Cayman Island shipwreck

[Goldminer]

Years ago, I had a map showing a shipwreck on the south side of Grand Cayman. Lost it over time. Does anyone know of such a map?

 

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[Salvor6]

When I was down in the Cayman's with Winston McDermont and Sam McCoy we searched for that wreck but found nothing. I think Winston has a copy of that map. Contact Brac Reef Resort to find Winston.

 

[TreasureCDave]

I lived there for many years and all the areas accessible to diving have been scoured. The wall surrounds most all of the island and some spots drop off to uncharted depths just a few hundred yards off shore. Who knows what wrecks may lie at those depths

 

[ropesfish]

Capt. Kym Ferrell told me moments ago over tasty(?) breakfast burritos that Roy Volker went down to Grand Cayman in the mid-60's and salvaged several wrecks off the Caymans until he was shown the door by the government. He also mentioned that Roy wrote about it in one of his first two books. I can only think of two: "Treasure under your feet " published in 1974 and In the wake of the Golden Galleons " (1976). Kym worked for/with Roy back in the 1980's and made that big find of 900 silver coins in 1988.
I haven't talked to her in a few months, but Karen McKee lives on Grand Cayman and her father, Art, salvaged down there as well. If you really, really want to know, she sometimes works as a paid researcher.
<Brief related Captain Kym story - On the way down to Cayman, Roy found a sandbar and ran aground on the west end of Cuba, but managed to refloat and get out of there before the Cuban gunboats found them. We think he was aboard the Virgilona, before he sold it to Mel.>
That's all I know and/or suspect. Good luck.

 

[ropesfish]

I lived there for many years and all the areas accessible to diving have been scoured. The wall surrounds most all of the island and some spots drop off to uncharted depths just a few hundred yards off shore. Who knows what wrecks may lie at those depths

As Dave said, it gets deep fast when you get offshore:

 

[TreasureCDave]

Capt. Kym Ferrell told me moments ago over tasty(?) breakfast burritos that Roy Volker went down to Grand Cayman in the mid-60's and salvaged several wrecks off the Caymans until he was shown the door by the government. He also mentioned that Roy wrote about it in one of his first two books. I can only think of two: "Treasure under your feet " published in 1974 and In the wake of the Golden Galleons " (1976). Kym worked for/with Roy back in the 1980's and made that big find of 900 silver coins in 1988.
I haven't talked to her in a few months, but Karen McKee lives on Grand Cayman and her father, Art, salvaged down there as well. If you really, really want to know, she sometimes works as a paid researcher.
<Brief related Captain Kym story - On the way down to Cayman, Roy found a sandbar and ran aground on the west end of Cuba, but managed to refloat and get out of there before the Cuban gunboats found them. We think he was aboard the Virgilona, before he sold it to Mel.>
That's all I know and/or suspect. Good luck.

I may be wrong, but I believe that was the wreck of the ten sails, 10 British ships that were lost in a hurricane at East End. There was really no "treasure" to be found, except for the fact that it is the reason the Cayman Islands are tax free

He did find something 25 miles off the coast of Cuba.

There have been treasure found many, many miles from Grand Cayman, found through the reports of fisherman working shoals off Jamaica and such, but nothing in the South Side (that I am aware of). I have found much fire coral on that side .... the hard way

Nice depth charts Bill, shows you how easy it is to get to 120 ft. wall dive from shore. Try that in Florida!

 

[ropesfish]

In the second book I pulled off the shelf I found that according to Bob Marx inTreasure Lost at Sea (2003) pp 56-57: "More than 325 documented ships sank around the Cayman Islands, which were in the path of sailing vessels plying between Cuba, the last stop before setting out on the open ocean for Europe, and the Spanish Main. Over the years, amateur and professional divers have discovered a substantial amount of sunken treasure in the Caymans."
He goes on to recount the story of a couple from Georgia that found a 13 foot gold chain, a gold cross covered with diamonds in waist deep water while snorkeling off the beach in front of the Holiday Inn Hotel (owned by Herbo Humphreys at one time). They went on to recover "a large bar of platinum dated 1521, seven bars of silver, many pieces of silver jewelry and a cache of more than 300 lbs of gold objects..." This was determined to be the Santiago, lost in 1522 under the command of Ponce de Leon's brother, Rodrigo. Marx goes on to say "The Georgia couple sold most of the treasure which they had smuggled off the island."
So...plenty of shipwrecks, plenty of treasures lost over the centuries. As with our efforts on the 1715 Fleet it remains to be seen how much is left and where the Hell it's at.

From - http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/wreck-of-the-ten-sail
Wreck of the Ten Sails:

On the evening of February 7, 1794, a convoy of ten British ships en route from Jamaica met disaster on the treacherous reefs of Grand Cayman. The Royal Navy frigate HMS Convert led a group of nine merchant ships, six of which were bound for England, three for the United States. The Convert’s captain, John Lawford, went to bed on that evening believing he had already safely passed by Grand Cayman. Unbeknownst to Captain Lawford, during the night six ships in his convoy sailed ahead of the Convert on a course which sent them directly towards the Cayman reefs. At 3:00 AM, one of the ships fired a distress signal and Lawford returned to the deck to discover that his own ship was now bearing down on the reef as well. As Lawford attempted to change course another ship in the convoy collided with the Convert driving both vessels onto the reef where they quickly foundered.
All ten ships in the convoy ultimately wrecked on the reef. As the passengers and crew struggled to survive amid the breaking waves, island residents from the East End and Boddentown, having heard the ships’ distress signals, paddled out to the reefs in canoes to attempt a rescue. In the darkness and pounding surf, the Caymanians saved 450 of the stranded souls. Amazingly, only six people lost their lives in the disaster.
The heroism of the Caymanians in rescuing the English sailors and passengers fueled a legend that lingers to this day. The story goes that one of the passengers rescued from the wrecked ships was a son of King George III. When the King learned of the island residents’ bravery, he decided to reward them by decreeing that the Cayman Islands would forever be free of taxation and war conscription. However, there is no record that any member of the royal family was on one of the ships or that the King ever issued such a decree. Yet the legend is commonly repeated to explain the island’s unique financial status.
In 1994, on the 200th anniversary of the disaster, Queen Elizabeth II visited the island’s East End and dedicated a memorial to the six victims. On a cliff with a view looking out to the reef where the ships wrecked, a stone monument and plaque commemorate the event. Perched along the cliff adjacent to the monument are six small concrete blocks representing the unfortunate few souls the Caymanians were unable to rescue.
also: http://www.missedinhistory.com/blogs/missed-in-history-the-wreck-of-the-ten-sail.htm

 

[Goldminer]

OK, let me say thanks to you guys, nice try. I stayed with Winston and Sammy many times on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, also was personal friend with Art. I know Karen and her mother well. Winston and I found a shipwreck off the cemetery wall on the Brac in 75 feet of water. (gov't shut us down) Roy found coins in the water at that spot,but never found the wreck. He told me that his mag was not working properly at the time. Winston and I also found a wreck on the east end of Little Cayman that was carrying the press and templates for the coins that would be the first stamped silver coins that were later lost in the 1733 fleet. (also what we found on Little Cayman, I will never talk of)
I am sure the Ten Sail fleet is not what I am seeking, I know where those wrecks are.

 

[TreasureCDave]

Goldminer, you been there, done that

To be clear, my perspective was only about Grand Cayman Island, specifically south side as the OP inquired.

In over 600+ plus dives on THAT island, I never found evidence of ballast pile or any shipwreck related signs. Only the modern man made wrecks that were mainly for the tourists (boring)

Would love to hear some of your stories about Little Cayman and Brac diving. My first 5 years in G.C. were in the 80's and those 2 islands were not heavily dived on. I just heard stories of having to get the goats off the runways in order for the prop plane to land.

Is it true Roy found treasure on a deserted island between the smaller Cayman Islands and Cuba (if you know)

Thanks for sharing! -Dave

 

[Goldminer]

Dave,
Rumors abound about an area between Cuba and the islands. Winston mentioned something years ago about a ballast pile seen on a small reef in that area, but no island. Roy did not mention that to me. He did pick up coins at the site that I mentioned off the cemetery wall on the Brac. This story was told to me by the person involved with the coins. The hurricane that hit the area in the 1930's removed a lot of sand from the beach area on the north side of the Brac. While some children were jumping and sliding down the exposed sand area, a "box" was exposed. In the box were round black "stones" that some of the kids skipped into the water.(coins Roy found) Winston's aunt decided to take some of the objects home to her father. He identified them as Spanish coins, went to the site and recovered about 2000 silver coins.

 

[The Rebel]

Wow! Awesome thread!