Trinite Shipwreck

[VOC]

Trinité Shipwreck Awarded to France

By The Record, Jun 29, 2018 at 9:34 PM


The wreck of a ship with historical relevance to St. Augustine has been awarded to France.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum noted in a release Friday that U.S. Magistrate Judge Karla Spaulding ruled in favor of France in a case involving the underwater wreck of French explorer Jean Ribault’s flagship, Trinité.

Under the Federal Sunken Military Craft Act, the court ruled that the country of France owned the wreck and any items located within it.
Essentially this ruling allows excavation of the wreck to be organized by the state of Florida, in cooperation with the French.

The ruling specifically allowed the work to begin immediately.
Scientists from the St. Augustine Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program hope to be part of a team of scientists who will conserve the objects.

“This is St. Augustine’s founding story, the clash between European powers on the First Coast, and this shipwreck is the most significant found in Florida waters,” said Kathy Fleming, executive director of the Lighthouse museum, in a news release.

According to the Lighthouse museum, Ribault’s arrival in the New World was a direct threat to the Spanish push for exploration and colonization. A French colony at Fort Caroline represented a Protestant settlement poised to challenge a Catholic and Spanish settlement in the New World.

King Philip of Spain encouraged Pedro Menendez to deal with the French colony in the harshest terms. When Ribault and Menendez arrived together at the site of Fort Caroline in 1565, a battle ensued that ended with the founding of St. Augustine and the destruction of Ribault’s ships, which were swept south by a hurricane.

He did not have time to unload, so evidence of the settlement is expected to be prevalent at the wreck site.

With Ribault and his fleet wiped out, the Spanish attacked the French settlement at Fort Caroline and ended any hopes of French colonization along Florida’s coast. Spain would maintain control over Florida for almost another 200 years.

Professional treasure hunting outfit Global Marine Exploration discovered the wreck but has been blocked from claiming salvage rights, thanks to maritime law that requires warships found in U.S.
waters to be the property of the foreign government, according to a report from NewHistorian.

Trinité shipwreck awarded to France - News - The St. Augustine Record - St. Augustine, FL

 

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[Jolly Mon]

The rev!sed SMCA !s a real Ball-Buster.

 

[huntsman53]

Once again, the State of Florida, the Courts and the supposed Country of the ship's origin screw another Salvage Company. This ruling and others just like it, make it more probable that secretive raping of shipwrecks will become more rampant. Salvors will definitely have to rethink strategies to survive and rethink working with any State and/or Country that has a history of screwing them.

It is past the time, when Salvors, other Salvage entities and those with interests should unite and campaign to vote out the Politicians and to purge the Bureaucracy and the Employees (people) that continually work against Salvors and other Salvage interests and bend over backwards to ensure that a shipwreck and it's cargo are awarded to the Country that in all definition and reasoning, abandoned the same long ago. Not only do Salvors and other Salvage interests suffer from such actions but also the Public and the United States as a whole suffer as well.

 

[ARC]

Lame... and I hope a hurricane washes it out to sea.

 

[ARC]

I hope anyone who reads this will boycott ANY and ALL museums that "feature" finds found by someone else and have been taken by any other entity without compensations.
And I hope those who can see this will pass these words on to anyone who will listen as to open peoples eyes to the truth about the museum money making game derived from theft and credit plagiarism of a discoverers hard work, perseverance, risks and financial investments.

 

[ARC]

It makes me sick to think that the fruits of honest hard work will be eaten by all those EXCEPT those who found it.

 

[Au_Dreamers]

Under the Federal Sunken Military Craft Act, the court ruled that the country of France owned the wreck and any items located within it.

BAH-HAHAHAHA!

**I was hoping the humor wouldn't be misconstrued as a slam against GME.**

Also I think the author wrote truth in that "France owned". Freudian slip?

 

[Bum Luck]

Years ago, I met Duncan Mathewson, Mel Fischer's archaeologist. He fired my interest up,and I'm sure thousands more.

Mel has finished the job on countless thousands that have passed through his museum.

A huge part of the story of treasure is the hunt for it.

what's the theme in the museum? The wreck was found and we took it from the finders in court?

Shame.

 

[ivan salis]

basically france claimed that since the ship was on a mission to attack the Spanish at St Augustine --it was a "military vessel" at the time rather than a colony resupply vessel like it was when it left france earlier headed to fort caroline near modern day Jacksonville (mayport area) ...and under the federal sunken military craft act they won the case easily … that's why the exact cords of a wreck site should never be revealed until after who it belongs to is established ---if the finder is not the keeper --fine --then let the "owner" find it or pay the finder to reveal the location --no free lunches

 

[Goldfinger450]

Hmm, Maybe a NEW LAW would be in order, such AS: Finders of wrecks OWN them if over 20 years old. On the other Hand, the Leftists are trying to Start a Civil WAR in the USA Right Now, if that happens, Criminal Politicians who TAKE these ships from the finders will Be HUNTED Down and You know......

Personally I would NEVER give up a valuable find and would secretly remove all valuable objects from said wreck . F@ck'em.

 

[ivan salis]

I think that if ownership of a found vessel is applied for --if its not awarded to the "finder" of the vessel who put in all the work and effort , that at the very least ---that none of the information should have to be revealed as to its possible location to anyone ever …. if the "owner" wants to know where their ship is they should have to pay the finder who spent the money , time and effort to find it a "finders fee" ,,,, so that the finder can recover his money spent to find it ( at least break even fiscally) --if not let the "owner" find it for themselves ----no free lunches is my point of view....

I think of the knowledge of a shipwrecks location as "intellectual property" ,,,you know what others do not .. thus it has value ...why should you be forced to hand over your knowledge without any payment for said knowledge ? ….you can not FORCE a college professor to tell about what he knows without payment can you?..... a education cost money doesn't it ?