There’s a rest of the story, Christopher James called to say, regarding a recent article about treasure divers Bob and Margaret Weller. “I was the one who physically had it in his hand and picked it up first,” said Mr. James. “I’m not trying to exclude anyone out of it. I just want my name to be included into it.”
Mr. James was referring to what was described as some of the couple’s “most valuable booty.” The article in the May 23 Neighborhood Post, the community news section in various editions of The Palm Beach Post, said the Wellers’ Lake Worth home is filled with artifacts they have recovered — “gold and gem-studded jewelry, doubloons, swords, pistols, pottery and bars of solid silver.” Mr. James, however, was making a point about this specific reference: “A gold and diamond set Weller calls ‘the queen’s jewels’ is at Mel Fisher’s Treasure Museum in Sebastian. It contains a necklace, two brooches (one with 177 diamonds), a pair of earrings (each with 54 diamonds), and a diamond filigree pin they recovered from a 1715 wreck site. Asking price: $800,000. ‘Almost the first day we dove we found that,’ said Weller. ‘It was 150 feet off the beach in Sebastian, in 8 feet of water.’ ”
Though there doesn’t appear to be any dispute about it, Mr. James says he repeatedly has “had to prove I was the one who found the treasure.” A story in the paper’s archives about the 1993 discovery says he was the first to spot the jewels but was diving under Mr. Weller’s banner. Mr. James says that although the boat captain traditionally gets the credit, “I was not a hired diver, I was partners with him at the time.” Asked how the jewelry ended up in the Wellers’ hands, Mr. James said: “We were partners. I gave it to them.”
Those nuances and Mr. James’ role in general weren’t mentioned to the reporter doing the profile of Mr. Weller. That’s probably due in part to the dispute, which is winding its way through the courts. Mr. James, who owns Christopher’s All Year Christmas Shop in North Palm Beach, is suing his former partner over his share of the jewelry and money he says Mr. Weller took from investors.
“Just a comment on things that are of interest to Floridians,” a reader called to say regarding, “Edgy beach business owners await key decisions on offshore drilling,” May 27. “On something so important as this, whether it be local or state, please try to include e-mail addresses so we the people can send nasty e-mails to all those politicians who think they’re doing right and we think they are not. It would be helpful.”
That article did carry the e-ddress of Larry Lipman, The Post’s Washington correspondent, who could be contacted for more information. Managing Editor John Bartosek adds:
“The Post began listing our staff writers’ e-mail addresses with stories in September 1999. Thousands of readers, both of the newspaper and the online version of our stories, write in each month with additional information, story ideas, questions and sometimes complaints.
“With some stories, we list Web sites that provide additional information about a topic, and some of those sites may include e-mail addresses if it’s appropriate. We also provide e-mail addresses for politicians in the annual ‘Discover’ magazines published in the fall. Finally, neighborhoods that receive the weekly Neighborhood Post sections will find politicians’ e-mail addresses there as well.”
“I love the Hurricane 2001 special section,” Karen Preston of Wellington called to say. “I was in Miami during Andrew, so I know how valuable this information is, and my question is, when is hurricane season? That’s the only thing I can’t find. I know we’re close, but I really would like to know.”
Hurricane season for the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and Caribbean lasts from June through November, with August, September and October historically the most active months. Regarding another well-done hurricane section by the staff, Ms. Preston added, “I hope we don’t have to use it.”
