Treasure Chasers

The Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha wrecked on the Florida Reef on September 6, 1622, after being caught in a hurricane. It was one of eight ships of the Tierra Firme fleet lost that day, in what was one of the worst tragedies of the Spanish maritime empire. The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum commissioned artist and model-maker Dan O’Neill to recreate the moment the Atocha struck the reef and began to sink. Utilizing the available historical and archaeological information, O’Neill crafted a model that captures the fateful moment with all its dread and horror. It is not your typical ship model! The model is on display at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Mel Fisher’s Treasures and the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum have joined together to initiate a project that will allow all Mel Fisher Lifetime Achievement Award winners’ handprints to be displayed in one central location, the Mel Fisher Museum Courtyard. The Mel Fisher Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to a person who has shown incredible perseverance in accomplishing a life-long goal, which motivates and inspires others to do the same. This person is also someone influential in the life and ambitions of Mel Fisher himself. Wooden boxes have been constructed in the courtyard in front of the impressive display of anchors in the courtyard. The handprints, along with a plaque, will be displayed in concrete molds within these wooden boxes . Mel’s handprints have been im mortalized in concrete at the Schooner Wharf Bar since 1998 along with other Mel Fisher Lifetime Achievement award winners from the first few years. To begin the project we felt Mel’s handprints were the most important to have on display. The debate began about how to mold his hands in order to transport the imprint to the museum courtyard. In collaboration with Monica Brook and Corey Malcom , we employed the same methods used years before to mold the markings of a silver bar. The pictures and short video clip below follow this process. It attracted quite a bit of attention from Schooner Wharf patrons on one hot July afternoon. We will follow up with pictures of Mel’s handprints as they are put on …
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