Fatal Treasure # Greed and Death, Emeralds and Gold, and the Obsessive Search for the Legendary Ghost Galleon Atocha Jedwin Smith John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Fatal Treasure Fatal Treasure # Greed and Death, Emeralds and Gold, and the Obsessive Search for the Legendary Ghost Galleon Atocha Jedwin Smith John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This book is printed on acid-free paper. ∞ Copyright © 2003 by Jedwin Smith. All rights reserved Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada Illustrations used by permission. Illustration credits: pages 7, 41, 178, 192, 216, and 226 courtesy of Mary Martin Photography; pages 10, 23, 53, 121, 139, 161, 164, 187, 197, and 232 copyright © and courtesy of Pat Clyne; pages 33 and 126 courtesy of Don Kincaid; pages 64, 91, and 233 courtesy of Jedwin Smith; pages 97, 136, and 140 courtesy of Syd Jones; page 115 courtesy of Damien Lin/ Paradigm Productions; page 236 courtesy of Andy Matroci. The author gratefully acknowledges the following for permission to quote from: “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” words and music by Jimmy Buffett. Copyright © 1974 by Universal- Duchess Music Corporation (BMI). International copyright secured. All rights reserved. “The Ballad of the Atocha,” “The Conch Republic Song,” and “Tourist Town Bar” by Michael McCloud. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appro- priate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, email: [email protected]. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accu- racy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Smith, Jedwin. Fatal treasure : greed and death, emeralds and gold, and the obsessive search for the legendary Ghost Galleon Atocha / Jedwin Smith. p. cm. ISBN 0-471-15894-1 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Nuestra Señora de Atocha (Ship) 2. Treasure-trove—Florida. 3. Shipwrecks—Florida. I. Title. G530.N83 S65 2003 909(cid:1).096348—dc21 2002153118 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Mel Fisher was a dreamer, a visionary. The men and women who dived into the sea to pursue his dreams are supreme realists. This book is for them. Contents Foreword, ix Acknowledgments, xi Prologue, 1 1 Invitation to the Party, 5 2 Dreaming of the Hurricane, 19 3 A Mother’s Story, 22 4 No Warning, 32 5 The Curse of the Atocha, 40 6 I Will Return, 50 7 A Little Chunk of Gold, 57 8 Nightmare Time, 68 9 A Powerful Ocean, 74 10 Aboard the Rock, 87 11 Death in the Water, 100 12 Margarita and Myths, 105 13 Raising Kane, 114 14 Mother Lode, 127 15 A Tale of Two Kings, 145 vii