lockdownking
Jr. Member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2013
- Messages
- 49
- Reaction score
- 51
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
- #1
Thread Owner
Back in 2009, I was sitting in South College, nose-deep in research that would send most people running the other way. I was looking for clues to clandestine grave sites, the kind of stuff most folks don’t even know exists. But for me, that was just the warm-up lap.
By 2012, the trail had shifted, and that’s when I discovered what I’m convinced is Trinite’s campsite. I’ve got it documented. I’ve even got notarized statements about where it is and how it ties in. But here’s the crazy part — to this day, I’ve never been back to uncover what might still be sitting under that sand.
The history is deep here. The Ais Indians were heavily involved in at least two shipwrecks I’ve researched — they didn’t “loot” them in the way people think today. They were hunter-gatherers; gold and jewels meant nothing to them. But they took what was useful, and in doing so, they became part of the story of these wrecks.
Thing is, my treasure hunting journey didn’t start in 2012. When I was 16 years old, I stumbled onto clues pointing to something right out of a World War II spy novel — a German mini-sub, possibly lying just off the east coast of Florida. I’m 58 now, and that possibility still gnaws at the back of my mind every time I’m near the ocean.
Over the years, I’ve gone through the full cycle of getting ready for the hunt not once, but twice. Recovered my boat and engine. Bought all brand-new scuba gear. Had everything lined up to get back out there… and then life decided to kick me in the teeth. I lost my job. Bills came first. I had to sell it all — the boat, the engine, the gear.
Meanwhile, two more huge clues to two more shipwrecks have surfaced during my searches. And here I am, stuck on the sidelines, staring down the very things that anyone else in this field would kill for.
This isn’t just a hobby for me — it’s a decades-long obsession. Every find, every clue, every document has been another page in a book I’ve been writing in my head since I was a teenager. But right now, I’m at a crossroads. Do I hang it up after all these years, or do I find a way to dive back in and finish what I started?
I don’t know if I’m posting this to vent, to find a partner, or just to put the story out there before it slips into the shadows for good. But if you know the itch — that pull to chase something buried in sand or hidden under saltwater — then you already understand why it’s so damn hard to walk away.
—Jim
By 2012, the trail had shifted, and that’s when I discovered what I’m convinced is Trinite’s campsite. I’ve got it documented. I’ve even got notarized statements about where it is and how it ties in. But here’s the crazy part — to this day, I’ve never been back to uncover what might still be sitting under that sand.
The history is deep here. The Ais Indians were heavily involved in at least two shipwrecks I’ve researched — they didn’t “loot” them in the way people think today. They were hunter-gatherers; gold and jewels meant nothing to them. But they took what was useful, and in doing so, they became part of the story of these wrecks.
Thing is, my treasure hunting journey didn’t start in 2012. When I was 16 years old, I stumbled onto clues pointing to something right out of a World War II spy novel — a German mini-sub, possibly lying just off the east coast of Florida. I’m 58 now, and that possibility still gnaws at the back of my mind every time I’m near the ocean.
Over the years, I’ve gone through the full cycle of getting ready for the hunt not once, but twice. Recovered my boat and engine. Bought all brand-new scuba gear. Had everything lined up to get back out there… and then life decided to kick me in the teeth. I lost my job. Bills came first. I had to sell it all — the boat, the engine, the gear.
Meanwhile, two more huge clues to two more shipwrecks have surfaced during my searches. And here I am, stuck on the sidelines, staring down the very things that anyone else in this field would kill for.
This isn’t just a hobby for me — it’s a decades-long obsession. Every find, every clue, every document has been another page in a book I’ve been writing in my head since I was a teenager. But right now, I’m at a crossroads. Do I hang it up after all these years, or do I find a way to dive back in and finish what I started?
I don’t know if I’m posting this to vent, to find a partner, or just to put the story out there before it slips into the shadows for good. But if you know the itch — that pull to chase something buried in sand or hidden under saltwater — then you already understand why it’s so damn hard to walk away.
—Jim
