. >> her name is nuestra seÑora de atocha.in september 1622, the spanish galleon leaves havana, bound for seville. she's loaded with treasure from spain's central and south american colonies -- gold bars, finely worked religious articles, and gold chains that some spanish officials are trying to smuggle home in their baggage. [ thunder crashes ] but a caribbean storm sends the atocha to the bottom. finding her wreck becomes mel fisher's obsession. every morning, he rousts his crew with a simple statement -- "today is the day." >> and, of course, every day, my father is saying, "today is the day. we're gonna hit it. we're almost there. it'll only take a few more months, and we'll have it all." >> finally, mel's search turns up a couple of musket balls from the atocha, plus some coins, a gold chain, and an anchor, then three silver bars -- 76 pounds each. he's getting warmer. >> but then it would kind of piddle off, and he'd say, "that's all right. we'll find it tomorrow." and the next day, "today is the day." >> mel and deo's s