aground in 1644 on the Ambrosian banks, as the Silver 

 shoals were known at that time. One of the ships, said to 

 be the flagship of the fleet, was found and salvaged in 1687 

 by a New England sea captain, William Phips. Phips took 

 from the wreck more than a million and a half English 

 pounds' value in treasure. The other ships of the silver fleet 

 were never located, although the reefs were searched ex- 

 haustively by the hundreds of boats which flocked to this 

 area after word got out of Phips's success. 



Korganofi^, after many years of research in the archives 

 of Spain, had a different version of the story of the wreck. 

 Of course he has had access to records which were com- 

 pletely unavailable to the rest of the world in the seven- 

 teenth century, when Spain and the other European pow- 

 ers were at each others' throats. 



The story that he unearthed in the Spanish archives 

 was that of the Nuestra Seiiora de la Concepcion, the flag- 

 ship of a fleet of thirty ships which sailed from Havana for 

 Spain on September 13, 1659. The galleon was in no con- 

 dition to put to sea. The protests of her admiral that certain 

 repairs must be made before setting out on such a journey 

 were overruled by the General of the Fleet, who ordered 

 him to prepare to sail immediately. 



The admiral of the Nuestra Seiiora was also disturbed 

 because the general had concentrated the bulk of the huge 

 treasure which the fleet was carrying on the admiral's ship 

 and his own. Both ships were old and rotten. Their hulls 

 had not been cared for since they had left Spain, more than 

 a year before. The admiral had insisted to no avail that 

 the valuable cargo should be distributed more equally 

 among the many ships of the fleet. 



The silver fleet had been at sea only a day and part of 

 the night when the Nuestra Senora began to leak so badly 

 that even the impatient general conceded she would have 



234 Sea Diver 



