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PACIFIC SEA RESOURCES, INC.
William M. Mathers, President
333 Fern St, Apt 1002
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
After earning a degree in history from Yale University, Bill Mathers served as a US Navy Diving and Salvage Officer in Vietnam then worked as a Marine Salvage Master in South Asia. In 1975, he became the operations partner in a marine construction firm building oil terminals, commercial docks and related civil works around the world. Ten years later, Bill formed Pacific Sea Resources, Inc. to undertake commercial marine archaeological projects near shore and offshore. His marine experience includes the ownership and design of oceangoing sailing and power catamarans.
PACIFIC SEA RESOSURCES (PSR) PROJECTS
NUESTRA SENORA DE LA CONCEPCION (1986-1993)
Worldwide research into the details of the Manila galleon trade preceded the completion of a contract with the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands for the recovery and documentation of the galleon. The Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion (Concepcion), was lost off Saipan in 1638. Two years of field recovery by PSR’s international team of 30 persons was followed by two years of preparations and documentation (a 650-page archaeological report) of the artifacts. The entire Concepcion Collection is presently housed in a dedicated museum on the island of Saipan. A 54-page National Geographic article, an in-depth oversize illustrated book and three films also resulted from the project.
JAVA SEA (1997-1999)
The Southern Song trading vessel was lost in the Java Sea in approximately 1250. It was eventually recovered by PSR’s 35-person crew on a rescue salvage contract with the Indonesian government. PSR published the results of the project in a 270-page Archaeological Report and donated the artifacts and records to the Field Museum in Chicago in 2000.
STEAMSHIP PACIFIC (1993-2017)
PSR is continuing a search for the steamship PACIFIC, lost off the coast of Washington state in deep water in 1875. The project has included three major side scan surveys and an AUV search, plus three separate investigations with ROV’s of anomalies, over the years. PSR has contractual agreements with the cargo and hull underwriters, as well as with the subsequent owners of the shipping line.
SLAVE SHIP PETER MOWELL (2012)
PSR located the site of the 1860 wrecking of the slave ship PETER MOWELL on Lynyard Cay in a joint operation with the Bahamian Government’s AMMC.
HAMILTON/SCOURGE (1992)
In cooperation with National Geographic Magazine, PSR developed a program for the recovery, conservation and display of the intact vessels Hamilton and Scourge. These vessels sunk in the War of 1812 and have been preserved intact in the cold fresh water on the bottom of Lake Ontario.
ATOCHA DEBRIS TRAIL (2010)
Utilizing a 62-foot power catamaran PSR, contracted by Aqua Survey of New Jersey, PSR excavated targets located with a metal detecting sled in the debris trail of the Spanish galleon ATOCHA, which was wrecked in 1622.