Foreword. by Charles Garrett

Transcription

1 Foreword by Charles Garrett What a pleasure it is to publish another book by Sir Robert Marx, particularly the one that is the culmination of his lifetime of research on the richest shipwrecks of the world. It was a true joy for me a fellow treasure hunter to read this manuscript for a number of reasons. First of all, I consider Bob to be a great, honest, trustworthy friend. I ve known him for several decades and have always had a great respect for his abilities as a seeker of underwater treasures and for him personally as a metal detectorist of the first order. He has been described by another shipwreck diver, E. Lee Spence, as the true father of underwater archaeology. He is also a great storyteller and his books always include an element of exciting adventure mixed within the historical data he presents. Bob has logged countless thousands of dives on Old World and New World shipwrecks off the coasts of every continent and has successfully retrieved great riches of gold, silver, jewelry and artifacts which date back hundreds and even thousands of years. His numerous accolades, which include being knighted by the rulers of three European countries, prove that his work is significant to many people. In addition to founding and serving on the boards of a number of marine archaeological societies, he has also authored more than 800 articles and reports and 60 books on history, archaeology, shipwrecks and exploration. I have been thrilled to publish through our RAM Books publishing company several nonfiction treasure recovery books xix

2 The World s Richest Wrecks written by Bob and his wife Jenifer. The first was in 1981, Quest for Adventure, which chronicled his successful efforts to locate the lost 1656 treasure galleon la Nuestra Señora de la Maravilla. This was followed in 1986 with Buried Treasure of the United States and Sunken Treasure: How to Find It in In 1993, RAM Books published Bob s Buried Treasure You Can Find, a guide to thousands of treasure locations throughout the United States. We published Jenifer Marx s Gold of the Americas in She compiled a tremendous history and fact-filled book. As with all of Bob s books, I also recommend that all treasure hunters read it. Jenifer and Bob Marx co-wrote New World Shipwrecks: , published by RAM Books in This volume touched on all documented shipwrecks of North America, South America and the Caribbean. As you can well imagine, the lists of ships were quite extensive for each area. I was excited when Bob contacted me to say that he was finally ready to publish his most definitive book regarding the world s richest shipwrecks the result of a lifetime of research and wreck diving. In this new book he departs the Spanish Main his familiar treasure realms of the Caribbean and the Bahamas to take us around the globe into new and exciting areas of exploration. He discusses enormous lost treasures of which most of us have never even heard about. You ll be amazed, as I was, at the intriguing possibilities for fame and fortune that he offers to the neophyte underwater salvor as well as the accomplished professional. Bob is quick to point out that the famed Spanish treasure galleons which were lost as they sailed to the New World account for less than 10 percent of the ocean s richest wrecks. Considerable attention is paid to the most important ships lost off the British Isles, Africa, India, Europe, the Philippines, the Far East, Australia, the Antilles and other Old World shipping lanes. Most important to anyone who desires to make a fortune in diving a shipwreck is (Upper) Charles Garrett searches for ancient artifacts in the Red Sea with one of his Sea Hunter metal detectors. (Lower left and right) Garrett with Bob Marx at the Garrett headquarters in 2008 posing with a cannon discovered by Bob and discussing metal detector use. xx

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5 Foreword that this text covers only the lost ships whose cargoes held treasures worth at least $10 million! Bob s marine archaeology is important to me because of the validity he has brought to the use of metal detectors in undersea treasure recovery. The abilities of Garrett s submersible detector, the Sea Hunter, became widely recognized in the diving community following the pioneering discoveries made with it by Bob and other successful treasure recovery teams, such as those of Mel Fisher. Not so well known is the fact that Bob Marx continues to serve as a consultant to me in the ongoing development of our underseas instruments, including the more recent Infinium LS land and sea pulse-induction metal detector. His advice and active support over the years have certainly contributed to the current technology housed within both current models of the Infinium and Sea Hunter. Bob and I both caught treasure fever at young ages, served in the military and then ended up making careers out of our treasure hunting passion. His resume of successfully working shipwrecks could fill this volume. My pride stems from the satisfaction of having helped such adventurous souls in their quests by providing them with the best underseas detection gear to pinpoint those great hordes of silver, gold and antiques. What makes Fleets of Fortune stand out among treasure hunting literature is that the author has certainly done it. Bob can speak on wreck diving with great authority. Among his notary discoveries were his locating a Monitor-class Civil War ironclad off Cape Hatteras, NC, in 1955 and directing the archeological excavation of the sunken city of Port Royal in Jamaica from 1965 through At the invitation of the Lebanese Department of Antiquities, Marx explored ancient Phoenician seaports during and discovered shipwrecks dating from the Fifth Century B.C. He has discovered more than 3,000 shipwrecks in 62 countries, including a 17th Century Spanish merchant ship lost near Puerto Madryn, Garrett s Sea Hunter and Infinium LS model detectors are ideally suited for sport divers working shipwrecks at ocean depths to 200 feet. xxiii

6 The World s Richest Wrecks Argentina, which he found in February Two heart attacks have since slowed Bob s diving efforts, but he remains heavily involved in maritime archaeology as he directs the efforts of treasure recovery teams around the world. The quest for sunken treasure is thousands of years old and is one that will never die. The world s oceans hold more gold, silver and priceless artifacts than can be harvested. The fury of Mother Nature s storms constantly changes the bed on which the ancient wrecks are scattered. This research on the Old World wrecks presented here will hopefully spur treasure-seekers the world over to make more glorious discoveries. xxiv