TREASURE COAST BOATING
LIVING HISTORY
85
handfuls of gold and silver. They have also experienced the
dangers and misfortune that accompany life at sea. Their
stories of adventure are inspiring, and they may lead you to
hunt for some buried treasure.
It takes a lot more than desire to become a real treasure
hunter. Carl Fismer, who has worked on more than 300 shipwrecks,
authored two books and hosted the show Treasure
Divers, remembers when he first learned what is involved.
He approached Art McKee, who is often called the father of
modern treasure hunting, in hopes of working with him and
getting firsthand diving experience.
McKee, no relation to McKee Botanical Gardens founder
Arthur McKee, sized Fismer up and wanted to know if he
had a captain’s license, ever worked as an engine mechanic,
cooked for a hungry crew or had medical training. Reluctantly,
Fismer had no experience in these areas. He went back
home and over time earned his Coast Guard’s captain ticket,
his EMT and paramedic licenses, learned small-engine repair
and volunteered to cook at a Sarasota fire station.
PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF
Emboldened and feeling he had met McKee’s requirements,
he again asked if he could work with him for free and
learn. After hearing about Fismer’s hard-won skills, McKee
finally gave him the answer he had been waiting to hear.
“ ‘Well, Carl, it looks like you’re gonna be going out with
me on my next dive,’ ” Fismer writes in Unchartered Waters.
His training under McKee opened up a new career for
him. In 1980, Fismer left a secure job as a fire medic with the
Sarasota Fire Department and opened a treasure hunting
business. From then on, he would travel around the world >>
ROBERT LEWIS KNECHT
For Fismer, a key to finding treasure is having a good metal detector and
knowing the art of using it properly.
/www.jwfishers.com