First a short bit about who I am. - I am a wreck hunter I have been diving since 1979 I have found over 20 wrecks on a very small budget since 1999 and numerous other sites of interest here too. 3 of my finds have received government protected status. I have located the exact positions of many other historic shipwrecks here too. Wreck hunting and research are hobbies of mine. I have also worked at sea commercially. I have compiled and authored the most comprehensive shipwreck listing for my area. It makes the Lloyds list for around Scilly look like a kids homework project because my list includes the use of far more archives than just Lloyds. Its a must for anyone searching for wrecks around here-and its still growing. It is in digital form at present but I may publish it one day. My point is this- Scilly is my back yard; no one knows the wrecks of this area better than I do. And no one knows the waters around here better either-simply because I dive the rocks and places other people only ever pass by in a boat. I am not what you call an academic- I only have qualifications and experience related to diving and the sea. The maritime history of Scilly and it wrecks are a passion.
The Merchant Royal is a ship that was lost in my back yard. However, it is far enough away and deep enough down that it needs real finance, that I do not have, to find it. There have been a few searches for the Merchant Royal. German dentists searched for this wreck in the 1990's but concentrated their efforts too far east and closer to the Lizard. I spoke to one of the crew involved and whilst I understood their reasons- their choice simply did not fit the historical evidence. They covered a large area but failed to find the wreck. In more recent times, American team- Oddessey Marine, made a much bigger effort to find the Merchant Royal but again its obvious that their researchers put them in the wrong areas. I live on the isles of Scilly and tracked their progress as best I could. How I wish I could have been on board, I may have been able to assist to point them in the right direction. Anyone who reads my full report on this wreck would have to take it seriously. I recently read a publication by an American researcher, a naval Commander, who published that because the ship was taking money for soldiers in flanders then she must be lost along the french coast line. And just like with the German dentists there was nothing to back up this theory. His idea, for that is all it is, totally ignores all the actual historical evidence. I came to my conclusion of where this ship sank based solely upon actual historical evidence. No guessing involved. No preconceived ideas to cloud the issue. I simply put every fact I found together and let it tell me where I should search. The historical narratives of this wrecking gives some clues but its just one piece in the puzzle. I firmly believe the puzzle was incomplete for both the German dentists and Oddessey. I am now certain that I have that vital clue that all the others must have either overlooked or it simply never came to their hands. I know that any search for this wreck must include this evidence; because once you include it, all the other narratives make perfect sense. My belief is that the teams above could not have seen the missing piece. Obviously, I cant simply give that information out over the internet but what I uncovered would have totally changed their perceptions of where they should have been concentrating all their efforts.
I was asked to join a team to look for this wreck in 2021-2. It looked for a while like it was going to happen. Sadly, the UK economy crashed so Im not so sure those financiers are there any longer. It was someone elses project. Its all gone very quiet. I am happy to be part of any team but here I am looking for an investor of my own. I have this to say to anyone wanting to finance this search- Its Your money - its your treasure! All I want is crewmans wages and the chance to look for the wreck and hopefully put someone on the right spot. And if we are successful, maybe a bonus for my effort and to gain a few nice gold coins as a momento for my trouble and research. I also want 50% of the kudos for getting this site found. This does not have to be a huge multi million pound effort- all I am talking about is a big enough survey vessel equipped with the latest multibeam sonar and survey equipment in order to gain the targets and identify them with fuel and expenses all covered. I can pilot it out and back and during the surveys. I have the perfect search pattern too. You can either contract hire the vessel and equipment or buy it all. It can all be sold or returned after the project is over. Your choice. And there will be many targets uncovered to look at during the search. Even when going out and back to the target area we can find interesting targets. Luckily, because of my 40 odd years of experience in this field, I can quickly eliminate most targets by dating what is on the seabed. Any sites of historical interest can be looked into more closely. There are other treasure wrecks out here. This project could be partially financed by a TV company as they could follow the search and make a very interesting series as we go- seeing the discoveries and identifying each target. Even during times when the sea wont allow us to look for the Merchant Royal they could film my dives on other very interesting wreck searches closer to my home here at Scilly and we can tell the tale of each one in turn. Many have direct links to these beautiful remote islands. Theres some very fascinating tales here that I have already uncovered and more wrecks I am still looking for. These searches can be covered too. C'mon rich people- what is more exciting than a shipwreck hunt worth billions in gold treasure? Much more exciting than playing golf or sitting on a beach getting pissed!
Drop me a line?
scillydiver@gmail.com
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