Many Spanish soldiers attempted to swim to shore when their galleons sank in hurricanes off the South American and Caribbean coats in the 1500's. They might have made it, but they tried to swim with bags of gold tied around their bodies. The gold didn't go to waste - centuries later, others with modern equipment have been able to retrieve much of it. There's a lesson here somewhere. When fire about to burn you alive, better get outta there and people 500 years from now will think you wiser than if you stay & burn with your pot.