The Sea Reaper recently returned from another trip to the Santa Margarita site. The crew continued excavations in a main area of focus to the west of the known shipwreck scatter where they’ve concentrated recent efforts and made important recoveries this season. ​ Historic research tells us that a second hurricane may have pushed wreckage material to the west shortly after the Santa Margarita sank. Also, archival documents state that early Spanish salvors had made efforts to

The summer season has begun and the weather and sea conditions are reflecting it here in Key West. The Sea Reaper, under the direction of Josh Fisher Abt, headed to the site of the Margarita ten days ago to take full advantage of the opportunity while captain Dan Porter was conducting a successful remote sensing survey in North Florida on another potential shipwreck project. Josh has been first mate on the Sea Reaper for over a year and was given the chance to take the helm

It’s hard to call the recovery of a single silver coin a significant find unless the location of the recovery ties back to the archival information that leads to the missing portion of the Santa Margarita. That is what we believe has happened this week, and all of us at MRR are very excited about it. Diver Rob Hill discovers a valuable clue in MRR's hunt for the missing section of the Santa Margarita. The crew of the Sea Reaper had been conducting excavations in an effort to

On Friday, Sea Reaper and crew returned to Key West from a 19-day trip to the famed shipwreck site of the 1622 Santa Margarita where they logged, tagged and recovered over three hundred artifacts. Clockwise from top: Levin Shavers with his first silver coin from the Margarita site; ​Josh Fisher and Rob Hill on the ladder with silver coins stuck to an artifact; ​Kent​on Dickerson with one of the silver coins recovered from the Margarita. The artifacts include silvers coins, ol