Venezuelan wrecks

[Red_desert]

Interesting! I always wanted to go on a real hardcore treasure hunt like this, find some actual life-changing loot from centuries past, Indiana Jones style. We should create some sort of expedition club together - treasure hunters formed into a kind of crew, pirate rules, equal shares for all the loot we recover together. If the Venezuelan government, and perhaps soon Cuba too - or the whole of the Caribbean, suddenly "flips" - this could soon be the greatest time for treasure hunting in the Caribbean since the days immediately following the War of the Spanish Succession!

I say there is treasure on the island

 

[BennyV]

Looks like some of that red tape has been removed 😂. Might be time to revisit.

 

[Colombiapictures]

I say there is treasure on the island

Treasure is where you find it.

An expedition to Cubagua is not for the fainthearted. Mel Fisher told me he really was going to die, with the vultures circling in the skye above his head.
Our own expeditions were mostly plesant if you discount the pirates, the innumerous rattle snakes and scorpions on the desert like island.
In the water it was more pleasant. Attached is the picture of the pearl I found. So, yes there are still pearls in those waters. My daughter found about 200.

 

[Colombiapictures]

While we are in Venezuela, a fantastic place for shipwrecks are the Aves islands. Countless shipwrecks, not just the French fleet. On our first expedition in 1984,we were lucky to fall in with the game wardens. They showed us several passages through the reef, where to find the shipwrecks and the giant lobsters. Conch by the thousands.
Attached the onion bottle from the Aves, found among the wreckage of the French fleet.

 

[Red_desert]

Treasure is where you find it.

An expedition to Cubagua is not for the fainthearted. Mel Fisher told me he really was going to die, with the vultures circling in the skye above his head.
Our own expeditions were mostly plesant if you discount the pirates, the innumerous rattle snakes and scorpions on the desert like island.
In the water it was more pleasant. Attached is the picture of the pearl I found. So, yes there are still pearls in those waters. My daughter found about 200.

Years ago, I actually had contact with a treasure hunter, who was helping to coordinate an expedition. The Spanish document was lost in my old computer when it crashed (along with photos and satellite images). Still cannot remember the name of island, was between Brazil and Venezuela, had large rocks visible in photos along shoreline. According to the Spanish document the treasure divided and hidden in 2 separate caves. The smaller cave a flat rock they placed over cave opening.

 

[Red_desert]

In the water it was more pleasant. Attached is the picture of the pearl I found. So, yes there are still pearls in those waters. My daughter found about 200.

Looks like a nice rounded pearl

 

[Red_desert]

While we are in Venezuela, a fantastic place for shipwrecks are the Aves islands. Countless shipwrecks, not just the French fleet. On our first expedition in 1984,we were lucky to fall in with the game wardens. They showed us several passages through the reef, where to find the shipwrecks and the giant lobsters. Conch by the thousands.
Attached the onion bottle from the Aves, found among the wreckage of the French fleet.

Some of those old bottles are so neat

 

[Crow]

Years ago, I actually had contact with a treasure hunter, who was helping to coordinate an expedition. The Spanish document was lost in my old computer when it crashed (along with photos and satellite images). Still cannot remember the name of island, was between Brazil and Venezuela, had large rocks visible in photos along shoreline. According to the Spanish document the treasure divided and hidden in 2 separate caves. The smaller cave a flat rock they placed over cave opening.

Sounds strangely like another treasure island off the coast of Brazil. The treasure hunter was from Brazil?

Crow

 

[Red_desert]

Sounds strangely like another treasure island off the coast of Brazil. The treasure hunter was from Brazil?

Crow

Yes he was from Brazil and most likely could be the island. Leader of the expedition located a large cave but no time to explore it. Took 3-4 hours to hike in for this area. Another time they found in the forest a pit lined with white rock. Down in the center area some type of old equipment.

 

[Red_desert]

Yes he was from Brazil and most likely could be the island. Leader of the expedition located a large cave but no time to explore it. Took 3-4 hours to hike in for this area. Another time they found in the forest a pit lined with white rock. Down in the center area some type of old equipment.

The cave they used a gps to get there at the search area. Not sure about the white rock lined pit. Maybe this was a tip from the locals and supposed to be somewhere in that forest general area.

 

[simon zacarias]

Of course. If they was not they would be the no treasure hunters.

Archivo General de Indias (General Archive of the Indies - AGI), Seville, Spain: This is a primary source for documents related to Spanish colonial maritime activities, including fleet movements, losses, and cargo manifests across the Caribbean. Researchers have used these records to identify hurricanes and ship losses in the region from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Venezuelan National Archives and Cultural Institutions: Domestic records, research, and data are held by Venezuelan institutions such as the Instituto de Patrimonio Cultural (IPC). These archives contain local reports and findings from survey campaigns. Other Spanish Archives: Additional relevant historical documents can be found in Spain at the Archivo del Museo Naval (Archive of the Naval Museum) in Madrid and the Archivo General de Simancas.

Access to these documents often requires specialized historical and climatological research methods to interpret. Modern policy, often adhering to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001), focuses on the archaeological and historical value of shipwrecks rather than just treasure hunting. Documents generally remain the property of the respective governments (Spain, Venezuela, etc.), which dictate the terms of access and recovery.

Its getting harder to access these documents for the purpose of treasure hunting research.

Crow

You can get via Pares online to the archives. However the interface for searches is not so easy.