did not want to share his find with strangers. So he rolled some large rocks over the chain and closed the cave with a very heavy chunk of fire coral.
It took more than a year until he made it back to the spot. This time I was with him, his apprentice. He told me to search the area of the cut in the chain of rocks, where the tide came running out from the shallows. Himself, disappeared behind the rocks to the south. My search was fruitless (lack of experience) so after some time I gave up and went looking for him. There he was, frantically digging under some rocks. Upon questioning, he told me the story of the gold chain. The problem, he said, a Hurricane had passed through the region and moved the rocks around. He could not find the spot anymore. ? I remember very well, looking up from the entrance of the cave, I could see the high antenna tower of the island just in front of me.? He was saying. After hours of searching in vain, we left, wowing to come back an other day.
Myself? I went back some 5 years later. I made a methodical search of the whole area. I drew up a site map. And then I made an interesting discovery: Looking to the Northeast, there was the antenna tower of the one island. But looking to the south, there was a very similar antenna tower on the other island. There were several overhanging rocks. I dug up every one to its deepest corner. I burned myself badly and nearly broke my back on some large fire coral that was blocking the entrance of a cave.
Now I ask you Tom: does that look like your gold chain? Or a piece of it?
I also did some research in the archives for the identity of the shipwreck. And collected local information. There used to lay cannon in the cut, but they were removed years ago. An old timer showed me a gold coin that he had hanging around his neck, and claimed it was stuck to one of the cannon.
I wonder how much more treasure could be there. Further in, in the deep sand under the eel grass? Has anybody ever searched the area with a metal detector?
posted by Treasurediver
