DATELINE: Sebastian Inlet Marina, August 25, 1997

This Friday, August 25, will mark a special anniversary of sorts. On this day in 1997, members of the Real Eight CompanyAlso referred to occasionally as “The Real 8 Company”- was incorporated in 1961. It had eight members….Kip Wagner, Kip Kelso, Dan Thompson, Harry Cannon, Lou Ullian, Del Long, Erv Taylor and Lis... More got together for their last public appearance. The occasion was the production of a historical documentary on the 1715 Fleet produced for the Arts and Entertainment Network. Filming was done at the Sebastian Inlet Marina,  Sebastian, Florida. Present were Bob Johnson, Dan ThompsonDan Thompson (1920 – 2005) Was a diver and original member of the Real Eight Company. Born in  Savannah, Georgia, he  was an electrical engineer and had a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Forc... More, Lou UllianLouis J. (Lou) Ullian (1932 – 2010) Was a diver and original member of the Real Eight Company. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts he served in the U.S. Navy, Naval Weapons Station from 1956 – 19... More, Harry Cannon, John Jones and Del Long.

The images (below) were taken by Ernie Richards, who was also present during this historic gathering. For purposes of identification, clockwise from upper left is Bob Johnson sitting on the end wearing a printed shirt, with a hat and glasses. Next to him is Dan ThompsonDan Thompson (1920 – 2005) Was a diver and original member of the Real Eight Company. Born in  Savannah, Georgia, he  was an electrical engineer and had a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Forc... More, wearing a white hat. Next to Dan on the end is Lou UllianLouis J. (Lou) Ullian (1932 – 2010) Was a diver and original member of the Real Eight Company. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts he served in the U.S. Navy, Naval Weapons Station from 1956 – 19... More, with a shirt sporting blue and white horizontal lines. Across from Lou on the end is Harry Cannon, in a white shirt. Next to him in the middle, with long white hair, is John Jones. Next to John, on the end, is Del Long.

Ernie Richards wrote a summary of this event for the PLUS ULTRA Newsletter, 4th Quarter, 1997. Here is his report as it appeared:

REAL-8 CORPORATION HOLDS REUNION

Surviving members of the ten-man team that rocked the world by finding tons of Spanish silver coins and bars off Florida’s east coast beginning in the 1950s, got together on Monday, 25 August 1997 to star in an upcoming TV special. Filming on location at the Inlet Marina in Sebastian, Florida, was performed by California production company Greystone Communications.

The original salvage group, Real Eight Corporation, was founded in the early 1960s by Kip WagnerKip Wagner (1906 – 1972) was instrumental in the formation of the team that later became the Real Eight Company and one of the greatest salvage groups that ever explored the 1715 Fleet wrecks.  He ... More and rose to instant fame in 1965, when a feature story about their unprecedented finds appeared in the January issue of National Geographic. Their celebrity was further enhanced in 1966 with the publishing of Pieces of Eight by Wagner and L. B. Taylor, Jr. Only Harry Cannon, Bob Johnson, John Jones, Del Long, Dan ThompsonDan Thompson (1920 – 2005) Was a diver and original member of the Real Eight Company. Born in  Savannah, Georgia, he  was an electrical engineer and had a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Forc... More, and Lou UllianLouis J. (Lou) Ullian (1932 – 2010) Was a diver and original member of the Real Eight Company. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts he served in the U.S. Navy, Naval Weapons Station from 1956 – 19... More attended the on-film reunion. Conspicuously missing were co-author L. B. Taylor, Jr., Dr. Kip Kelso, and Wagner’s nephew, Rex Stocker. Kip WagnerKip Wagner (1906 – 1972) was instrumental in the formation of the team that later became the Real Eight Company and one of the greatest salvage groups that ever explored the 1715 Fleet wrecks.  He ... More died in the 1970s.

The production crew then gathered up their equipment and sped down the coast to the McLarty Treasure Museum, where they shot “interiors” and interviewed Bob “Frogfoot” Weller. The television series, tentatively entitled TREASURES…, is scheduled to be aired beginning in January, 1998, on Saturdays at 7:00 p.m. on the A & E Network. Watch your TV Guide for exact details.

When asked if the salvagers had ever before gotten together since the company’s dissolution, they replied that they regularly get together once a year for a glass of beer and pizza … or dinner. These guys are all retired now, but some still dive, and they are all active. Let’s hear it for these pioneers of shipwreck salvage!

-Ernie Richards

Twenty years have passed and, with the exception of John Jones and Rex Stocker, all of the Real Eight members are gone. But it is nice to know that we still have our memories and some pictures to remember them by. The Real Eight CompanyAlso referred to occasionally as “The Real 8 Company”- was incorporated in 1961. It had eight members….Kip Wagner, Kip Kelso, Dan Thompson, Harry Cannon, Lou Ullian, Del Long, Erv Taylor and Lis... More and the members that formed its core have left a legacy that most men can only dream of. Without these men, the history of the re-discovery of the 1715 Fleet and its recovery would have undoubtedly been dramatically different.

Special Thanks to Ernie Richards who supplied images and text.

-Ben Costello, Director, 1715 Fleet Society