Is Gary Drayton right? Is there 1715 treasure in the Indian River?

[Jolly Mon]

So I was watching an episode of Expedition Unknown and Gary Drayton was featured. He claims in the episode he has found 1715 fleet artifacts in the mangrove swamps of the Indian River lagoon system that apparently washed over during the original hurricane or possibly subsequent ones.

What do you knowledgeable locals say

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Never happened. I would also send folks into the swamp. Smarter than he looks!

 

[Jason in Enid]

ridiculous.

 

[Blak bart]

Shhhhhh...no ones sposed to know.

 

[Blak bart]

If you guys think there's no treasure on the riverside.....well you can just keep thinking that. Won't hurt any of the feelings of us that know better. You guys have not studied the lay out of the survivors camp or read the archie reports from the past. I can tell you that for long periods of time in the fall and winter you can't land a long boat on the shore ocean side. Imagine a 6-10 ored long boat trying to land on the beach in 6 ft. Surf. Remember the kings store house that was robbed by jennings......it was very close to the river not the beach. What about the water wells dug by the spanish ?? You guessed it closer to the river than the ocean. One is under the parking lot of the McLarty museum. Maybe the wreck didn't wash over the island but a tremendous amount of salvage activity happened on the river side. Most certainly long boats plied the riverside after entering the sebastion inlet. They would have used the river to load goods, treasure, survivors etc. The river was used extensively by the spanish during the salvage ops. Not to mention Indian tradeers and divers interacting with the spanish.....the river was then, what A1A is to us today. Coins have been found on the otheside of the river on the mainland that pre date the 1715 fleet. There are other wrecks on this coast that contained treasure and this area had seen seen shipwreck survivors for 100+ years before the 1715 event. So yes there is definitely 100% spots on the riverside that have treasure. Much of the good ground is protected but there are spots that can be hunted. People made great finds over the years on riverside properties. I believe the coins at bonsteel park show exactly what happens when you try to navigate an open boat on the ocean in heavy surf....you flip and lose the treasure again. The island is very thin at the salvage camp/muesum....the river is just a stones throw away from the dune crest !! How many times I've wanted to hunt the river in front of the museum....when i was in high school we would clam there and spanish pottery would come up in the clam rake.

 

[CaptEsteban]

Absolutely.

 

[Jason in Enid]

The argument isnt that there cant or isnt treasure "on the river side". Drayton was claiming the treasure was inland in a mangrove swamp.

 

[Flipperfla]

The mangroves are right across the street from the beach on the east side of the river, maybe 200 yards. Completely possible wreckage was washed over the barrier island. It’s posted.....off limits. 100% agree with Bart. The river was the main highway back then. Check out Shipyard Island and Turtle Mound, the original Haulover Canal in Mosquito Lagoon at the North end of the river. This was the last stop to prep for the turn to the East. There is a possibility of the unfound wrecks being off Canaveral, also off limits.
Here are some pix of the ruins of the original Haulover Canal, the seawalls are the entrance on the Indian River side.

 

[Doubter in MD]

Never happened. I would also send folks into the swamp. Smarter than he looks!

He'd almost have to be.

 

[ROBOTCOP13]

Gary asked how do you like that Bounty Hunter?

 

[PhipsFolly]

BlakBart is spot on with the exception of one point... there is a large wreck near Bonsteel with 1715 materials but it is much larger than a longboat! [emoji6]

 

[Flipperfla]

I think BB is referring to the longboat that was overloaded with salvaged treasure and attempted to reach St Augustine on the outside that capsized at Bonsteel. An other possibility where they were filming could have been the Saint Sebastian River to the west where wreckage was blown over to the mainland. If they had even a 10-15’ storm surge the barrier island would have been under and the mainland would have been hammered, the ships basically got hung up on the reef/barrier island instead of crashing into the mainland.

 

[Jolly Mon]

$24,000 question: am I going to get busted hookah diving from a small boat with a metal detector in the Indian River?

I know it's not in the lease areas but "technically" it is illegal.

 

[Slingshot]

Kip Wagner found 1715 items in the river many moons ago.

 

[Denniss]

$24,000 question: am I going to get busted hookah diving from a small boat with a metal detector in the Indian River?

I know it's not in the lease areas but "technically" it is illegal.

Just tell the marine patrol you lost your rolex when you were fishing. I've thought about snorkeling in the river roughly behind the museum. If asked tell them a lot of fishermen lose rings and watches

https://dos.myflorida.com/historical/archaeology/underwater/faq/

Q: I'm a diver who is interested in collecting artifacts from the riverout s; is this legal?
A: State public lands include the submerged river bottom. The removal of artifacts from State lands is prohibited by Section 267.13, Florida Statutes, punishable with fines and either a first degree misdemeanor or third degree felony, depending on the circumstances. If you have discovered a site while diving in Florida’s rivers, contact our office and we can provide you with information regarding the site or, with your help, record a new site.




I can't find it in videos of Marx's lectures but in one of his lectures he mentions his divers finding coins in the ponds behind the dunes around the museum. After two days they all got sick and didn't dive there anymore. That's the Indian River on the left. I've thought about one of those golf ball retriever dredges you toss out and retrieve. It's state park, good luck getting those mud crabs for bait

 

[Flipperfla]

Most of the river is only 2-3’ deep. I would be more concerned with getting run over buy a boat. Really high traffic area , maybe an early weekday morning. Other places your going to be dragging your boat across the flats. Most of the river is posted on the east side south of the State Park, developed on the west shore. On the outside the FWC is going to be on you in minutes. Upper end @ Mosquito Lagoon the Men in Black do a low level flyover everyday around 10:30 am. They even have live camera feeds from towers of the beach further south near Vero.

 

[sandmartin]

He'd almost have to be.


View attachment 1866284

Oi, leave him be, he's a fellow Englishman!

 

[ARC]

Most of the river is only 2-3’ deep. I would be more concerned with getting run over buy a boat. Really high traffic area , maybe an early weekday morning. Other places your going to be dragging your boat across the flats. Most of the river is posted on the east side south of the State Park, developed on the west shore. On the outside the FWC is going to be on you in minutes. Upper end @ Mosquito Lagoon the Men in Black do a low level flyover everyday around 10:30 am. They even have live camera feeds from towers of the beach further south near Vero.

There are many with vested interests who own houses and properties all along lease areas and who do not hesitate to drop a dime on ANY suspect activity.

Make no mistake when I state that the local people protect what is considered "theirs".

You stand out... you will get visited.

 

[ECS]

...and it won't be pretty!

 

[ARC]

...and it won't be pretty!

And they will get your little dog too my pretty !