Greetings everyone. I am writing this from the sunny climes of eastern Florida. Outside of my hotel room in Vero Beach, a couple of hundred yards offshore, lie the remains of the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet. The loss of that great Fleet and Spanish Colonial Florida will be the topics of our Second International Conference on the 1715 Fleet scheduled for March 16 and 17, 2017 in St. Augustine. I am here finalizing our plans for the Conference and events related thereto. As previously reported, the venue for the Conference will be Flagler College, located in downtown St. Augustine. We chose St. Augustine as the location for the Conference because it was an important Spanish settlement (founded in 1565) and it was the first city to come to the aid of the desperate survivors of the doomed Fleet. The archives of St. Augustine offer a grim picture of the aftermath of the Fleet disaster. These archives are housed at the St. Augustine Historical Society, which has joined us as partners in presenting the Conference in March.
Very shortly we will be publishing the agenda for the Conference and listing some of the other events that are planned along with it. Although we had promised to have the agenda ready by the end of August, we had some additions and minor changes that resulted in some delay. Also, by the end of the month we will be ready to sell e tickets on line through our website. Credit cards will be accepted. We are working with the St. Augustine Visitors Bureau, who is helping us with recommendations for lodging and other activities.
Note that if you are a member of the Fleet Society, you will be receiving a special Members Only email with additional information.
Stay Tuned for more updates soon.
Ben Costello, Director
