1960

The story on the front page of the July 24 New York Times was headlined, "Archeologists' Eyes Glittering Over Treasure." Perhaps so, but for Duncan Matthewson the discovery of the hull and mother lode of Nuestra Seriora de Atocha was the culmination of an incredible odyssey begun in 1969. Atocha was the 550- ton flagship of a Spanish treasure fleet sunk in a hurricane in 1622. Her cargo is estimated to have a value in excess of $400 million.

But for Duncan, the discovery has special significance. As chief archeologist for Treasure Salvors, Inc., he is responsible for mapping and cataloging the site. Aside from the 47 tons of gold and silver known to be aboard, the real importance is the finding of "an enormous time capsule, as important as Pompeii or even King Tut's tomb." Buried under thousands of tons of sand, the Atocha may be intact. Built in Havanna in 1618, the ship was carrying passengers and their personal effects as well as the treasure. In addition, examination of the wreck will reveal the changes in shipbuilding techniques during the century after the Spanish Armada.

Duncan's work led to the discovery of the ship's anchor, several cannons, and three bars of silver in 1973. Since then the treasure hunters spent 12 years crisscrossing the waters 40 miles west of Key West, Fla. Their sensitive underwater metal detectors kept revealing a trail of "bread crumbs," but not the wreck itself. Here is a scoop on what the Times article did not reveal. Magnatometers revealed the location of hundreds of metallic objects, all of which were buried under the shifting sands of those shoal waters. Each had to be plotted and excavated. Some of these finds proved to be from the wreck, but none were of major significance. They revealed a pattern of scattered debris. What complicated the 12-year search was the fact that that area was an abandoned U.S. Navy practice bombing range! Hundreds of blips proved to be mostly hundreds of bombs. Try that one on for size, treasurehunting fans.

When the writer last spoke with Duncan in mid-July, we discussed the publication of his book on marine archeology. It is hoped it will be reviewed by this magazine in the near future. At this writing, Duncan is incommunicado. Treasure Salvors told me he is working almost full time on the wreck site where four boats and 30 divers are working from dawn to dusk mapping, photographing, and salivating over the largest treasure discovery ever reported. Hey, Dune, I know an amature underwater photographer who would love to shoot a few frames. . . .

Now back to the more mundane world in which the rest of us live. Bob Phillips left his position as president of Clairol to return to a larger challenge at Chesebrough-Pond's, where he assumed the title of executive vice president. Not a bad switch, Bob, and the commute is a lot easier from Stamford to Greenwich.

From "round the girdled world" we heard from Chuck Weingartner, who currently resides in Antwerp, Belgium, where he runs a manufacturing operation for Monsanto. His address is Horstabaan 181, Schotenzizo, Belguim. Chuck reports the skiing is far better in the Alps than in lowa. Ric Strehle surfaced long enough to say he dropped out of Wall Street about ten years ago, moved to London for a while, and currently is a vice president of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, West Germany, where he is an international fund manager. His P.S.: "I love living in Europe. " David Bond has left the beauty of Vancouver, 8.C., to return to Ottawa, Ontario. Apparently, Dave has left government service to serve as the newlyelected president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. Congratulations! His address is 373 Lauriel Avenue East, #506, (ZIP) KINBX6.

Carl Backus sent a smoke signal from Milwaukee, where he is a municipal attorney in private practice. In his spare time he roots for his two sons, age five and eight, who are budding hockey stars. Any chance they'll star for the Big Green, Carl? Earle Patterson left the grey flannel legal syndrome of Philadelphia in 1979. He dropped "up" to Kennebunk, Maine, where he set up a solo practice which has since grown to two partners, including Joe Carleton '67. Earle's oldest son is an air force officer while his middle son and daughter are attending Colby College. Like so many others, Earle says, "No regrets it was a good move."

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