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Compare the difference between the two below links
written by different reporters and see how scuba divers who
find wrecks are demonized and called "theives" and
"plunderers".
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/nation/12356810.htm
In this link the divers are understanding heroes placing flags on the wrecked
sub.
http://www.cdnn.info/news/industry/i050710.html
In this link the divers are "amateurs", "theives" and "plunderers". Yeah,
amatuers who
found it when the U.S. Navy didn't try or give
a care enough to search for over 60 years!
The only theives and plunderers
are the state and federal governments. The state of
Florida illegally held Mel Fisher's Atochia treasure until a federal court
made them give it back. Of course then the federal
government took a piece of it too since although it was
not in state waters and the state was due NO cut of
it, it WAS in federal waters. So the feds got their chunk for doing
NOTHING!
Diver's risk their lives and fortunes in recovering
sunken treasures and artifacts and instead of it being "finders,
keepers"
which it should be, the state and federal
governments think we should get nothing for our efforts. In fact recently the
law
has been changed to disallow us to keep ANYTHING
found on Florida state submerged lands without a permit. Of course
to get that permit you have to give the state a
piece of your treasure for them doing NOTHING. Our Navy also takes
from
divers. If you bring up ANYTHING from a U.S. Navy
wreck, plane or ship, they will charge you with theft of gevernment
property
and confiscate it, fine you, and even give you jail
time. Yet the Navy is allowed by our courts to have it both ways. What I mean
by
that is....the Navy says it NEVER relenquishes
ownership of its wrecks and therefore they still own them and you cannot recover
them.
The supreme court has upheld this. Yet in court
cases that fishermen have brought against the Navy for damage to their fishing
boats
from exposed parts of Navy ships sticking out of
the water, the Navy has successfully argued that the Navy ABANDONED those
ships
and the courts have sided with the Navy on that as
well! So if the Navy wants something you find and bring up, they say they
NEVER
abandon any of their wrecks, but if you sue them
for damage to your boat from one of their wrecks, they say the ABANDONED
it!
It is illogical that our courts let them get away
with this, but they do. Next is the state archaeologists who do not want anyone
but
themselves finding and recovering artifacts. They
argue that only THEY are qualified and the rest of us are "amateurs", "theives"
and
"plunders" unless we have an archaeological diploma
hanging on the wall and work as a state archaeologist. The truth is they are
jealous
of the finds found by the private sector and want
to stop anyone from operating but them so they can write books, become famous,
get
credit for ALL the finds, and most
importantly....get further grants. All the above disgusts me and reading that
Largato article just brought it home
again just how discriminated against divers are.
Wasn't the Hunley a war grave? They didn't hesitate to bring that up. The jap
minisub
recently found in Hawaii is the same thing, yet
there is a big political flap about it being a war grave and shouldn't be
brought up. It looks to me
like a submarine is a war grave when the federal
government or state wants it to be and it somehow becomes an archaeological dig
when they
want it to be! So in effect, there is no law, just
whatever the federal or state government or the Navy says and makes up as they
go along.
Sorry for the ranting, the injustice of it all
just really bothers me. If it was up to me, every sub ever lost would be brought
up and put in a museum
so they could be preserved to be seen by future
generations instead of being allowed to rot into iron oxide dust which is what
will happen to them if unrecovered.
We could bury any crew remains in the ground with
full military honors (like we did the Hunley crew) and then call THAT a war
grave.
Bill.
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