Wreck with Gold Coins washing up on the beach.

[backitup83]

what ever happened here, did any one go out and search the site, even if it was dived on in the 1800's and salvadged,,,do you think they got everthing? Did this project just get deep six'd
M

 

[Darren in NC]

Actually, old man, Rgecy and I went out to the site and surveyed it with a mag. The coastline has receded quite a bit in this area and it was difficult to determine the best lines to run. We decided that more funding would be needed for a thorough survey down the road. Of course, "down the road" is here and economic challenges have prevented another visit. Perhaps one day. I did find a deadeye and Rgecy found a timber with spikes on the beach. Very interesting.

btw, there was another thread that followed this one, but I believe it was deleted at the request of Cornelius, a previous poster here on Tnet.

 

[backitup83]

I missed that thread too, i was following all this for a while and got busy with life for a bit and lost track,,,thank you for the info,it seems like there would still be stuff worth finding,
Mike Chesapeake va

 

[rgecy]

There are definitely some wrecks in the area, but an extensive survey is needed to find the actual wreck sites. As Darren stated, the shoreline has erroded quite a bit, and the shoreline back in the 1800's was probably several hundred yards out to sea.

I actually still hold a permit to survey this area fromt he VA Dept of Natural Resources.

Robert

 

[Salvor6]

This is a dead project. Four years old and still nothing.

 

[rgecy]

And your point?

 

[FISHEYE]

I know where a wreck is at Assateague island not far from the inlet.I found it in 1978 while surfing,I almost got impaled by one of the ribs sticking up out of the sand.

 

[rgecy]

Fisheye,

You always seem to amaze me! I think you have surfed every beach known to man, and then maybe a few more!

As for this project, it really never developed because of its location and none of the participants involved even live in that state.

Robert

 

[backitup83]

Where is the wreck, I'm thinking it must be on the eastern shore.. but not sure. Is is accsessible by land,no thats not a dumb question, is the beach it lays off off reachable by land or just by boat? Was it salvage only in the 1800's or has it been visited since then, if only in the 1800's there must still be goodies left scattered around... 4 years old in the grand scheme of things,is a drop in the bucket compared to how long some people looked for a treasure ship,,,im begining to think this wreck is in florida and not the barrier islands that we have,,that will stink,,,if so then its on to the next project,,
Michael ----- Chesapeake va

 

[FISHEYE]

Michael,

I got there by surfboard.Actually it was a prototype inflatable surfboard a friend made.He was with me on another board just like it.The waves were huge that day,like 8 feet from the back of the wave.I big storm was offshore.The tide was out so we chanced paddling across the inlet.It wasnt fun at all till we got to the island.The tide changed to incoming by the time we got there so the surf stayed big for about 3 hours.The wreck is right where the jetty meets the sand,there wasnt a jetty there when we were there.also around the corner in the river at the end of harbor rd,theres another wreck there.We saw timbers sticking up when we left the island,we decided to ride the incoming tide up the river to the OC skatepark.Go and check it out,send me a coin if you find anything.

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

tagged

Don Jose de La Mancha

 

[rgecy]

Defintely an area worth going to metal detect. Especially the North end of Cedar Island.

Robert

 

[backitup83]

Fisheye
thank you for the info, but I still dont know where the location is at,,,if its on the eastern shore off one of the barrier Islands, and there is a jetty------- i dont know much about the eastern shore. I do have natical maps with gps caps though,,,what do I need to look up on google earth to pin point the location,,,I didnt keep up with the post before because I got sick and went down pretty hard, took over a year to bounce back,,,acid reflux went into my lungs and did a number on me,,,,any how im still enterested in the wreck ---even if i cant get into the water right away there should still be effects moveing around on the beach and in and out with the tide,,, any help would be a great help...and yes i would send u a coin,,,,
Robert,,,where is Cedar island how close do you live,,,I live right on the VA/NC line, aaah i just looked, your in SC,,,but you have kept up with all the post?
Mike

 

[rgecy]

Mike,

Darren, Cornelius, Old Man and I put a project together to go after this possible wreck on Cedar Island. There is a lot more to the story than whats posted here, but none the less, there are definitely some old shipwrecks along the island. Several are even on the charts. The beach where the coins were washing up is on the North end.

Cedar Island is just to the North East of Wachapreague, VA. Barrier Island with no roads, only accessible by boat, and no one lives there (anymore). Here are a couple picts from the 2006 trip.

Robert

 

[slipscomb]

If there is any interest in this site, I live in West Point, Virginia. (just up the York River) I am a diver and a local and would be very interested in participating in any research or recovery efforts.

Sean

 

[cornelis 816]

Virginia Gold is a project that was started about three years ago ( if not longer ) .Since I live in Holland and am only three months of the year in Florida it is something I could not coordinate . I have asked R Gecy to take charge of the project . I think that he and Darren have done somthing sofar . Now let me give you my thoughts about this project : First of all let us illiminate alll the guys that were so interested in sharing the proceeds . ( which proceeds ? ) . It is an adventure and it will cost all of us some money . Don't go for investors because you will be signing a lot of documents that will eat up any gains ( if there are any ) or you will be sued because of some clauses in the contract that can be read two ways . Next thing is that if you have only time for a weekend to go out , don't start on this venture . You have to be able to spend at least two or three weeks on the job . Wit the economy the way it is it will be hard to stay away from your regular jobs for that long . So if you don't have the time to spend don't even think about this venture . The next thing is to get together a few times to get to know each other . Any venture will only work when you are friends , and you can trust each other . Do a lot of research and don't just go into diving some old wreck . I have been diving my wreck in Cedar Keys ( Florida ) by myself . Only when a couple of NICE people offered me any help I got taken for a ride . These people cannot show their faces in Florida anymore . So .... go out there and see what is laying there . Have a small group of only friends . Don't think about gold-coins to be found . Just think about a jolly good time you guys are going to have . Shoot a film of what you are doing . You may be able to sell that to a TV station . I would like to tell you guys about the proceed of my wreck at Cedar Keys but by doing that I would incriminate myself . I hope you guys can pull this off . Wit regards . Cornelius

 

[rgecy]

Cornelius,

At one point we had a survey permit. Me, Old Man, and Darren went up to do a survey, but found very little in the way of artifacts. The island has drastically eroded over the years and is constantly changing. As evident by the houses falling into the sea.

There are definitely some wrecks there, but my guess is that they lie further out than where initially thought. I would say the island has eroded a half mile inland or more.

An extensive surevy would need to be performed with Mag and Sidescan data.

The bottom is very muddy and visibility at the time was zero!

Hope that helps,

Robert

 

[slipscomb]

Thanks Cornelis for your insight into this project. I would have some time to devote to this as I am self employed and am not neccesarily needing compensation as this is well needed experience in the local ara that I want. It does seem that the shorelines of the Eastern Shore of Virginia have been beat back by incessant Hurricanes over the past few years making this Adventure all the more difficult. If anyone is going to be looking into this further, just let me know as I will be watching this Forum for further updates.

Sean

 

[cornelis 816]

If you guys want an adventure , go after it . I think you will be chasing the unknown . There may be a wreck and than , there may not be anything of value there ( and I am not speaking of gold here ! ) . As Robert tells us , the visability is next to nothing . The bottom is soft mud . What are we looking for ? I was so lucky in Cedar Keys because I swam into a wreck . Sandy bottom and not at great depth . How lucky can a guy get ? My advice in this case would be , if you have time on your hand , go explore a little . You may get lucky . But .... don't expect much . That way you will not be too disappointed . Cornelius

 

[Au_Dreamers]

hehe I knew what this wreck was the second I read the first post.

My old Md'ing buddy and I have been there a few times years ago. Early 90's probably.

We rented a boat from a local fish shop and violated the boundary lines. Little did they know we were carrying metal detectors in bags, but we had fishing gear in the open as decoys.

Heck now I believe we could have gotten free information if we had talked about it with the shop owner but we still we violating the boundaries.

So obviously we went from the bay side. We found a large piece of wreckage buried right near an inlet at the north end but determined it was too new for this wreck.

On a subsequent trip all alone I got the rental beached high and dry and if it wasn’t for a local and his girlfriend helping me haul that jon boat I would have been SOL. The reason you weren’t supposed to go out of the boundary was because if you weren’t back 30 minutes before he closed he sent out the CG.
Now I’m sure they would have found me before high tide but I would have never been able to rent there again.
Which at the time we had planned on returning as we were getting more serious about our treasure hunts.