At the risk of sounding ignorant...

[Brett in Ga]

Hello everyone. I am a brand new really new newbie in all this-as new as they come. Im familiar with metal detecting as I have a Garrett that finds me some pretty neat things, and I am familiar with digging bottles in old dump sites. I live in the south, very small town-not too many treasure seekers here. Ive been reading all your diving posts and I need some advice from you more seasoned seekers. There are several rivers here in my town with lots of history. WE have come across some shipwrecks in the river and I dont know how old they are. When the river is low, you can see them-bardges and such. I am almost positive no one has ever hunted them or even around them. IM sure in the region someone dives into the rivers, but not for treasure here. WHat do I need to do? I live in Ga and I dont know the salvage laws here about sunken ships in rivers and there cargo. I dont want my ignorance to cost me finding a valuable treasure. Here we mostly have old farmers who dont think twice about what they call "junk" in the river. PLEASE HELP!!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Several problems though-aligators love the river and some pretty aggressive moccasins will literally chase you. ????????????????????

 

[bunn leonard]

well i live in va. if the river is part of a battlefield its against the law, alligators and sharks i have a bang stick shoots a 357 magnum, i also have a hookah system by airline j. sink, i use a minelab excalibur for detecting. if it were me i would detect it and not think twice. good luck.!

 

[Brett in Ga]

Anyone ever dive any Ga rivers??? Has anyone ever heard of discovered shipwrecks in rivers carrying gold, silver or other precious cargo? I need to talk to some one who is experienced in this field. We have come across some wrecks that we're almost positive have not been searched, but do not know laws on salvage etc.. and dont have proper equipment. Also, dont want to waste my time searching for something thats not even there. Thanks

 

[thinkin2]

Brett, are you a certified diver? If not, the first thing you want to do is contact a good dive school and get certified. After that, you might want to get some training in specialized areas, in your case, wreck diving. These schools will take some time and money but well worth it. Don't worry so much about the alligators and snakes for now, diving without proper training is much more deadly. I don't mean to turn you off because it is lots of fun but proper training is necessary. If you're already certified then get some more training in wreck diving. Then team up with people as qualified as you and go for it. Best of luck.
Jerry

 

[Tagamet]

[quote Brett in Ga]Anyone ever dive any Ga rivers??? Has anyone ever heard of discovered shipwrecks in rivers carrying gold, silver or other precious cargo? I need to talk to some one who is experienced in this field. We have come across some wrecks that we're almost positive have not been searched, but do not know laws on salvage etc.. and dont have proper equipment. Also, dont want to waste my time searching for something thats not even there. Thanks[/quote]

I'm pretty sure I'd just start at the library. You can start by researching the state laws related to recovering lost or abandoned property. Then, if it checks out, (which I suspect it will) STAY at the library and research that stretch of river's history. Old newspapers is where I'd start.
HTH,
Tagamet

 

[Mike Monster]

Brett;
The water tempearture is the key to the activity of the gators and snakes. You should have 2 guys with shotguns standing guard. The first thing to do is identify the wreck if possible. Florida has a new "isolated finds' law but don't know about Georgia. Like moray's a gator will make the structure his home. Gators are most agressive during mating season which is May and early June.
I'd forget about a bang stick unless the water is very clear he'll have you before you see him. I'd consider putting a bait out to draw them away from you.
If the wreck has potential privatley e-mail folks you like to bring in as partners. Those with experience and equipment that can keep quiet.

 

[Macaco]

My best advice is: Don't get caught!

Diving the wrecks is no problem. Taking stuff off them probably is. Don't get caught holding is all I'm sayin.

If you try to apply for a permit to salvage a wreck the state is either going to just tell you 'NO' or they're going to give you a bazillion pages of paperwork to fill out and when you turn that in they're going to give you a bazillion more pages to fill out then when you turn that in they're going to require you to have an EPA study conducted (at your expense. Figure fifty large minimum) which will take a couple years....then the state will wait a year or two and then they'll probably tell you........'NO'!

You'll need a "maritime" lawyer for the paper work and negotiations. Figure in fifty or a hundred large for that side of it either way.

Let's say you jump through all the bureaucratic hoops just right and the state does issue you salvage rights. Woohoooooo! Well maybe. If you do get salvage rights you will esentially "own" the wreck. You will assume all liablity for any nasty stuff the wreck does. Somebody runs aground on it at low tide?......well.....get ready to pay your lawyer a bunch more money. Let's say your wreck is an old steamer and there's a thousand gallons of bunker oil in a metal bulkhead on it. Let's say you get salvage rights and the next day the bulkhead finally rusts through and dumps the oil into the river.....the Coast Guard will trace the oil to the source (they're good at that).....guess who's on the hook for the million dollar cleanup and the million dollar EPA fine......that's right....the guy who "owns" the wreck by having salvage rights.

So what you need to do is form a corporation to try to shield yourself from some of the liability. You'll need another lawyer to do that. Your "maritime" lawyer who did the permit work won't be the right lawyer to do your incorporation/limited liability stuff. Figure in another fifty large. Then you'll need a huge bond and some really expensive insurance. Figure in another fifty to a hundred BIG ones.

The corporation will handle all the investor money so you'll need an accountant too. Investor money? Unless you can pay for all of this out of pocket you're going to need investors. You can look forward to all of them calling you every week asking if you've found anything.

About this time you need to be asking yourself if your potential gain from the salvaged "treasure" will be enough to cover the costs you've incurred, reimburse the investors (with interest) AND if the gain over and above that is worth all the hassle, stress and all the time you will have lost. You should also ask yourself if you're ever going to be able to actually have any fun diving the wreck while constantly stressing because all you've found after six months or a year is a dozen port holes, some deadeyes, a few whisky bottles and some brass spikes.

I'm just sayin.......

 

[Goldringer]

Where are you in GA? I spend several months a year near Bainbridge in South W. GA.