BY DEANA LANCASTER Contributing Writer CAPILANO Mall will be the backdrop for US$30 million of sunken treasure this week as sorne of the bounty dis- covered in 1985 from the lost Spanish galleon the Nuestra Senora de Atocha comes to Lugaro Jewellers. Famed treasure hunter Mel Fisher. owner of Treasure Salvers Inc.. spent 20 years and $20 mil- lion looking for the loot despite overwhelming pub- lic disbelief, financial hardship. and personal tragedy. The now 73-year-old began his search in 1968 after he became obsessed with the idea of finding the Spanish galleons of 1622, the Atocha and her sister ship the Santa Margarita. : Fisher designed a “mailbox” in 1964, a set of large curved pipes. which are lowered ~ over the ships pro- pellers and send a clear column of water down to the sea bottom, allow- ing the divers to see what's below the ocean floor. According to Pat Clyne, media con- sultant for Fisher’s company, the work is slow-going. “A lot of people have the idea it's the old Hollywood . : version where you jump over the side of a boat, swim into a sunken galleon and open the chest full of treasure.” Clyne said. In fact, over the centuries, the ships and the trea- sure have continued to sink into the ocean floor. The ‘team must set up a grid system to search the area using the mailbox. ; “It’s a laborious, tedious, meticulous job.” said ‘Clyne. The search was difficult for Fisher in other ways as well. _ A single bar of silver discovered in the 1970s ‘sent the team in the wrong direction for five years, resulting in speculation that he had “salted the wreck” — that he'd planted the silver bar to keep - investors from losing interest. ; : _ Worse still, on a dark, early moming in July of _ 1975 his oldest son Dirk and daughter-in-law Angel ‘died along with a crew member when their boat took on water and capsized. Even so, Fisher, his family, and crew continued the search for the lost “Spanish galleon, believing it was what Dirk would have wanted. The treasure hunter’s dogged deter- mination even helped him keep his trea- sures from government. The state of Florida tried to claim 25% of his findings while the Federal government tried to take it all. After a nine-year battle Fisher won fuli ownership of treasure found in U.S. Supreme Court. At last. on July 20, 1985, one of his son's voices crackled over the radio: “Dad, put away the charts. We've got the motherlode.” They Had found the Atecha — 10 MEL Fisher, the “world’s greatest treasure hunter” years to the day after Dirk's death. (above) displays some of the 370-year old treasure Since then the buried ship has yielded he found below the ocean floor on the sunken 1622 more than $400 million in gold dou- bloons, gold and silver bars, pieces of eight, chests of treasure coins, solid gold chains, and jewels. More than five pounds of Columbian emeralds, renowned for their deep, dark green color were dis- covered in 1986. The jewels literally rained down on the divers when the mailbox dislodged a huge underwater cache. Historical estimates put the total load of emer- alds carried by the Atocia at 70 pounds. Based on the potential quality Fisher's crew expects the work to continue into the next cen- tury. But Fisher and his crew continue to search for | other sources of lest trea- sure. This year the team has turned its attention back to the Afocha’s sister ship, the Santa Margarita. They first discovered itin - 1980 while searching for the Arocha and recovered $35 million worth of treasure. : “Now we want to try to recover the rest of that ship’s booty,” said Clyne. And judging from the ship’s inventory, it should be a substantial find. And yet, Fisher isn’t rolling inthe dough. He sells off some of the loot and seeks investors to help 1 Statendam, Sky Princess, Windward(B), Crown Dynasty(B) 2 Tropicale 3 Royal Odyssey . 4 Nieuw Amsterdam ; 6 Regal Princess, Westerdam, Sea Goddess 2(B). Sun Princess(B) 7 Crystal Harmony, Seabourn Pride, Ryndam, Legend of the Seas(B), Golden Princess(B) 8 Statendam, Star Princess, Windward(B) 9 Hanseatic, Noordam . 10 Song of Norway 11 Nieuw Amsterdam 12 Horizon 13 Crown Princess, Westerdam, Sun Princess(B) 14 Rotterdam, Legend of the Seas(B) 15 Statendam, Sky Princess, Windward(B), Crown Dynasty(B) 16 Tropicale 17 Seabourn Pride. Royal Odyssey 18 Nieuw Amsterdam 19 Golden Princess 20 Regal Princess. Westerdam, Sea Goddess 2(B). Sun Princess(B) 21 Song of Norway. Ryndam, Legend of the Seas 22 Statendam. Star Princess. Windward 23 Universe Explorer. Noordam 25 Nieuw Amsterdam 26 Horizon 27 Crown Princess, Westerdam, Sun Princess(B), Seabourn Pride(B) 28 Crystal Harmony, Rotterdam, Legend of the Seas(B) 29 Statendam. Hanseatic, Sky Princess, Windward(B), Crown Dynasty(B) 30 Universe Explorer. Tropicale 31 Song of Norway. Royal Odyssey Arrivals/departures: Canada Place Cruise Ship Terminal or (B) Ballantyne Pier. HOLLAND America’s Ryndam departs a? galleon the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. him finance his searches. “He could have quit 25 years ago,” said Clyne. “But the man is driven by gaining the knowledge of what happened. It's a mystery. a jigsaw puzzle for him.” Uncovering the history of the galleons is most ‘important to Fisher and his team. “We use strict archaeologi- zal technique. The location on the ship where each ani- fact came from is record- ed,” Clyne said. It’s a jong process, he added, but bet- ter for everyone in the long run. “It’s preserving histo- ry. Many of the artifacts recovered haven't. much commercial value, but it's 4- the documentation.” Common artifacts recov- ered by Fisher include pot- tery, eating and drinking utensils, weapons and shot. Some of the Alocha’s treasure, including gold and silver coins, as well as replicas of some of the jewelry found on the ship wili be offered for sale © during the display at Lugaro Jewziters from July I1- 14, A percentage of the purchase price will fund fur- ther expeditions of Treasure Salvers Inc. - TIMELINE THE history of the sunken treasure spans more than 370 years: @ 1622: The Nuestra Senora de Atocha, carry- ing one of the “richest treasures of all time.” along with her sister ship, the Santa Margarita are homeward bound for Spain. Caught in a hurri- cane off the Florida Keys, the ships run aground on the treacherous coral reefs ‘and sink. Only five people aboard survive. 1968: Mel Fisher, a one-time chicken farmer and dive-shop owner, becomes obsessed with NEWS photo Cindy Goodman ; : 5:45 p.m. today from Canada Place’s Cruise Ship Terminal Berth 4.::