Which are your favorite Florida shipwrecks?

[No1Superguy]

This type of negativity reminds me of the multitudes of people that ridiculed, laughed, and made fun of Mel Fisher, a past resident of Florida. Mel's plan was to find treasure off the East Coast of Florida. For thirty years, he had a croud of people around him every day telling him he was going to fail.

Did he fail. No. He found treasure worth millions off the East Coast of Florida AND offshore Key West Florida. Mel died a few years ago, but, his sons and grandson are are still finding emeralds, silver, and gold today.

Mel Fisher's Treasures

I personally admire the amazing character of Mel Fisher. One of the greatest treasure hunters of recent times.

I have been working for Mel Fishers Treasures for about 5 years now (1st mate on the JB Magruder) and will be leaving this week to pursue new endeavors. It has been quite an experience, one that many dream of and very few get to do. Today's the day!

 

[divingtpapa]

I enjoyed the Duane, Speigel Grove, and the Benwood.

 

[Lee Taylor]

Hello Superguy,

What is diving with the Fisher group like? I have read a few of the biographies about the happenings in the second half of the last century, and I dove last summer with a woman that said she use to work with the Fisher group 25yrs ago. Her claim was that she was on the boat when they were bringing up handfuls of emeralds.

Do they truely think the sterncastle holds a foutune in treasure?

I visited the museum in Key West and at the time it seemed they wanted a bucketload of money to dive with them.

Approximately how much do they charge?

Did you find the items in your avatar?

 

[fisheyeview]

Thanks for resurrecting this thread. I didn't see it when it was posted. I have always loved wreck diving since I first did the Benwood in 1977. Didn't realize how many wreck I had done until I saw this thread, and decided to look through my log.


Benwood
Mizpah
Almirante
Blackthorn
Clearwater
Orion
Biscayne
House Boat
Sheri-Lynn
Proteus
Rodeo 25
Copenhagen
Belzone
Duane
Bibb
Tenneco Towers
Deep Freeze
Police Barge
City of Washington
Belcher Barge
Eagle
Ivory
Thunderbolt
Tugs off South Beach
Tanks off South Beach
Union Express
Princess Anne
Hoh Heaven
Conception
United Caribbean
Captain Ramon's
D McGalister
Beck's
Jay Scutti
Tracy
Spiegel Grove
Sea Emperor
Ebinezer
MV Castor
Mike's Wreck
Mercedes
Edmond McAlistor
Captain Dan
Captain Tony
Ed Minster
Esso Bonaire
Miracle of Life
RSB 1
Rebel
Jim Atria

My favorite wreck has to be the Duane. I have done it over 100 times, and I always find something new to love about it.

 

[HowardE]

This type of negativity reminds me of the multitudes of people that ridiculed, laughed, and made fun of Mel Fisher, a past resident of Florida. Mel's plan was to find treasure off the East Coast of Florida. For thirty years, he had a croud of people around him every day telling him he was going to fail.

Did he fail. No. He found treasure worth millions off the East Coast of Florida AND offshore Key West Florida. Mel died a few years ago, but, his sons and grandson are are still finding emeralds, silver, and gold today.

Mel Fisher's Treasures

I personally admire the amazing character of Mel Fisher. One of the greatest treasure hunters of recent times.

While I don't particularly like digging up old responses to responses, but I want to say that I believe Eric's "negativity" as you see it has nothing to do with Mel Fisher, but I would have to say that his comment is probably pointing to the fact that most of the recreational dive shipwrecks most people would visit in South East Florida are artificial reef/wrecks, and that they are entirely cleaned out before sinking, not to mention that these wrecks are mostly protected by the state of Florida as well.

So if you are on a quest to pull artifacts from a shipwreck in Florida... I would have to agree with Eric that South East Florida isn't a great place to find your pile of artifacts.

 

[Lee Taylor]

I am not on a quest to pull artifacts from actual shipwrecks. I already have done that. If it happens again, then that will be great. My pile of artifacts is already in my home and security box at the bank. I just like finding my little treasures and sharing information with others. I do dive virgin sites on occasion.

I am certainly not on a quest to find hundreds of millions in gold as has been found offshore NC, GA, FL, and Key West

I am very aware that the dive charters take hundreds upon hundreds of divers to the same old, empty, intentionally sunk ships, over and over again and I am very familiar with the laws.

I admire Mel Fisher for continuing and believing in his quest when most people told him he was wasting his money and his time. They assured him he was not going to find anything off the east coast of Florida. Boy did he prove them wrong. He scored BIG and he fought the law and he won. His sons are made of the same stuff.

I thought this was a neat $250k piece that was found the other day offshore Key West. Mels sons are still searching for the billions in gold laying somewhere in that area. I hope they find it!



===========================================================

Fisheyeview.... love the "not to get bent" part in your profile

 

[pafindr]

My favorite wreck was RB Johnson and Corey N Chris off of Pompano Beach. I did it a few times back in 95

 

[Lee Taylor]

WOW stunning video Pafindr

 

[drbill]

I discovered recently that Mel Fisher was responsible for stripping a number of items from the wreck of the Valiant in Descanso Bay adjacent to the Casino Point Dive Park on Catalina in "the early years." Not something I approve of.

My favorite Florida wreck? I haven't dived a lot of them, but the Duane is at the top of my list because of all the great critters I filmed while diving it. I dove the Spiegel Grove before it righted itself and am glad I did it but saw little to film other than the ship itself.

 

[Daveo957]

NOLA DIVER: Oriskany

ORISKANY