In 1641, the Merchant Royal reached the Western Approaches to the English Channel. Captain John Limbrey and his crew of 80 were nearing the end of a long voyage across the Atlantic from Mexico. Their cargo was reported as “£300,000 in silver, £100,000 in gold and as much again in jewel”, pirated from the Spanish and presumably previously liberated from the undeserving pagan natives of the New World.
However, the ship ran into heavy weather. The Merchant Royal sank in the vicinity of the Sicily Isles, its final resting place unknown.
This week, an American maritime salvage company called Odyssey Marine Exploration have announced that they have located and salvaged £253 million worth of coins from an unnamed wreck, including 17 tons of silver. They aren’t revealing the location of the wreck, but rumour says that it is located about 40 miles off Land’s End - which just happens to be pretty much where the Western Rocks of the Scilly Isles are.
It just so happens that we’re going to the Isles of Scilly next week. I think we’ll take our snorkels.
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