Treasure
from 1715 fleet found; new stakeholder hopes to bring up more By Tyler Treadway
| Posted June 28, 2010 at 7:41 p.m., updated June 28, 2010 at
7:42 p.m
The Treasure Coast is living up to its moniker.
A gold-rimmed portrait necklace, several gold and silver
coins and numerous artifacts from a 1715 Spanish fleet were
discovered in about 10 feet of water June 19 just off Indian
River Shores in Indian River County.
The find was announced Monday by a firm based in Jupiter
Island and Sebastian that also said it has acquired the
salvage rights to the sunken ships from the heirs of world-famous
treasure hunter Mel Fisher. The company plans to ramp up
recovery efforts.
In 1715 an 11-ship fleet set sail from Cuba laden with
gold bars, coins, diamonds, emeralds and pearls bound for
King Philip V of Spain. The bounty included the dowry for
Philip’s new bride, Elisabeth, who refused to consummate
their marriage until she received it. The ships sank in
a hurricane off the Treasure Coast.
“The ships were blown into the reefs and sank, so
they’re relatively close to shore,” said Brent
Brisben of Sebastian, who with his father, William Brisben
of Jupiter Island, formed Queen’s Jewels.
The company then bought from Fisher’s heirs the U.S.
admiralty custodianship of the 1715 fleet and the right
to salvage the wrecked ships.
The sites of six of the sunken ships have been found, some
in only 20 feet of water. But the bulk of the treasure —
including the queen’s jewels, estimated to be worth
close to $900 million — still hasn’t been recovered.
Capt. Greg Bounds, whose boat “Gold Hound”
made the most recent discovery off the coast of Indian River
Shores, is one of about 15 subcontractors who have worked
with Mel Fisher Treasure and will continue to work with
the Brisbens.
In 2007, Bounds uncovered more than $12.9 million worth
of gold chains, pearls, coins, swords and other artifacts
from the 400-year-old Santa Margarita site in the Florida
Keys.
“I’ve enjoyed working with the Fisher family,”
said Bounds, a Fellsmere resident, “and hope to again
in the future. But the new owners bring a new energy to
the recovery of the 1715 fleet. People don’t realize
how much history is lying right off our beaches. It’s
exciting to be a part of bringing that history to light.”
But don’t go firing up your fishing boat and starting
your own search for buried treasure: Fisher earned the right
to salvage the 1715 fleet after a 1982 ruling from the U.S.
Supreme Court gave him official admiralty custodianship
of the wrecks, a right Bounds compares to registering a
claim with the government to pan for gold.
Brisben declined to say how much he and his father paid
for the salvage right; but he’s serious about safeguarding
his 300-square-mile stake, which extends from the low-tide
mark into the ocean.
“People who might be considering ‘pirating’
artifacts from our claim should know that to do so is a
federal offense,” Brisben said.
Still, Bounds said, anyone who has serious treasure fever
“can hunt on the beach all they want.”
Like all treasure salvaged from state waters, the items
discovered June 19 have been sent to the conservation lab
at the Mel Fisher Museum in Sebastian for restoration.
“The state gets 20 percent of the haul,” Bounds
said, “and gets to pick the pieces it wants first.
The rest will be split 50-50 between the owners (the Brisbens)
and the subcontractors who found it.”
Brisben admitted he and his father, both experienced real
estate developers in Cincinnati, are “neophyte treasure
hunters.”
“The treasure is the lure, but it’s the history
that’s so fascinating,” he said. “To be
involved with the archaeological recovery of these treasures
is the adventure of a lifetime and something we couldn’t
pass up.”
Ever-improving technology also played a role in the Brisbens’
decision.
“Technology is getting to the point that it will
soon be able to lead us to the exact locations of these
sunken ships,” Brisben said. “That’s not
to say there isn’t a lot of hard, unglamourous grunt
work involved. And there are no guarantees we’ll find
anything.”