Treasure Hunters Set to Sail

From ERIC SHACKLE in Sydney, Australia. <ericshackle*bigpond.com>


Now that gold is worth more than $1800 an ounce -- the most it has ever been -- Australian adventurer Don McIntyre could not have chosen a better time to set out on his Blue Treasure expedition.

He is about to sail from Tarawa in a 15.2 metre 40-tonne steel ice-strengthened motor sailor dive support vessel named ICE. Two crew members have already been selected, and McIntyre is looking for others to join them -- and to share the costs.

Tarawa, an island in the central Pacific, was the scene of a fierce battle in WWII, in which thousands of US and Japanese forces lost their lives.

In his latest blog post, McIntyre reports:  "After crossing the equator Sunday weather was fantastic. We made a call to Macca [ABC radio host Ian MacNamara] on Australia All Over. We listen to Radio Australia every Sunday which was fun as he has many listeners in Australia and around the \Pacific.

"Then we passed another cruising yacht... going the other way..They left England 20 years ago and are still cruising..They were suprised to see us, as they heard us talking to Macca a few hours before on their radio.

"We cruised past great islands and were settling into another moonlit night with light winds when..silience!.. the engine just stopped dead like someone switched it off. It was 1930hrs.".

You can follow the ICE and contact its crew by visiting its website:
http://www.bluetreasure.me/blog/

Don will be donating 20% of any share of the treasure that he finds toa British charity, The Sheffield Institute Foundation for Research into Motor Neurone Disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's & Other Neurological Disorders.SMA,(SMA is a children's form of MND).

More photos:  http://s1091.photobucket.com/albums/i386/Bluetreasure-Ice/

Treasure Hunters in Palau

From ERIC SHACKLE in Sydney, Australia. <ericshackle*bigpond.com>

Australian adventurer Don McIntyre and his team of treasure hunters have reached Palau, one of the most remote places on earth. It's an island nation in the Pacific, about 500 miles (800 km) east of the Philippines, and 2000 miles (3200 km) south of Tokyo.

"If you have to be stuck somewhere, Palau is just the ticket," McIntyre says in his blog.
"Unfortunately it is a little more expensive than the Philippines. But the people are great."

In April 2008 McIntyre launched his new15.2m steel, 40 tonne ice strengthend expedition motor-sailer "ICE", following a three year, 50,000 man hour build in China. This new adventure ship is capable of going anywhere, has a 5000-mile range under power, carries comprehensive dive gear and its own Polaris Amphib flying boat for filming and exploration.


McIntyre  intends to fly back to Australia on May 17, before taking off from Pelau on the first leg of the exciting voyage to Tonga.

You can follow the voyage by checking out  the BlueTreasure  blog: http://www.bluetreasure.me/blog/