 . Treasure Seekers
In 1955, Jimmy Blackburne visited English Harbour in his 1904 Colin
Archer,
ROBANNE, a treasure seeker, bound for the Silver Shoals off Santo Domingo.
A very mysterious individual was aboard we called Mr. X. He could tell
where treasure lay by swinging a pendulum over a chart. In the meantime,
ROBANNE had lent a member of her crew, Arthur Watkin, to assist Evan
Atkinson of the 28 ft. cutter ERATO in bringing his ship from the Canary
Islands, as his wife was expecting and about to deliver. Meeting little wind, the ERATO
became overdue, so Mr. X dowsed over a chart with his pendulum in the peace and quiet of
the vacant, cobweb laden Admiral's House. The resulting prediction was for an arrival in
36 hours. We organised an evening rum punch at Shirley Heights at the expected time of
arrival - and there she was!
A little later, the black schooner "HOME SWEET HOME", with Bert Darrell
aboard, became overdue from Bermuda, so Mr. X was called for. By this
time the U.S. Coast Guard had begun an air search. After much persuasion
over English Harbour Radio to use a dowser, the Coast Guard reluctantly
decided to take Mr. X's advice, even though the position given was well off
the probable track of the missing yacht. The pilot, John Phillips, found
the black schooner Mr. X had divined for, but it turned out to be an
oceanographic vessel. The "Home Sweet Home" was never seen again.
As for the treasure expedition to the Silver Shoals, this failed due to
the violent sea-sickness of Mr. X and the Cousteau trained divers aboard. Not as many
yachts visited in the early days as now, but they seem to have been more colourful in
their history and in their voyages. Do visiting yachts still have such stories to tell, or
did they only happen in the
"good old days"?
 
|