In 1985, he sailed to the South China Sea to try his luck again, and succeeded in raising gold, porcelain, and silver from the Geldermalsen, a vessel belonging to the Dutch East India Company. China was shocked when some 150,000 Chinese artifacts from the wreck were sold at an auction in Amsterdam the next year for US $ 20 million.
1985 年，他跑到南中國海重施故技，撈起載有黃金、陶瓷、銀器等南京船貨的荷蘭東印度公司商船「蓋德麻森號」，隔年並在阿姆斯特丹拍賣這批中國文物，數量達 15 萬件，拍賣總價高達 2,000 萬美元，震驚了整個中國。