FLORIDA'S GOLDEN GALLEONS by Robert F. Burgess

FLORIDA'S GOLDEN GALLEONS
The Search for the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet
by Robert F. Burgess and Carl J. Clausen
ISBN: 0912451076

With the help of Florida State Underwater Archaeologist, Carl J. Clausen, Burgess recreates the dramatic story of the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet diaster on Florida's southeast coast and details the efforts of State-contracted treasure salvors to recover the tons of silver and gold objects that still wash ashore opposite the wrecks along these beaches. Here is the dramatic history of the ill-fated fleet with detailed treasure recoveries from the 1960s to present day. Fully illustrated with over 100 color and black and white photographs with maps. 228 pages Paperback: 6 x 9 © 1982/1998.

$17.95

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    On July 24, 1715, a Spanish treasure fleet sailed from Havana, carrying a cargo of 14 million pesos in gold, silver and jewels. In the Florida Straits, near present-day Cape Canaveral, the fleet ran into a hurricane, with the disastrous loss of ten ships and 700 lives. Little was salvaged at the time.
    For more than two centuries, sand and sea held their secrets well. Occasionally, however, tides and storms tossed blackened silver coins up on the beaches, tempting would-be treasure hunters. Among the most successful was the Real Eight Company, contracted by the state of Florida to recover the valuable treasure and historical artifacts under the supervision of state underwater archaeologist Carl J. Clausen. Spurred by the unique finds on the ocean floor and curious about the full story behind the tragic event that had scattered this fabulous treasure along Florida's east coast, he and Robert F. Burgess determined to record the history of the ill-fated fleet.
    In writing their book, the authors needed the answers to hundreds of questions. What was it like to cross the Atlantic in the eighteenth century? What precautions were taken against pirates? What caused the delays that led to sailing at a particularly treacherous time of the year? What really happened the night of the hurricane? How much treasure was lost? How many people survived?
    The authors discovered that pieces of the historical jigsaw puzzle lay scattered all over the world. They examined hundreds of documents recovered from dusty archives: official statements, depositions, royal court orders, private and public letters, and ships' manifests. After ten years of research, the authors finally had all the facts, which enabled them to reconstruct the story.
    Florida's Golden Galleons is that stunning story, meticulously detailed and excitingly told, of the sinking of the great fleet and of the successful modern-day efforts to bring its treasure once more to the light of day.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Preface
Prologue
1. OUTBOUND TO OBLIVION
2. THE GATHERING STORM
3. PRELUDE TO DISASTER
4. THE SEA CAME LIKE ARROWS
5. CASTAWAYS TN THE LAND OF THE AYS
6. THE SECRET LETTER
7. OF PIRATES AND SALVAGERS
8. ROMANS CLUE
9. THE TRAIL TO TREASURE-TROVE
10. CANNON'S SILVER PIE
11. WHENCE CAME THE GOLDEN DRAGON?
12. FOUR FATHOMS TO ELDORADO
13. TREASURE AND THE STATE
14. THE GREAT FLORIDA GOLD RUSH
15. SOMETHING MORE VALUABLE THAN GOLD
16. AFTERMATH
17. BEACH BONANZAS
18. MORE GOLD AND MEGA-FINDS
Appendices
Bibliography

FROM THE BOOK:

    "In a few short hours the hurricane took its terrible toll on the Spanish treasure fleet of 1715. Eleven vessels, more than 14 million pesos of registered treasure, and seven hundred lives were lost in one of the worst sea disasters in history. Of the twelve ships that sailed from Havana, only one escaped, the French frigate Grifón, whose captain, Don Antonio Darié, had slowly pulled away from the fleet and was sailing so far to the northeastward at the time of the disaster that he was out of the hurricane's path. In fact, when he reached Europe, he was unable to report that there had even been a storm! When the fleet failed to appear off the Carolina Capes where it would sail east for Spain, Darié, who had waited several days at that latitude, thought the ships had simply been delayed by a 'prolonged calm.'"

    ""I told you you had better stay," chided Bob. "The day after you left, our diver, Bob Luyendyk thought he had found another beer can bottom but it turned gold on him. It was a fully dated 1712 8-escudos Royal!"
    I think I yelled into the phone something like "Wowee!" The perfectly struck, round Royals were still so rare that in 1987 they could bring up to $70,000 or $80,000 apiece!
    "Wait! Wait! You haven't heard everything!" Weller shouted excitedly over the phone. "Margaret found another Royal just nine days later!' It was a 1711 4-escudos gold Royal this time valued at $40,000 (Why oh why did I go home?) I had to get Margaret on the phone to congratulate her.
    "I clutched it so tightly when I brought it up," she told me, "I was afraid I would bend it!""

A READER REVIEW:

"This is a book that will captivate all readers interested in historical adventure books. Nothing dry about these historical facts, the authors have written the material in a narrative fashion that reads as exciting as a novel. From historical facts long buried in Spanish archives they learned why these two Spanish treasure fleets were fated to be caught off the southeast Florida coast in a hurricane of 1715. The entire fleet and 700 lives were lost in the disaster. Moreover, tons of silver and gold treasure were scattered over the bottom and never recovered by the Spaniards. The authors then move into contemporary times to tell readers what happened after corroded silver coins were found along beaches opposite the wrecks. They take you on the difficult convoluted treasure-hunting trail that eventually rewards the courageous treasure-diving hunters with enormous riches...a search that continues right up to present times. Readers will love this one!"
—Armchair Adventure Review