The Atocha

On September 4, 1622, twenty-eight ships sailed from Havana to the open sea. They were six-weeks behind schedule. By morning on September 5, the fleet encountered a massive hurricane. Twenty-two ships escaped disaster, but six went aground and broke up. Among the wrecks were the Spanish treasure galleons Santa Margarita and the Nuestra Senora de Atocha.  While the Santa Margarita was partially salvaged by the Cuban authorities, the bulk of her cargo and that of the Atocha soon lay at bottom of the sea. The great treasure of the Spanish government remained lost for 360 years. In May of 1980, salvager Mel Fisher and his team found the Santa Margarita. Five years later, they discovered the Atocha’s mother lode.

Ships’ manifests detailed much of the cargo in the ships’ holds. However, the contraband proved an exciting find for Fisher and his teams. The Atocha was rich in gold and silver bars, pieces of eight, Spanish coins, gold chains, jewelry, and Colombian emeralds. Imagine the thrill of salvaging this glittering piece of Spanish history. The estimated value of Fisher’s find was $450,000,000, making it one of the richest salvages in history.

I was privileged to view a portion of the Atocha’s wealth when Duncan and Boyd Jewelers hosted a showing of the treasures of the Atocha. Case after case of artifacts greeted patrons. I was astonished by the number of gold bars, pieces of eight, passengers’ jewelry, and pounds of silver for sale. The salvagers crafted reproductions of jewelry and artifacts from the salvaged silver. I purchased a cross, a mariner’s dolphin, and a dragon shaped toothpick along with Eugene Lyon’s book THE SEARCH FOR THE ATOCHA, and a copy of Captain Kathryn Budde-Jones’ booklet COINS OF THE LOST GALLEONS. But it was the emeralds that fascinated me. One of the divers slipped a mined emerald ring on my finger. I gulped when I saw the $7,000.00 price tag. It wasn’t even one of the best quality stones. One stone, a medium-sized, almost flawless, round cut was valued at $65,000.00.

After returning the ring to James, I continued to walk the displays. I played one of my favorite writer’s games. What if a ship from the Dutch East Indies fleet was pirated by a Spanish buccaneer? And what if the English attacked the pirate vessel? And what if all three ships sunk? And then, nearly three hundred years later, a young marine archeologist “happens” on all three wrecks. Among the treasures, the emerald encrusted lizard broach jeweler Juan Carlos de Gara presented to his fiancé before she sailed on the Dutch ship, Van der Mar. And what if, the broach was cursed?

I made one last visit to the emerald case. Beautiful! Not only had I held history, been offered an invitation to dive with the team, but I also had the plot for my third novel LEGENDS, LIES AND LIZARDS.

Cait Collins