Ghost Galleons: Both Real & Imagined!

Fabulously rich shipwrecks with little or no basis in fact can be a major headache to serious treasure hunters. They are sometimes reported as having just taken place, or as having just been discovered. Eventually, they become part of gossip and legend. Often, reams of material are written about these wrecks, and millions of dollars are wasted in futile searches for them. Among professionals, these wrecks are known as “ghost galleons.” Read this article for a quick review of some of them.

Ghost Galleons: Both Real & Imagined!

Read: Today’s Shipwrecks™ [April]

Click on one of these days in April:
April 1, April 2, April 3, April 4, April 5, April 6,
April 7, April 8, April 9, April 10, April 11, April 12,
April 13, April 14, April 15, April 16, April 17, April 18,
April 19, April 20, April 21, April 22, April 23, April 24,
April 25, April 26, April 27, April 28, April 29, April 30

Women & Children First

There have been thousands of ships lost on a February 26, but one of the shipwrecks that stands out was that of the HMS Birkenhead, which set the example of “Women & Children First,” and was rumored to have carried three tons of gold coins.

Today’s Shipwrecks™ February 26

Wreckage of British Short Stirling bomber found off Norway

The remains of a World War Two bomber, thought to be a British Short Stirling lost off Norway on March 30, 1945, during a covert supply drop operation, have been found.

WW-2 Bomber Found

Setting the record straight on who discovered the Hunley

This article tries to correct the damage caused by fiction writer Clive Cussler’s claims to have discovered the Civil War submarine Hunley in 1995, even though Dr. E. Lee Spence had found it in 1995 and had already published the wreck’s location in two of his non-fiction books. The Hunley was the first sub in history to sink an enemy ship and its discovery has been described as “probably the most important (underwater archaeological) find of the (20th) century.”

Marred History of the Hunley

1854 Wreck of the Delia Maria

The American ship Delia Maria was shipwrecked in a violent hurricane on September 7, 1854, off Hilton Head, S.C. Her owner was Charleston shipping magnate George A. Trenholm, who later served as the historical basis for Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind.

Shipwreck Delia Maria

2017 NOGI Award Recipients

The 2017 NOGI Recipients are Dr. Gerald R. Allen for Science; Chuck Davis for Arts; Jill Heinerth for Sports Education; Tom Ingram for Distinguished Service; and Dr. Enric Sala for Environment click here or the button below to read the full story.

2017 NOGI Awards Recipients

2016-17 AUAS Full-Tuition Scholarship Awarded

Jamie Guined has been selected by the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences as the 2016-17 recipient of a full-tuition scholarship to attend the International Diving Institute’s nationally accredited, four months long, Air/Mixed Gas Surface Supplied Diving Course.

2016-17 AUAS Scholarship to IDI

2016 AUAS NOGI Award Winners

The 56th annual NOGI Awards Gala, which were held in Las Vegas, November 17, 2016, honored the following diving luminaries for their exceptional contributions – in 5 categories of underwater endeavors: Stephen Frink, Arts; Mike Cochran, Science; Bob Croft, Sports & Education, Bonnie Toth, Distinguished Service and Hardy Jones, Environment.

2016 AUAS NOGI Awards

2015-16 AUAS full tuition scholarship to IDI

Academy of Underwater Arts & Sciences awards a full-tuition scholarship to Rebecca Ziegler for commercial diver training  at the International Diving Institute in Charleston, South Carolina.

2015-16 AUAS Scholarship to IDI

Dutch Dive Team Identifies Dutch Wreck

Divers from Duikteam Zeester identify a shipwreck as the Dutch fishing vessel TM 1 Burgemeester van Kampen lost in 1967, and meet with captain Jakob Vos’ widow.

Wreck identified as Dutch fishing-vessel

“Yellow Metal” Hull Sheeting

Patented in 1832, the original application of Muntz’s patented “Yellow Metal” was as a replacement for copper sheathing on the bottom of ships. It was popular because it maintained the anti-fouling abilities of the pure copper at around two thirds of the price.

Metal Hull Sheathing

Researching Civil War Shipwrecks

Perhaps the best single source for researching Civil War shipwrecks is a set of books titled The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. These records include official correspondence, dispatches, excerpts from vessel logs, etc. and are an excellent source of contemporary records relating to shipwrecks. These wrecks range from powerful ironclad warships to flimsy merchant steamers. It was by using these records that Dr. E. Lee Spence located numerous blockade runners, including the Norseman and Stonewall Jackson. 

Learn about navy records of the Civil War

Salvage of Shipwreck Gold to Resume

Interested in Shipwrecks and sunken treasure? The salvage of the remaining gold on the side-wheel steamer Central America may finally resume in 2014 after a lapse of over 20 years that was caused largely by legal problems. Her loss with tons of gold and hundreds of people in 1857 was one of the worst maritime disasters of the Gold Rush era.

Salvage of Gold to Resume
 

DEMA Show 2013

The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association Expo is an annual, trade-only event for the Diving Industry. The 2013 DEMA Show is being held in Orlando, November 6-9. If you are a dive shop owner, dive tour operator, manufacturer, dive service provider, or virtually anyone else in the diving industry, you really need to attend.

Learn more about DEMA Show 2013

Shipwrecks.com Website

Shipwrecks.com is the world’s longest running website devoted primarily to shipwrecks past and present. We have been posting about shipwreck research, expeditions, diving, underwater archaeology and treasure salvage since the internet first went public, which is exactly how we were able to get the domain name shipwrecks.com, before it was grabbed by anyone else.

Be sure to subscribe to our shipwrecks blog, so you will be alerted each time something new is posted.

Shipwrecks Blog Listings

Sea Research Society

Sea Research Society has been doing shipwreck expeditions every year for over 40 years. Projects have included wrecks such as the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, the Confederate blockade runners Georgiana, Mary Bowers and Constance, the Great Lakes freighter Regina, and steamer City of Vera Cruz, as well as many others.

 Go to Sea Research Society

Hundreds Drown in Wreck off Italy

A boat with around 500 illegal migrants burned and sank between Tunisia and Sicily on October 3, 2013. Hundreds of men, women and children drowned. Most of them were illegal migrants fleeing religious and political persecution in Eritrea and Somalia.

Read about wreck off Lampedusa, Italy

Typhoon Sinks 3 Ships in Paracel Islands

On September 29, 2013, Typhoon Wutip swept across the South China Sea sinking 3 ships, which had sought refuge in the lagoon near Pattle Island, Paracel Islands.

Read more about these 3 Wrecks

Submersibles Showcased at Monaco Yacht Show

U-Boat Worx, Hawkes Ocean Technologies, Triton Submarines, and Seamagine Hydrospace are each displaying one or more of their submersibles at this year’s Monaco Yacht Show. Imagine exploring the seafloor and finding shipwrecks with them.

Read more about subs at Monaco Boat Show

International Diving Institute

The International Diving Institute in Charleston, South Carolina has one of the finest commercial diver training facilities in the entire Western Hemisphere. One of IDI’s founders is a world recognized expert on the salvage of historic shipwrecks and some of its graduates have gone on to work with him on such famous wrecks as the SS Ozama (a gun-runner sunk in 1894) and the SS United States (wrecked in 1881)

Slideshow on International Diving Institute

1913 Wreck of the SS Regina

Learn about the history, discovery and salvage of the 1913 Lake Huron shipwreck SS Regina. 1987 expedition by underwater archaeologist Dr. E. Lee Spence and discoverer Wayne Brusate. No gold was found but lots of bottles of G.H. Mumm; Veuve Clicquot Champagne; Dewar’s; and Whyte & McKay Scotch as well as thousands of other artifacts were recovered.

Read about the Regina

Wreck of the Spanish schooner Diamante or Diamond

Read: An Overview about the wreck

Read: Accounts from 1816

Photos: Salvaged artifacts

The Spanish schooner Diamante (or Diamond) was a slave ship bound from Cuba to Africa with a valuable cargo and a considerable sum of money when she was lost on Cape Romain, South Carolina in 1816. Could this be one of the shipwrecks discovered by Dr. E. Lee Spence?

Who Owns The Shipwrecks?

Do States really own the shipwrecks?

Or, do the heirs, insurers, discoverers or salvors? Click here to read an opinion piece by Dr. E. Lee Spence.

Michigan Governor Dives Thunder Bay Shipwreck

Michigan shipwrecks make the news

Governor Snyder explores the wreck of the Monohansett in Thunder Bay.

Discovery of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley

Not sure whether the wreck of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley was discovered by best selling fiction writer Clive Cussler in 1995 or shipwreck expert Dr. E. Lee Spence in 1970?

Read the truth about: The discovery of the Hunley

Wreck of the SS City of Vera Cruz

Lost in 1880, while carrying a large quantity of valuable jewelry, the wreck of the SS City of Vera Cruz is 13  miles off Cape Canaveral.

Read about the: Wreck of the SS City of Vera Cruz

How Long is too Long?

It took approximately 45 years from when I first discovered (and reported) the wrecks of the Georgiana and Mary Bowers for any official from the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology & Anthropology (SCIAA) to visit the wrecks. They are the State agency in charge of the shipwrecks. This site is important archaeologically and historically. I say their decades of delay was way too long to and smacks of chronic, serial incompetency.

See if you agree, read: How long is too long?

SS United States wrecked in 1881

The steamer United States was shipwrecked in the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Romain, South Carolina in 1881. Built in Connecticut in 1864, she was the finest ship constructed by one of America’s foremost shipyards. The shipwreck was discovered and identified by underwater archaeologist Dr. E. Lee Spence. In 2012, the Federal District Court ruled that Spence was the “true and exclusive owner of the abandoned wreckage.”

Read about her History & Discovery

SS Ozama sunk in 1894

The steamer SS Ozama was built in Scotland in 1881 and was shipwrecked on Cape Romain, South Carolina in 1894. The shipwreck was discovered by Dr. E. Lee Spence, who now owns the wreck under an order of the United States Federal District Court. 

Read about: Her Gun Running

Read about: Her loss on Cape Romain

Read about: Her discovery by Dr. E. Lee Spence

Wikipedia’s: History of the SS Ozama

Read: Today’s Shipwrecks™ [May]

Click on one of these days in May:
May 1, May 2, May 3, May 4, May 5, May 6,
May 7, May 8, May 9, May 10, May 11, May 12,
May 13, May 14, May 15, May 16, May 17, May 18,
May 19, May 20, May 21, May 22, May 23, May 24,
May 25, May 26, May 27, May 28, May 29, May 30, May 31
Note: Only underlined days are links and are only active as of the day shown. Be sure to check back, as we try to add more links each day.

Wreck of the blockade runner Georgiana

The Civil War steamer Georgiana was described in contemporary documents as the most powerful Confederate cruiser. The wreck was discovered in 1965 by Dr. E. Lee Spence, who salvaged over 1,000,000 individual artifacts from the wreck. The blockade runners Mary Bowers, Norseman, and Constance Decimer were all lost by running onto this wreck.

The Georgiana’s story

Georgiana Photo Galleries

Dr. E. Lee Spence,
Underwater Archaeologist

Internationally known shipwreck expert, Lee Spence, found his first shipwrecks at age twelve. He has since found hundreds of wrecks and worked on everything from Spanish galleons & pirate ships to blockade runners & Great Lakes freighters. He has been buried in cave-ins, tangled in fishing nets, pinned under wreckage, run out of air, lost inside a wreck and bitten by fish while pursuing his quests.

Dr. E. Lee Spence’s Adventures

Network with Dr. E. Lee Spence

Network and/or read about underwater archaeologist Dr. E. Lee Spence. He has been researching, discovering and writing about shipwrecks and sunken treasure for over fifty years. His shipwreck discoveries range from the H.L. Hunley (first submarine in history to sink an enemy ship) to Spanish galleons.

FacebookLinkedInPinterestTwitter

YahooGoogle ResultsGoogle Plus