The things I have done, 20.
I scouted for underwater treasures.
Some people are convinced that an honest and easy way to get rich quick, with very little or no difficulties at all, does exist. Three people in my close family won important prizes in the lottery, one of them twice, and I also know two more persons who also did. But for most people, life is a constant struggle to pay utilities, buy a little comfort and try to save a bit Even if one makes good money, we all tend to be savvy and careful.
So there’s this guy, a middle aged man, who located me because back in the early 2000’s I was one of the few who had “the Internet” and he had this perfect opportunity, and I was going to be rewarded handsomely. Heck, with such a central role, I was going to be a partner.
He knew of a sunken galleon just off the coast of our port. They used galleons to carry gold. Therefore, there was a gold stash—metric tons, likely—up for grabs, right under our noses.
I sense you may be suspect of all this, but I made the question: ¿how do you know this? Because there is a ghost, the spectral presence of the ship’s Captain himself, appearing on certain nights, pointing down right to where his old vessel lies in waiting.
In any case, my job was not to question, but to find this treasure hunter on a magazine he brought, one Mel Fisher, of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha fame, reputed as the most valuable shipwreck ever recovered. He was the man for the job and my task was to contact him and have him come and salvage our galleon for hire... I guess.
Sadly, Mr. Fisher had passed away by then, but his family were still in exploration and salvaging, and so a relative kindly explained to me a few things, in case you are considering going into underwater treasure hunting.
The very first thing a shipwreck explorer will ask is the name of the vessel. As it turns out, the Phoenicians or whomever were the first people ever venturing into the sea, instituted the port book, a registry of ships’ names, dates of arrival and departure, type and amount of cargo, ports of origin and destination and other pesky details. Then, a professional researcher will be tasked to locate this ship’s latest stay in any port, and then go to the destination after it left to see if it ever arrived, and where it went from there, and so on to the next port of call. This will determine to the best certainty when the ship likely sank, on what route and, naturally: what cargo was on board. They may further investigate if said route was known for the presence of pirates or any other dangers. They might even ask locals for stories of someone finding a treasure before, or any hint to the possibilities, good or bad, of this particular case. Sounds like some actual work.
They are real pros: they have a method, and have put serious money into their business. So you need to make a strong case. They are after several promising leads at any one time. It’s unlikely they will reposition resources—people, boats, sonars—because a ghost hinted at something.
I can only guess other important considerations after that, such as the size of the loot, and the value as compared to others they are already after, the extent of the area to search, the actual location to see if they are international waters or not, nearest port or country, and all operational costs.
“The name of the ship? It will be covered in barnacles! These gringos think we are stupid. They have a device that a single diver puts alongside of the ship and they can instantly tell if there is gold or not!” (As he spoke, he put his hands up as if he was going to take a photo with an 8x10 camera, but handheld.)
Luckily, he didn’t kill the messenger, but he was really upset, so I didn’t mention other problems I had come across, like some other website who warned of partners who, in true human nature, will feed you to the fish once you secure the jackpot. He was deceptively oblivious to the fact we live in this fishing town, with a lot of divers, local and tourists, who would very likely have found such a wreck.
How did I ever become involved in this? I was referred to by a common friend, who told me that “it would be wise to be near in case he is right.” But more important: well into the second third of my life, I have yet to learn how to say “no”.
And this guy was not giving up yet.