ScubaBill1955
Contributor
This was online from the Fort Myers News Press:
1:10 A.M. KEY WEST - Here's a story that will bring out the treasure hunter in all you scuba divers.
Documentary filmmaker Pat Clyne has hidden a $2,400 silver coin from the 17th-century Spanish galleon Atocha on the 523-foot Hoyt S. Vandenberg, and the rule is finders keepers. Clyne has done his share of treasure hunting: For more than 30 years, he worked for Mel Fisher, whose crews have salvaged more than $500 million in treasure from the Atocha and her sister ship the Margarita.
The coin is in a black tin box with magnets on the back; whoever finds it can e-mail Clyne, who will send the diver the coin's certificate of authenticity, signed by Fisher.
Why would Clyne give up a historically significant $2,400 silver coin?
"Because I can?" he asked rhetorically. "I have a couple left over, and I thought it would be exciting for divers. Besides the aesthetics of the dive itself, this gives them a little something to keep their eyes peeled for."
The Vandenberg is a big ship so Clyne is posting clues on his YouTube channel. For example:
- If you're swimming east, it would be on your snorkel side of the boat.
- If you're crossing the boat amidships from starboard to port, it would be on your regulator side.
- You don't have to be a tech diver to find this but a flashlight will help.
"Those clues eliminate 75 percent of the Vandenberg," Clyne said. "But there's still a lot of ship."
Clyne will eventually post a photograph of the coin's location.
"People will probably laminate the picture and take it down with them," he said. "That's what a treasure hunt is: research, perseverance and optimism. I think I learned that from a guy I used to work for."
1:10 A.M. KEY WEST - Here's a story that will bring out the treasure hunter in all you scuba divers.
Documentary filmmaker Pat Clyne has hidden a $2,400 silver coin from the 17th-century Spanish galleon Atocha on the 523-foot Hoyt S. Vandenberg, and the rule is finders keepers. Clyne has done his share of treasure hunting: For more than 30 years, he worked for Mel Fisher, whose crews have salvaged more than $500 million in treasure from the Atocha and her sister ship the Margarita.
The coin is in a black tin box with magnets on the back; whoever finds it can e-mail Clyne, who will send the diver the coin's certificate of authenticity, signed by Fisher.
Why would Clyne give up a historically significant $2,400 silver coin?
"Because I can?" he asked rhetorically. "I have a couple left over, and I thought it would be exciting for divers. Besides the aesthetics of the dive itself, this gives them a little something to keep their eyes peeled for."
The Vandenberg is a big ship so Clyne is posting clues on his YouTube channel. For example:
- If you're swimming east, it would be on your snorkel side of the boat.
- If you're crossing the boat amidships from starboard to port, it would be on your regulator side.
- You don't have to be a tech diver to find this but a flashlight will help.
"Those clues eliminate 75 percent of the Vandenberg," Clyne said. "But there's still a lot of ship."
Clyne will eventually post a photograph of the coin's location.
"People will probably laminate the picture and take it down with them," he said. "That's what a treasure hunt is: research, perseverance and optimism. I think I learned that from a guy I used to work for."
