Fatal Treasure: Greed and Death, Emeralds and Gold, and the Obsessive Search for the Legendary Ghost Galleon Atocha

272 Pages·2005·1.75 MB·English

by  Jedwin Smith

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.
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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