Are there any known shipwrecks of value off the coast of Louisiana

kasparov747

Jr. Member
Apr 21, 2008
45
1
Hi all,
Just curious if anyone knows of any shipwrecks containing any gold or other valuables off the Louisiana coast and in relatively shallow water? I have a friend who lives down there and has asked me this recently? He has an interest in possibly searching and salvaging one if at all possible? He knows this takes a lot of money but he has enough to give it a go after he does his research and gets his ducks in order so to speak. I told him I would assist in any way I could. Any information would be appreciated and hope you all have a great day.. Happy Hunting..
 

Darren in NC

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Apr 1, 2004
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Hello kasparov,

Ignore the above post.

I grew up in south Louisiana. There are many stories of lost treasure off the coast - especially regarding Jean Lafitte. But there's more. Check out what's already been found...

http://shipwrecks.ws/ss_NewYork_Shipwreck.htm

There's more out there. Especially pay attention and research inland steamboat wrecks along the Mississippi River. With the advancement of sub-bottom profiling, finding wrecks is becoming easier than before.

All the best to you,
Darren
 

LM

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Dec 11, 2007
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I don't know for certain, but you can pretty safely assume that any area that was historically a major port is going to have shipwrecks- the more significant the port, the more shipwrecks, the older the port, the older the shipwrecks.

I would imagine that Coastal Louisiana would have some fascinating wrecks given the historic importance of New Orleans as a port. Treasure Ships were all around the gulf during the day.
 

cornelis 816

Sr. Member
Sep 3, 2010
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Darren . Why don.t you show Kasparof where the wrecks , are loaded with gold and other treasure . That is what he asked for . Cornelius
 

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kasparov747

Jr. Member
Apr 21, 2008
45
1
Thanks Darren and Morgan. And I did ignore Cornelius as he must have a cob up his arss. And no Cornuelius I did not ask to be shown where anything was I asked whether if there were any known wrecks. I wouldnt expect anybody to tell me where any shipwreck with gold on it would be if they knew for certain. Just asking to be pointed in the right direction. So guys thanks for your help and have a great day..
 

ivan salis

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yep theres lots of valuible wrecks off lousiana --now to find out exactly where their at -- now thats gonna cost ya ;D :wink: :icon_thumright:

good research info is worth it weight in gold-- however in the treasure hunting world some folks think you should just give your "hard earned research knowledge away for free" --thats what gets folks like corny ticked off -- the fact that folks do not want to "pay for your researching knowledge"--- folks pay doctors and lawyers for their "knowledge" all the time but they do not want to pay for shipwreck research for some reason) , know this -- knowledge is power -- good research cuts way down on "blind searching" for treasure -- thus you spend much less time and money on hunting "empty waters" and more time in what is likely to be highly productive treasure filled areas :wink: ;D :icon_thumright:
 

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kasparov747

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Apr 21, 2008
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i agree that knowledge is power and i would never expect someone to just give up their hard earned information. anything worth having has to be earned. maybe cornelius thought i was just expecting everyone to tell me all that they know and i definitely didnt expect or want that so its all good. thanks guys and have a great day..
 

ivan salis

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I of course understand you were just "general info quizzing" as in --do you guys think its worth while to look in louisana waters or not ? -- my answer is --most likely it is * since in the old days of the treasure fleets --spanish sailors used "dead reckoning" sailing running along the coast lines just within visual range of the shore --hugging the coastline all the way from south america up to mexico and from there running the gulf coast area toward the floridas keys and then crossing over to cubaand repairing and restoring in cuba before heading up floridas east coast and turning homeward for spain --they while using "dead reckoning " used known landmarks and river outlets to navigate by *---often times rapidly striking strong storms and hurricanes often trapped these ships while they were close by shore--- shoving them into the shallow coastal waters and bottom bouncing their hulls until their hulls burst apart or running them unto reefs which slit their hulls wide open.
 

cornelis 816

Sr. Member
Sep 3, 2010
466
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kasparov747 said:
Hi all,
Just curious if anyone knows of any shipwrecks containing any gold or other valuables off the Louisiana coast and in relatively shallow water? I have a friend who lives down there and has asked me this recently? He has an interest in possibly searching and salvaging one if at all possible? He knows this takes a lot of money but he has enough to give it a go after he does his research and gets his ducks in order so to speak. I told him I would assist in any way I could. Any information would be appreciated and hope you all have a great day.. Happy Hunting..

Maybe I don't know how to read but I got it that the question was where there were any shipwrecks containing gold or other valuables in relatively shallow water . In my book that is asking for a location . So my answer was .. are you kidding us for asking that question ,, . If any of you guys knew a location would you give that away ? Cornelius
 

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kasparov747

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Apr 21, 2008
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cornelius i wasnt asking that. maybe it came across that way to you but no. im definitely not stupid enough to ask anyone if they know exactly whree one is just wanted to know if there were any known wrecks that may have been documented or such so hope no hard feelings dude. i do a lot of inland metal detecting and wouldnt give any of my great locations away and wouldnt expect anyone else to do the same. have a great day..
 

GOHO

Sr. Member
Apr 13, 2008
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Working off the coast of Louisiana would be very challenging... The water is very muddy (all the time) and there are 1000's of oil rigs. I have seen maps of the pipelines from the rigs and they run in all direction for miles. There is so much modern debris on the bottom that finding a wreck would be difficult but if you had a location from maybe a shrimp boat that caught artifacts in their net then it might be fiesable.

I've heard of a couple ships that were found with coins way up in the bayous that got thrown there by a hurricane so maybe that would be the best place to look.
 

OldSowBreath

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Mar 18, 2009
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Two Spanish ships with gold and silver, primarily silver, went down after a hurricane. They were separated, and one supposedly is off of Galveston, the other off the coast of Louisiana. I believe the year was 1766. Both locations are known, and Louisiana State University did a survey of the Louisiana wreck, Texas A & M knows the location of the one off Galveston and of course, is not disclosing its location. I think the Louisiana one is South of Cameron or Creole, LA. Have to look at a map.
 

Trembull

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Jul 24, 2010
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kasparov747

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Apr 21, 2008
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Guys thanks for all the responses. I live in North Carolina and we have a lot of shipwrecks off of our coast. Hope to get to the beach this summer to do a little detecting. Going this weekend to a friends who owns quite a bit of land in the mountains where there was a civil war camp and also a route where a lot of civil war troops and supplies went through. Would be nice to locate some civil war relics as they can go for a lot of money for the right items. And any silver would be nice as silver is almost at 40 dollars per ounce. I do hope to be able to travel down to my firends in Louisiana some time next year and go with him on a treasure hunt. Would be nice in my old age to tell the grandkids that I actually hunted for pirate or shipwreck treasure, but better yet it would be better to tell them that I actually found some treasure. Thanks again and hope you all have a great day..
 

Darren in NC

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kasparov, if you're ever in the Raleigh area, send me a private message or email and we'll go detect some hot spots here. :icon_thumleft:
 

RELICDUDE07

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Oct 2, 2007
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Study this map good before the trip, and look on the back side of the islands right of the coast.A lot going on in this area, many killed & the story never told in the 1500s & 1600s ...It was on the Spanish treasure fleets gulf stream voyage/journey.... Good luck in the muddy water - many artifacts to be found.... Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi [i.e. Mississippi]: dressée sur un grand nombre de mémoires entrautres sur ceux de Mr. le Maire / par Guillaume Del'isle del Academie R'le. des Sciences........ copy & paste this . I wasn't able to post the map?Gov. Map ??? ::)
 

ivan salis

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oui, the french archives have some very interesting bits of information * the french and dutch pirates (as well as english ones as well) hit the spanish treasure fleets heavily --the french pirates operated a lot in the gulf area. --around louisana / texas area
 

Scar

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Dec 25, 2010
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Kasparov, I am a lifelong resident of Louisiana. The shallow waters off the coast, as others have said, is muddy and has been cut up with pipelines that have been buried. Everything would have to be done by feeling your way around. I think your best bet on finding something would be inland on some of the smaller rivers like the Mermentau, Calcasieu, Sabine or Pearl. These small rivers would have been good places to ride a hurricane. A direct hit from a hurricane on one of these rivers say even 25 to 50 miles inland could be very bad news and I am sure many ships were lost.
 

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