Seeking Treasure

What does the crew of Seeking Kokomo do on their day off when the winds are blowing 40 knots from starboard, the boat is heeling over at the dock and a cold rain is coming down?  We go treasure hunting, of course!

The Treasure Coast

The area around Fort Pierce, Florida is known as the Treasure Coast.  It all started back in the 1950’s when Kip Wagner, a construction company owner, started finding silver coins washed up on the beach.  He eventually started a salvage operation to find the fleet of ships lost in a storm in 1715.  The ships were bound for Spain to replenish the dwindling royal accounts.  Laden with gold, silver, emeralds, tobacco and exotic produce, the ships went down off the coast of Florida in a hurricane. 

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Kip combined forces with the famous diver Mel Fisher.  Together they found many treasures along Florida’s east coast. Then Mel Fisher and his crew found the mother lode of all treasures off the Florida Keys with the discovery of the Atocha. We had the opportunity to tour the Mel Fisher’s Treasures Museum in Sebastian and hear their amazing story.  Mel was a whiz at designing tools for diving, including an underwater camera and a blower that ran off the boat engines to clear the bottom.  Imagine what it would be like to dive down and see an entire seabed covered in gold coins!! 

Mel Fisher’s Treasure Museum

The museum showcases Mel’s inventions and much of the treasure he found. We saw amazing gold and silver plates, cups and flatware, as well as coins, gold and silver bars, and emeralds. A piece of the treasure can even be purchased if you are willing to pay the price.

These wrecks are still being excavated off the east coast of Florida at a cost of thousands of dollars a day. They are still producing amazing finds of sliver and gold.  In fact, it is common to find pieces of eight and treasure washed up on the local beaches after storms that create huge waves.  After the wind and waves, we have had the last two days, I think it is time to take Tracy for a walk on the beach. Perhaps we can find treasure so we can continue to seek Kokomo aboard Seeking Kokomo!!