My sunken treasure story...

We Taxi up to Xtabi for some early snorkeling & breakfast. I snorkel for only 15 minutes. Get on the ladder to get out,it's very rough there by the rocks.I grab the ladder but see something not natural floating right below me.I see black straps waving....It's between the middle ladder and the cliff,so bit shaky there...But,,,,I'm intrigued....Deep Deep breath,,swim down fast between the next set of waves,grab the thing and swim up fast....

I get up the ladder and it's this "Go Pro" underwater camera that straps on your head?????? I didn't know at first but I know it looked nice. I go upstairs to show my wife my found treasure from the bottom of the sea and act all Fred Costeau and brag. I ask those there if they had just dropped it because we know once in the sea the object goes away with the currents.Nobody claims it......E-Bay sale here I come.....

Two days later we go back to Xtabi for the same,,,,I see the bartender Omar who we know from staying here last year. I brag to him about my booty,,,or bounty....He says he knows the guy who lost it because he left him his phone number in case ?????? He lost it in the sea TWO WEEKS ago ????? And yet,it was right back by the ladder when I was getting out????? So I say,O/K,call him (but I really want to verify that this is legit before I give this away?,right?)

Omar say's here is the man,,,,,I'm looking for some pro-snorkerler? This 300lb Italian guy on a small scooter with long hair & beard like some Pirate? I had the camera back at the room at CoCo,so Omar tells him we are going to eat & have some drinks first.So,he waits.Omar said he knows him and he is cool...So,I wasn't planning on going back to the beach but? He is waiting there.... Hey pal,buy us a drink at least? So....


I have to get my OWN cab and pay to get his camera back,,losing the love here,ya know? But he follows the cab on his scooter,,,down the road,us in front and the 300lb Italian dirty Santa on the scooter with the tires 1/2 flat????? He waits out front,I go to the room and bring out the camera,,,,,he smiles and kisses the camera,we shake hands....He pulls out 2,000 J.........I stashed the bills in my shirt......

Imagine getting back something that was in the ocean for two weeks.....

2,000 J can buy MUCHO drinks at Sunnyside Bar,,,,150J each.....God wanted me to have those free Red Stripes...Thanks God.

Great story Fredstripe, when good things happen to good people.

I'm assuming the camera was waterproof. I wonder if it was still waterproof after 2 weeks?
anyhow, he got the better part of the deal. Those cameras are expensive, you should have told him you wanted $5,000 at least for the finders fee. - more beer for you.
Good tale though.
How long are you here? Where do you hang out?

Very NICE ...
glad to see that we still have honest people in the world

reward or not ..
You SIR are a fine upstanding gentleman !!!

Sometimes doing the right thing isn't always easy. The resulting Karma will definitely be beneficial I am sure.

I too wonder how that camera did after being washed up and down on those rocks for two weeks. I would suggest that he go buy some lottery tickets but I am guessing all his luck was used up with you finding and returning that camera.

It sounds like a "GoPro Hero" camera.
They are outdoor action cameras.
Very often they're mounted on skiers helmets or kayaker decks.
They are built for rugged circumstances and that includes scuba diving.

So FredStripe was probably holding on to a (still) fully functional unit.

These sell (unbaptised) for around $300.

I guess people loose these a lot. We found one floating in front of firefly. It was attached to one of those spongy red floats. From where I first saw it, it looked like a empty pack of Malborgh reds. So I went over and checked it out. Knew exactly what it was and kinda hoped it fell from a parasailer or a jetskier and floated in. But it didn't, good dude from our hotel came out twenty mins later looking for it and I said to my gf, bet it's his. It was. Obsiously, he was super happy.

Great story! Hope it works for him. I had a Nikon Coolpix AW100 last Feb. and managed to drown it. Supposed to be shock resistant and waterproof to 33 ft. but I forgot to clean a few sand crystals off the seal and pow out it went. They fixed it for free and I still use it. We'll see this Feb....

Had the same thing happen to a Canon two years ago. "water proof" is only as good as those seals...mine was installed improperly I had in the water two seconds and it was done. They fixed it for free also.

I found a large diamond ring out by Booby Cay early 90's.........still have it....appraised at 400.00, will give it to Daughter some day....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kahuna3

I'm assuming the camera was waterproof. I wonder if it was still waterproof after 2 weeks?
anyhow, he got the better part of the deal. Those cameras are expensive, you should have told him you wanted $5,000 at least for the finders fee. - more beer for you.
Good tale though.
How long are you here? Where do you hang out?

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Youtube those cameras....they can survive a crash from a parachute...weeks in the ocean....all sorts of stuff.

I was hoping you found my gold nugget toe ring the sea took from me in 2005. It was a birthday present years before toe rings were the norm. My friend who gave it to me lived & had a shop in the Cayman Islands for years so when she gave it to me in 1983, it was normal for her... unique for me. It never left my toe except when it was resized (a size 2!) & when I had toe surgery in 2004. It was a struggle to get back on after I healed so I was beyond shocked when I got out of the water the next summer & my ring was gone! I grieved & bought myself 2 new ones... the kind you can really crunch in place. Just don't ask me to take those off now - lol.