Shipwrecked on the Scorpion Reef

Bill Howard, local diving enthusiast, talks diving adventures and shows off personal treasures

Bill Howard, diving enthusiast, presented "Shipwrecked on the Scorpion Reef, A Diving Exploration Documentary," at the South Arkansas Community College Library on Tuesday. Howard and his wife, Cacilia became interested in scuba diving in the '60s by watching the Jacques Cousteau diving shows.

“At the time there was no training in El Dorado, so I ordered a U.S. Navy dive manual,” Howard said. “We started diving in the Keys in Florida and advanced to Cozumel.”

While diving in Cozumel, Mexico, the Howards found out about the Conservation, Exploration, Diving, Archeology, Museums International organization. They met the person who organized CEDAM and were told about diving the shipwrecks on Scorpion Reef.

Scorpion Reef surrounds a small group of islands in the Gulf of Mexico. The reef is the largest in the southern Gulf of Mexico and is part of the Campeche Bank archipelago.

The first year the couple dove Scorpion Reef was the most interesting, Howard said. The second year, the leader of the group got a Hollywood photographer to make a documentary of the trip.

Howard is shown in the documentary finding cannon balls from the shipwreck in the Scorpion Reef.

“You had to be a member of the organization in order to dive in Mexican waters,” Howard said. “We were allowed to bring only scraps. All of the valuable artifacts had to go into a museum in Mexico City.”

Howard displayed the cannon balls he found, some silverware, an old door knob, piece of pottery and many other artifacts found on his numerous dives.

When the Howards began diving in the '60s, it wasn’t illegal to gather coral. They had gathered a collection over the years, which is now displayed on the SouthArk campus.

The Howards dove for many years. “We dived until three years before I lost my wife,” he said. “When I lost my wife, I lost my diving partner and you’re supposed to have a diving partner.”

After his wife passed, he sold and donated all of his equipment.

Howard currently enjoys sharing stories of his diving adventures and showing off his treasures and artifacts.

Photos by Kaitlyn Rigdon/News-Tines Diving treasures: Bill Howard shows off treasures that he has found while diving. He presented a short documentary and his findings at the SouthArk Community College Library on Tuesday.

Artifacts: Howard displays artifacts he has gathered throughout the years including silverware, doorknobs, cannon balls, pieces of pottery and much more.

Guest speaker: Bill Howard talks to a crowd about the findings he and his wife made while diving.

Priceless treasure: Howard had a ring made from glass beads found on a dive where a ship lost millions of beads, scissors, needles, thimbles and crucifixes.

Coral display: Howard donated coral that he collected on his dives to the SouthArk Community College, which is displayed on the school's campus.