​A member of the Explorers Club, 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 of La Capitana off the coast of Ecuador. He has researched and authored several books, including “Shipwrecks, Skin Divers and Sunken Gold”, “Better Scuba Diving for Boys”, “The Blockade Runners”, “The Treasure Galleons”, and “Shipwreck: A Saga of Sea Tragedy and Sunken Treasure”.  Dave’s more recent book, “The Earhart Enigma”, won the Silver Medalist Award for Non-Fiction in the State of Florida.

Since his early days as a lifeguard at Virginia Beach, Dave Horner loved the ocean. A man he rescued later returned and presented Dave with 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 underwater exploration, lost treasure ships, the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, and currently, the fascinating, never-before-detailed life of the Real Christopher Columbus. 

​Dave Horner is a Graduate of the University of Virginia and Rutgers Graduate School. He was an Assistant Navigator in the U.S. Navy. He then advanced his ocean interests as a professional diver, and founded a dive shop and a program for youth at the YMCA. He wrote several books about his adventures above and below the sea, while undertaking salvaging and diving expeditions as well as teaching scuba skills and water safety. He then pursued an exemplary career in commercial banking, becoming the youngest bank president in the state of Virginia at the age of 30. In the late 1970’s, he purchased, developed, and grew his franchise of Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken in Central Florida. In 1984, he received the Small Business Person of the Year Award in Florida.

​He was honored by the Royal House of Portugal with the conferral of Knighthood in the Ancient Order of Saint Michael of the Wing, as well as a member of the Royal Honor Guard of Portugal and a Hereditary Knight of the Portuguese Royal House. Dave is a Noble Member of the Prester John Institute, and a Member of the Royal Order of the House of Rwanda conferred by H.M. King Kigeli V.
Dave resides in Vero Beach, Florida with his wife Constance.