| Subject: |
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Re: Re: Has Spain 'WON' the battle for our Cultural Heritage ?? |
| Name: |
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Pat Clyne |
| Date Posted: |
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Dec 21, 06 - 9:48 PM |
| Website: |
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http://www.imacdigest.com/deliverance.html |
| Message: |
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Thanks Bob for elaborating on the SSR expedition in the Keys. As you've noted, speculation abounds throughout that entire expedition. Because of the implications that arose as well as Spain's knee-jerk response to what appeared to them as someone defiling their precious cargo while it lay hidden within a sunken French ship, the real concern by the salvors in the Keys was a legitimate one in which they all wondered if this was a prelude of what to expect from Spain in the future should one of them discover a period shipwreck- the very thing that their profession depends on.
Without debating the pros & cons of the SSR expedition, I totally agree that they shot themselves in both feet and possibly even in the head. When Greg Brooks (SSR’s manager) stopped into my office one afternoon to discuss ‘things,’ I suggested to him that it would probably be wise to ground truth their electronic findings as soon as possible so that the public perception of their claims appeared to be legitimate. A lot was resting on what lay on the ocean bottom just outside of Sanctuary waters, and the longer they kept putting off the dive, the more suspicion was being raised not only by the public but their peers as well. The last thing we needed to have was a self-proclaimed “professional” salvage company turn out to be a bogus one. It would again add more fuel to our critic’s argument that we were ALL a bunch of crooks and grave robbers. We’ve worked too **** hard in the last few decades to dispel that deception.
Again, back to the point at hand. As soon as someone claimed to have found something “Spanish” under the water, Spain’s attack dogs, the Washington law firm of Covington & Burling and their head Galleon chaser James (not Don) Goold jumped in to put a stop to it in the name of the Kingdom of Spain. The same James Goold who tried and won the Juno case and the same James Goold who just a few months ago chased Deep Blue Marine off of the San Salvador wrecksite in North Carolina. The only difference being that all of his other ‘scare’ tactics were used in areas that were within the jurisdiction of the 4th circuit. Now, he was in OUR backyard trying to win back OUR cultural heritage and give it to Spain.
The questions this raises are many and the implications are staggering. We are basically in a Federal Park (FKNMS) where EVERYTHING is supposedly protected for us by OUR Federal Government. Which includes specifically - OUR Marine Cultural Heritage. So, here’s the question: Whose side will NOAA take when Spain declares ownership of that heritage in our waters?
I think in that respect the SSR debacle told volumes, and the citizens of this country need to be informed and to ask just where their tax money is being spent- To protect Spain’s interest or OURS. |
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