The Last Loot

Modern-day buccaneers pluck the last nuggets of Spanish gold from the South Florida deep

A A A Comments By Eric Alan Barton Thursday, Jul 22 2004

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Thunder rolls to the south as Brandon eyes the musket ball displayed on a velvet cloth he uses to photograph treasure. "Well, we paid for lunch at least." His expenses for an average day at around $150, Brandon counts this day as a loss.

At the steering wheel, Brandon boasts that the Endeavor likely has another half-century in it, and so does he. "I've already designed a contraption so I can dive when I'm in a wheelchair. It'll shoot me off the back. Then they'll pick me up with a crane. I'll be beating on the crew with a cane shouting, 'Faster, faster. '"

Eric Alan Barton

Brandon comes up from below, where he found a $15,000 gold coin he wears as a necklace (center). Bottom: Brandon and crewman Ryan Iacona head to the wreck site.

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Waves kicked up from the squall pound the boat. "It got nasty quick," Iacona says.

"Oh, hell," Brandon barks. "This ain't shit. You wouldn't believe the storms I've had to ride out." As the ship turns into the inlet, Brandon yells his story over the pelting rain that chased him from his treasure. He doesn't always find treasure on these trips, but he always has stories of gold and jewels, stories that gleam with the undying promise of finding more tomorrow.