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Jeweler will dive to 1622 sunken ship Mail Tribune/Bob Pennell Jeweler Michael Hansen shows off some of the treasure from the wreck of the Atocha, the famous Spanish galleon that sank during a hurricane in 1622. Hansen will get a chance next week to dive to the wreck off the Florida Keys. Medford man�s trip to Spanish galleon resulted from deal to display treasure By Paul Fattig When Michael Hansen plunges into the warm blue water off the Florida Keys on Saturday, he will descend in a cloud of bubbles 40 feet to the sandy bottom. The journey will only take a matter of seconds for Hansen, president of J. Michaels Fine Jewelry in Medford. But it will transcend 370 years. Hansen will be diving to the wreck of the Atocha, the famous Spanish galleon laden with treasure when it sank during a hurricane in 1622. Found by the late treasure hunter Mel Fisher�s search team in 1985, the wreck eventually yielded treasure with an estimated value of more than $400 million, one of the most valuable sunken treasures ever found. "I am interested in the intrinsic value of what is down there but, most importantly, I�m fascinated by the history of it all," Hansen said. "So much has happened with this ship � the lives that were lost when it went down and when it was found." A gemologist by training, Hansen, 37, a graduate of Ashland High School and what is now Southern Oregon University, was invited to make the dive after scheduling a display of Atocha treasures in his store from Aug. 3-6. He and his wife, Noriko, own the store. "We�ll have armed security," he said, noting the treasure will include everything from rare gold doubloons to priceless jewelry. But he said the monetary value of the treasure is insignificant next to its rich history. "The history is really fascinating," he said. "This ship has touched so many people." When the ship went down during the hurricane, 256 people perished, he said, and only five survived. Since Fisher started hunting for the treasure, five people involved with the search have died, Hansen said. They include Fisher�s son, Dirk, his son�s bride and a diver who drowned in a freak boating accident while looking for the treasure in 1975. "It was almost like the sea took five people for the five people it let go," Hansen said. Although the wreck was found by Fisher on July 20, 1985, salvage continues at the site where it was scattered along the bottom. Last week, divers found more gold and jewelry from the wreck. Fisher�s family and the company he founded continue with the salvage operation. "They found it in an area of the ship where they think many of the wealthy and the clergy stayed," Hansen said. "Much of what they are finding was contraband in that it was unregistered, not on the ship�s manifest." That included rare jewelry and gold bars. "Three gold bars they found had all the markings required with the exception of the tax stamp," he said. "That means they probably belonged to the church." Since he is not a trained diver, Hansen will take scuba lessons before he swims to the wreck. "It�s not real deep," he said. "I won�t be going down like I�m Jacques Cousteau. But I�ll be experiencing what they experience. " Hansen, who will be accompanied by a friend from Portland who is a certified diver, will document the diving operation on video. His photographs will be displayed at his store. "It�s an opportunity of a lifetime for me," he said. "There is so much history down there." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA