Dave Horner

Dave Horner was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on December 13, 1934. He and his late wife Jayne Bond Horner have three daughters and have always called the East Coast home. Dave currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia, surrounded by family and friends. Horner went to E.C. Glass High School prior to graduating from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics as well as a Graduate Degree in banking from Rutgers University.

He was a senior lifeguard at Virginia Beach and shares that resort’s unofficial record for rescues in the surf, he and his partner saving 63 persons in one day. Since his early days as a lifeguard in Virginia Beach Dave Horner loved the ocean. A man he rescued later returned and presented Dave with his very first scuba gear as a thank you for saving his life. That generous gesture magically changed Dave’s own life, for he then developed a passion in under water exploration, lost treasure ships, and the fascinating and little-known mysteries in life.

In addition, he is the Founder of Maritime Explorations in Virginia Beach, Virginia and has been featured on What’s My Line, Today, To Tell the Truth, and various other local TV and radio shows. He is a nationally certified scuba instructor and has taught safe skin and scuba diving techniques to more than 2000 persons. As an expert Scuba diver, he was one of the first Nationally Certified Scuba Instructors in the country. Dave conducted salvage and diving expeditions while teaching scuba skills and water safety. With scuba diving explorations of sunken treasure galleons and safaris in the cradle of civilization under his metaphorical belt, Dave Horner is no stranger to adventure.

From his early days in the Navy, the Lynchburg, Virginia native has made a career at sea. Mr. Horner served as an Assistant Navigator and Quartermaster 2nd class from 1956 to 1958. He then pursued an exemplary career in commercial banking. His ambitious nature also translated into a successful business career. At the age of thirty, he became the youngest bank president in the state of Virginia. Later, he was made bank president of a major Orlando, Florida bank, and was named Small Business person of the Year for the State of Florida.

Dave pioneered sport diving for treasure through charter trips to sunken ships. He is a member of the Explorers Club and has sailed his custom schooner to interesting islands and reefs around the world. He then advanced his ocean interest as a professional diver and is a specialist in underwater photography. Dave also founded a dive shop and a program for youths at the YMCA.

Horner founded Florida Food Industries and became the chairman of Horner Properties, Inc., his real estate investment business. In the late 1970’s he purchased, developed, and grew his franchise of Popeye’s Famous Fried Chicken in Central Florida. In 1984, he received the Small Businessperson of the Year Award in Florida.

Dave Horner has lived a life of adventure, a successful business career. He has studied subjects that interest him with a dedicated determination. Unsolved mysteries and other interesting subjects have always been a passion for Horner. His interest in sport diving led him to research, locate, and successfully salvage a sunken treasure ship. Along the way he has put together a fine collection of shipwreck coins and artifacts. Both the Bahamas and the government of Ecuador have recognized Horner for his part in the salvage of three Spanish galleons lost in the 1600s. Since the 1970s, he has been involved in seafaring activities and is considered an ocean diver as well as maritime historian. With this expertise, he has written numerous books about sunken ships and treasure hunting.

A member of the Explorers Club and a maritime historian, Dave personally recovered many ancient artifacts and coins salvaged from numerous shipwrecks in U.S. and Caribbean waters, as well as from the major shipwreck, La Capitana off the coast of Ecuador. He has researched and authored numerous books, including “Shipwreck, Skin Divers and Sunken Gold,” “Better Scuba Diving for Boys,” “The Blockade Runners,” “The Treasure Galleons." His book "The Earhart Enigma,” won the Silver Medal Award for Non-Fiction in the state of Florida. Dave's most recent book "Secrets & Mysteries of Christopher Columbus" was published in 2019 along with co-author Carlos Evaristo and the Royal House of Portugal, in conjunction with a documentary that complements the book and brings the mysteries surrounding Columbus' heritage and true identity to life.

He was honored by the Royal House of Portugal with the conferral of Hereditary Knighthood and membership in the ancient Order of Saint Michael of the Wing. He is the founder of the Royal Association for History and Archaeology (RAHA), and a Member of the Royal Honor Guard of Portugal. Dave is also a Noble Member of the Prester John Institute, and a Member of the Chivalric Orders of the House of Rwanda, Conferred by H.M. King Kigeli VI.