mel believed that the the wreck of the atocha was located adout 40 miles west of key west, florida. however, the weather and the sea in that area made it difficult for divers to go bown into the ocean. after many tries, on the afternoon of july 20, 1985, one of mel's divers discovered a large umber of gold bars. the diver shot right out of the water and said: "we've got the mother lode." it was the atocha.
the treasure consisted of 47 tons of ssilver, 150,000 gold coins, many gold bars, and precious gems. it was worth millions of dollars. just one single jewel was valued at over $2 million.
that exciting day marked a major success after sixteen years of treasure hunting. mel continued to look for treasure and items from the atocha for many more years, until his death in 1998, and his children and crew continue the work of discovering the lost riches from the old spanish ships.