The
Mel Fisher Story
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Four children were born to Mel and
Dolores Fisher, sons Dirk, Kim and Kane, and daughter Taffi. A Fisher enterprise
has always been a "family' activity. At one time, relatives of both Mel and Deo
helped cut out and assemble early "wet suits" for diving. This was yet another
of Mel Fisher's pioneering underwater activities. Mel personally continued to
develop various types of spear guns, including gas guns, underwater cameras, and
other underwater equipment. In company with other multi-talented divers, the
Fishers explored the California coast for shipwrecks, and ultimately completed
several exciting treasure
hunting expeditions into the
Caribbean. Discoveries from these adventures were limited. But each one gave
unique training to Mel, Deo, and others of the team that ultimately found the
Atocha. Only the future will identify the grandest finds by Mel and his crews.
But the world knows best of his most challenging single treasure hunt:
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the quest for the Atocha "Mother
Lode." In 1963, returning from the Caribbean through Florida, Mel had a water
shed meeting with a treasure hunter named Kip Wagner. Wagner and his group of
"weekend warriors" had been attempting to salvage remains of wrecks of the 1715
Spanish Plate Fleet lost off Florida's East Coast. Illequipped, with his crew
unable to devote fulltime to the project, Wagner invited Mel to join him on a
50-50 basis.
Mel and Deo returned to California.
The mail and bills delivered during their expedition made quite a pile. Mel
asked Deo if she'd rather deal with the pile of paper or go treasure hunting.
She opted for treasure hunting and their greatest odyssey began.
Most of the group moved east in a highway caravan. They found that diving on the
1715 Fleet shipwrecks was as difficult as any diving they had ever done. These
doomed ships had been wrecked very close to shore where the water was murkiest.
Visibility was often zero.
Mel Fisher Story ->
