The Fire is Burning, and the SS Central America Lives On
Davis Fire, Photo from September 9, 2024
Newsletter from Fred Holabird, August 9, 2024
I usually work most weekends. Afterall, its quiet, and stuff can get done. But not the last two days.
A big wildfire had started down the road in the forest at a campground not too far from us, and was burning its way north. Everybody was on pins and needles, as the sirens wailed, helicopters and planes attacked the flames, and we watched the wind directions by the minute … for two days so far. These fire folks are terrific. I don’t know how they do it, but there clearly was a plan, and as the fire swept through a forested home subdivision, they saved dozens and dozens of houses, preventing another catastrophe like we had at Greenville and Paradise, California in the very recent past. Mama Nature helped out a lot, and cut the wind in the early evenings to nothing, allowing fire crews to make headway. Thank goodness. But we’re not out of the woods yet … if I leave in the middle of this essay, you’ll know why …
The SS Central America Story Lives On
All last week I received calls, emails and texts regarding the National Geographic/BBC three part series on the SS Central America and Tommy Thompson. Robin and I don’t watch regular television anymore, preferring to enjoy the outdoors, friends, online movies, or the occasional streamed series. We didn’t know about this series until so many folks mentioned it, and finally one good friend in the Bay area pushed for a commentary, so I relented and we streamed it to the TV last night. Everybody’s got to do some “binge” watching now and then, and this show fit the bill. Granted this project occupied parts of 26 years of my life, and since I lived it, I didn’t necessarily feel the need to see it.
Wow!
The opening warned me immediately, telling us it is based upon Gary Kinder’s Ship of Gold book that came out about 2000. When you hear the phrase “based upon a true story,” I hope you can read and hear the loud “message between the lines” … It sets off a fog horn in my ears! …Uh Oh!
The BBC put together an interesting three part series that starts with portions of Kinder’s book and evolves into a story about Thompson and the investors. It has the appearance of the BBC selling the story to National Geographic for distribution purposes. Kinder himself is in a good portion of the interviews.
My reactions to what I was watching were “all over the map” in terms of the variety of my exclamations and commentary. It was clear from the beginning that the producers were going to present their interpretations of events in their own way … they had an agenda, and that agenda left gaping holes … holes as big as the Atlantic Ocean, in which the Thompson team found the treasure, and as deep as the Marianas Trench, many times deeper than the 7200 feet where the SSCA still sits, 167 years later.
The show also presented new facts, some of which were and are completely unknown to key personnel of the project. Some of these facts would or could have affected the outcome.
But let’s take a deeper look, regardless of what you, or anybody else thinks. Here’s my list:
1. Thompson had the vision to look for the SSCA from a scientific point of exploration, not the usual treasure hunter mentality.
2. He may or may not have been the first to examine records of where the ship might have sunk. So what…
3. Thompson had the ability to construct a “crack crew” to explore the historical record and evaluate it on a mathematical probability scale. A “crack crew” to a scientist or an engineer means a crew composed of the best minds on the subjects you could find and assemble.
4. Thompson put together another “crack” crew to use the latest scientific equipment to go out and look for the SSCA, and had the ability to raise the funds.
5. Thompson created a team of professionals to design a complex underwater ”recovery vehicle” capable of picking up a $20 gold piece without damaging it 7,200 feet deep on the ocean floor, operated from a ship bouncing in waves you could surf in, operated from a cramped little room loaded with high-tech computer equipment. And … they had to get it back to the ship without damage, time after time.
Those five points are a major premise to the SSCA story. After that is where the waters get murky, which is only partially covered in the three part series. There are lawyers, insurance companies, “n’eer do wells,” Federal Judges, US Marshalls, PR crews, investors, inventory specialists, curators, auction houses, cash flow issues, maintenance, security issues, materials transfers, accounting, reporting and so many different, and often competing, important issues that it becomes nigh impossible to put even a small sample in a three part television series.
My involvement was not direct. I was not brought in until after years of litigation – about 1998 as I recall. I was recommended by Dr. Bob Chandler, Wells Fargo’s chief historian, asked at first to be an independent consultant to the Court, reporting to Judge Clark. But by Court agreement, was paid by the insurance companies. I was asked for my unbiased opinion and inventory of the recovered goods. Not one single person tried to influence me in any form whatsoever, and I wouldn’t have put up with it. Right off the bat I created a security system for the inventory process that insured no monkey business of any kind. It kept my team, and the salvor’s team equally safe in all regards.
I later was asked to work for the insurance companies - the seven surviving insurers that were granted standing, while the other nearly 125 or so ”suitors” had their claims thrown out of Court.
I sat in on several mandatory settlement conferences, Judge conferences and so forth.
A settlement procedure to “split” the treasure was complex, agreed by both parties. This was handled in a locked room full of US Marshalls, lawyers and principals. Bob Evans and I sat on opposite sides of a table for this all-important “poker” game. That day, specifically, was the exact release date for Kinder’s book on the SSCA. It is interesting to me today to look at Google sources claiming various specific release dates of the book, none of which are correct. Most may not know this, but major book releases are carefully and tightly controlled by the publisher. The release date is date specific, subject to penalties. You may have read about some of these penalties during the Harry Potter series releases. I mention this only as an example to remind the reader that many stories are based on a true story, but the real truths may not be evident.
Over ensuing years I worked for the lawyers representing some investors.
Then after a few more years, I was asked to assist in the appraisal of the SSCA artifacts under the guidance of the same appraiser that handled the appraisal of the Titanic artifacts. Can you say “fun?” Holy smoke, what a project!
Afterwards, a Court Receiver approached me regarding other issues.
We were awarded the sale of the artifacts, only to have the deal taken away later.
A few years later, we were asked to sell the artifacts, and did so through two sales. Each of these sales utilized all new concepts in education and marketing. I asked for, and received, assistance from Bob Evans, a critical move important to my educational and marketing concepts. We both re-entrenched ourselves into the project, this time on the same team. The results were magical.
We examined items not seen in a quarter century, having sat in storage waiting for legal release. We wrote articles with information heretofore unknown, deeply researched, presenting them in a way all could understand. I decided to utilize original three dimensional photographs Bob had just found in old file drawers that no one had seen in decades. In fact, the two of us spent a day, that felt like 15 minutes, looking at these amazing color slides in three-d. I solicited essays from several crew members, receiving a couple articles from the archaeologist on the 2014 recovery expedition.
During those two sales I had the opportunity to meet some of the original investors, none of whom I had ever met. I had always assumed I’d get phone call after phone call from some of them, but never did, probably because the lawyers were the intermediaries. It is always a pleasure to meet involved people and share stories we all have never heard.
Through my entire multi-decade work on the SSCA, I had the great fortune and pleasure to work with some of the best minds in a wide myriad of subjects, inclusive of legal, science, antiquities and more. What a joy!
Last year or so, I was interviewed by the BBC over a couple days. I had a post-interview email telling me they’d tell me about the show later, but it never came. Those interviews also had an agenda, as you might expect, because the layering of the stories is so complicated. They didn’t want to vary from the “script.”
So what do I think?
I don’t feel compelled to comment on the last two episodes of chasing Tommy Thompson. Yes, I was involved to a very small degree.
What I do want to point out is “the BIG PICTURE,” that Thompson and his team did something no one else had ever done, or could do, … recover the greatest American gold treasure.
The “real” and complete story will probably never be told. It is simply far too complicated and complex to a point where the average person would never be able to understand it. More books will be written. More stories will be told.
I’ve had a truly great career. I’ve managed open pit gold mines, managed environmental cleanups, managed undersea gold operations, had many engineering, scientific, and historical industry “firsts” in an amazing career that required imagination, vision and the ability to follow through. I’ve worked side-by-side with some of the greatest minds in the industries I’ve been associated with, a true blessing. The SSCA was just one of these great projects. I’m darned thankful it came my way, and made associations with so many of the players, regardless of what side of the “line” they were on. I kept a middle road. It can be tough to do…