Member Introductions

[Craig Grella]

Hi, my name is Craig Grella, member #22. I live in Pittsburgh, PA and I’m the Fleet Society’s web admin.

When I first became a Fleet Society member, I knew nothing about sunken ships, recovered treasure, or numismatics. I didn’t even know what the word “numismatics” meant.

After designing the first Fleet Society Website back in 2015 I started learning more about the 1715 Fleet and its history, and through the years have read many books and articles about the Fleet. Now, I consider myself a Fleet enthusiast, and enjoy reading and editing many of the articles and pages on this site!

My day job is creating marketing strategy for SaaS companies, and on the site I created a community and course teaching first time candidates how to run successful campaigns for local elected office. Most times, you can find me here on the Fleet Society website or at CampaignPlanner.org.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by  Craig Grella.

[Lenore Wetzel]

Hello! I’m Lenore Wetzel and I’ve worked with the 1715 Fleet Society for a couple of years now. I’m the person to contact if you have any questions, need assistance with anything (really, anything!), or are experiencing technical issues.

[Speg Tacular]

Hello,

I am SpegTacular and/or Jesse. Currently awaiting an assigned member #

I am from New Port Richey, FL and utilize the name Spegtacular on social media to help share my hobbies of coin collecting and precious metals stacking.

I’m fascinating by shipwreck history and hope to learn more each and every day.

[Sal Guttuso]

• Sal Guttuso, member #226
• Madison, Mississippi
• Operations Director for 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC
• First started metal detecting at the age of 10 in the French Quarter of New Orleans

[Matt Lewis]

Hello everyone,

– I’m Lewis (I haven’t received my member number yet).

– Currently living in Misawa, Japan. But I plan on moving back to the Space Coast area in a few years.

– Currently enlisted in the US Air Force.

– I’m designing my first tow-behind sonar system to explore a lake at a WW2 aerial attack/battle site.

[Lenore Wetzel]

Welcome to the Society Matt! Your membership number is #229. ????

[Matt Lewis]

Thank you!

[Dennis Ball]

Hello, I’m Dennis Ball member no. 235. I reside in Kingston, Tn., I grew up in Melbourne,Florida 1954-1969 and as a kid I found small round black/green rocks and skipped them back in the ocean not knowing at the time they were probably silver coins near the site of the McCarty site today. My professional career was of forty seven years service at the Y-12 Nuclear Complex in Oak Ridge, Tn. in various manufacturing/quality and in Human Resources as a Compensation Specialist. I enjoy reading about the history of the 1715 fleet and the discovery of artifacts and visiting the 1715 fleet wreck sites. Looking forward to my membership in The 1715 Fleet Society.

[James D Tingen]

Hello Everyone,

I’m Jim Tingen, joined today so I don’t have a member number yet.

I’m a historian, librarian, and researcher, professionally for 45 years. I retired to Palm Bay, Florida in 2018 and heard that this area was called the “Treasure Coast.” I decided to research and find out why. During that research I read an article that stated that most information about the 1715 Silver Fleet was from amateurs and treasure hunters and that a more scholarly publication was needed. Accordingly, I decided to tackle that history, which I am currently writing. I’ve started with Isabella I and Ferdinand II and the Reconquista of Spain, Columbus appearing before the Catholic Monarchs seeking funds for his planned voyage to find Cipangu (Japan), Hangchow, Quinay (China), and India, the Spanish conquest of the “New World” and the treasure brought from there, the development of the Spanish Treasure Fleets, the lost ships of the Spanish Treasure Fleet, the 1715 Silver Fleet – voyage to Vera Cruz and Cartagena and on to Havana and the Casa de Contratación, the smuggling of treasure, then the fateful journey which ended during a hurricane on Colonial Florida’s east coast, the salvage operations, the pirates, and lastly the treasure hunters and underwater archeology. I have bit off a substantial chew and having fun researching and writing. Currently up to around 400 pages, expect the project to peak out at around 600 pages.

I’d also like to share some of what I’ve discovered through a presentation to the Society. I’m looking forward to being a member of the 1715 Fleet Society.

[Mike Judy]

Hi James,

I’m working on a book as well, albeit much different than yours, and would love to chat sometime. Let me know how to get in touch.

Mike

Mikejudyfl@gmail.com

[DAVID SCHEERES]

Hi,

I’m David Scheeres and live in Pembroke Wales three miles from where Henry VII the first Tudor king was born. I am an inventor; I develop and manufacture machines for recycling plastic waste. This commitment began 50 years ago while diving in the Adriatic Sea. I was appalled to discover a six-foot ‘mountain’ of discarded plastic cups from a tourist ship – a powerful image that ignited my lifelong dedication to responsibly addressing post-consumer plastic waste instead of simply demonising it.

My historical interests run deep. A lifelong numismatist and a 50-year member of the UK Orders and Medals Research Society, I collect ancient coins, British hammered and milled pieces, and some medieval Dutch coins reflecting my ancestry. Although now burnt out on the subject, I’ve also extensively researched Admiral Nelson, drawn to the unique circumstances of his life and times including my own personal circumstances. I could write a dissertation on Nelson and the opening sentence might start “I share the same birthdate as Emma Hamilton and met my wife in Nelson Square….”

My fascination with maritime history, particularly shipwrecks, was shaped by annual travels to the USA. Diving around Key Largo for many years and regular visits to the Mel Fisher Museum solidified this interest. While my own dives in colder waters have yielded no gold only ordnance and some unpleasant finds, the coins at the Mel Fisher Museum interested me. What didn’t interest me was jewellery mounted coins or copies and I’m ashamed to admit in those days I thought “seen one cob, seen them all!”

Decades ago, I was captivated by Fernand Braudel’s seminal work, Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century. Braudel’s exploration of global economics and long-term historical structures led me down numerous research avenues, especially concerning the HEIC and VOC. This served as a primer for where my interests lie today. The decisive moment came three years ago at the FUN convention when I stumbled across and acquired Peter Jones’ book, Treasure. Since then, relating published papers on marine archaeology and the specific finds of the 1715 Fleet to global economics has fired my interest. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Society’s website and learning more.

I decided to apply for membership today, an auspicious date, feeling confident that I am following in the footsteps of many esteemed members some of whom I hope to have the pleasure of meeting in the future.

[Craig Grella]

Welcome David! Great story, and happy you’re here!

[Bryan Smalley]

Hello I’m Bryan, member #246. I’ve had a long career working in information technology including for some big companies – still at it – and live in Altamonte Springs, FL – good to meet you all. When I was boy growing up in Minnesota in the late 70s, we had an extensive collection of books in our home, and one that I pulled off the shelf often (other than books about space travel…) was, “Gold, Galleons, and Archeology” that had been given to us by a local State Government archeologist friend. I was fascinated reading about it and seeing the pictures of sunken ships, cannons, and treasure in this book.

Not much became of my fascination of real sunken ships, treasure, and archeology until…I moved to Florida in 2015 with my wife and two kids. Now I was in ground zero of this amazing story. I soon became immersed in the 1715 fleet story again, reading as much as I could about it, also Spanish exploration and settlement in the Americas, archeology in Florida, the Ays Indians, and more. I even took up metal detecting and have made visits to the Treasure Coast to see the area and visit museums. After visiting the McLarty museum in early 2025 and having a long conversation there with another 1715 Fleet Society member, of course I had to become a member of this community!

[Mike Judy]

Wrong reply.

[Capt. Curtis William Erling White]

Hi Craig,

I am member number 248. I am late to the party. I am an Atocha Golden Crew member (ring# 040) and was on the Atocha motherlode the day we discovered her 20 July 1985. I was with Treasure Salvors, Inc. from 1979-1988. I also worked with Keith Webb’s Blue Water Ventures International for a short time in 2009. In addition, I created the Atocha Golden Crew facebook page almost eleven years-ago.

I am in great company here as I know a few of the members. Hopefully, I will be attending the conference in January.

Capt. Curtis W. E. White

• This reply was modified 4 months, 3 weeks ago by  Capt. Curtis William Erling White.
• This reply was modified 4 months, 3 weeks ago by  Capt. Curtis William Erling White.

[Juliana Coles]

Hi Captain Curtis – I wanted to thank you again for the copy of the wreckwatch magazine at the conference! artist Juliana Coles in Albuquerque

[Michelle Marshall]

• Hello, I am Michelle (member # pending), from WA state. I am working in healthcare, but my husband and I love diving in our free time. I heard about the treasure coast first as a child, from family who recalled the announcement of the initial discovery, but was shocked to come across the story again in a great book. I loved learning about the history and ingenuity it took to find the first wreck.

1715fleetsociety.com

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[Gustavo German Moro]

Hi! My name is Gustavo German Moro, from Lake Worth Beach, FL. My claim to fame was the discovery of the galleon Jesus Maria de la Limpia Concepcion, lost off the coast of Ecuador in 1654. I’m an expert in the history of the 1605 fleet, with ample experience working in Colombia with multiple projects, including the galleon San Jose. In 2024 my company, SILVERLINE Archeology came upon some new information regarding the 1715 fleet. We intend to dedicate some time of the 2026 season to confirm such information (and very much looking forward to working out of my own back yard for a change). I’ll be attending the 2026 Conference & Meeting this coming week in Vero Beach and hopeful to meet the members of the society and learn about the history of the 1715 fleet.

[Juliana Coles]

Hi German! So great to meet you at the fleet conference! Looking forward to hearing about what you have been working on – maybe you will be a speaker at the next event? Juliana Coles, artist in Albuquerque

[Keith Chipping]

Hello. I’m Keith Chipping, member number 267, originally from England but now living in Pennsylvania. For the past couple of decades I’ve been working as a sailing yacht skipper in Europe and the Americas. Sailing in the Caribbean it’s not been possible to avoid stories of shipwrecks and treasure and occasionally people professing to know the unique location of an undiscovered find themselves. Over the years my curiosity has grown from merely enjoying yarns about adventure on the high-seas and the ships that didn’t make it to Europe with their treasure to being more interested in the history behind the plunder and the power-politics that led to these endeavors.

All this seems to come together in the 1715 Fleet Society and I’m looking forward to learning about these events, even though each mention of the word ‘hurricane’ puts me just a little on edge.

[Dina Chipping]

Hi everyone, I’m Dina Chipping (member #268), a goldsmith, gemologist and jewelry appraiser from the Philadelphia area in PA. During my second career as a yacht captain I met my husband, Keith and we spent years sailing the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. The shipwrecks in these areas always hold a nerve-wracking fascination and of course the treasure is most interesting. I have enjoyed soaking up the information on the 1715 Fleet Society site and thank you all for sharing. Looking forward to more! Excited to meet some of you at the upcoming conference.

[Juliana Coles]

Hi Dina- so great to meet you and your husband at the fleet conference! We’ll meet again next time! Juliana Coles in Albuquerque!