03x12 - Treasured Adventures

[bunniefuu]

- There it is, I see it.
- Yeah.

On beyond oak island.

Find some treasure, boys.

What a year this was.
We found treasure.

- Spanish eight real, buddy.
- Come on!

- Is it, really?
- Let's go!

It's the only authentic

Pirate ship found in the world.

I'm
actually getting a signal here.

Mel fisher was
looking for the atocha.

- Wow.
- He received coins and chains and

- Bars and emeralds.
- That's beautiful.

You can actually
see what we think is a box.

- I think it looks man-made.
- You think that's gold?

- Yeah, it's gold!
- No way! Aah!

What you're looking
at is a section

- Of a shipwreck.
- Oh, my god. -Wow.

All the while we
were growing up,

My brother and I were
fascinated with finding treasure.

Pirate treasure,

Cursed treasure.

Civil w*r gold.

Since then,
our work on oak island

Has shown us there's
a world of mysteries...

- Whoa.
- Waiting to be explored.

So, we like to reach
out to other treasure hunters.

X marks the spot,
right there. Brilliant.

- We want to hear their stories...
- That's right.

- And share our insights.
- "ill-gotten gains."

- And who knows...
- I got it.

Maybe we can help
them with their search.

Not only in america.

Wow. That is gold.

- But all over the world.
- Yeah!

Beyond oak island.

What a year
this was. I mean...

It's really our
third time around,

Looking at these other mysteries

Beyond oak island,
and I can tell you,

This summer was a real
game changer for me personally,

Professionally, I
learned so much.

I got to be with both
of you on the road,

Which is, like, my
favorite thing in the world,

And I think we really

Showed this year, in particular,

How it's done.

How methodical you have to be.

But along the way, we
definitely moved the needle

On each of these like
never before, I think.

I mean, we found treasure.

Quintessential, good old
cliché gold and silver coins.

But when we didn't,
even in those moments,

We found corroborating
evidence each time

That fit the story,

Which is no guarantee.

I think this year was
awesome for us, I really do.

You know I often
do role reversal.

I mean, I'm fixated on finding

Some valuable treasure
here on oak island,

But on these, I'm as
much into the story as,

As he normally is.

Everything we talk
about here: Persistence,

The ability to
deal with adversity,

The commitment, the
passion, the intellect,

The-the application of
science and technology.

Across the board,
it is very consistent

With everyone we've met.

I think that's correct.

They set a goal,

They believed they
could accomplish it...

They had hoped they could...

And they, and they went for it.

They have the
story in their hand

Before they start
looking. I mean,

Mel fisher knew he was
looking for the atocha.

What an incredible
journey that was.

- Onward, captain!
- Let's go!

Of the numerous treasure hunts

That the laginas and matty blake

Have taken part in
over the past year...

Today's the day
we're gonna find some treasure,

I'll tell you that
much right now.

Diver's in!

We named this area emerald city.

Few have matched the excitement

Of the fisher family's
ongoing quest

To salvage valuables
from the fabled wreck

Of the atocha in the
waters near key west, florida.

We're treasure hunting, fellas.

Come on, baby,
bring me some green.

The 550-ton
spanish galleon known as

The nuestra señora de atocha

Was sunk and broken apart by

A series of hurricanes in 1622,

Leaving a precious
cargo of gold, silver,

Emeralds, and artifacts

Worth more than a billion
dollars in today's value

Scattered across a
ten-mile debris field.

The wreck remained lost for
more than four centuries until

A midwestern chicken
farmer turned salvage diver

Named mel fisher... along with
his wife deo and their team...

Found some $450
million in treasure in 1973.

Although mel fisher
passed away in 1998,

His family... including
his grandson melvin...

Continue to recover
treasure and artifacts

From the atocha every year.

Oh, that's cool.

While helping to
salvage new finds with melvin

During the spring of 2022...

Gold's incredible, isn't it?

Look at that.

It's more fun when you

Dribble it into
their hand, like...

Wow.

Rick, marty, and matty

Also met with
melvin's mother taffi

And his uncle kim

To experience
some of the family's

Greatest past discoveries

At their treasure museum
and store in key west.

Let me show you
some of the emeralds.

Oh, fantastic.

Look at that, wow.

That's amazing.

That's beautiful.

And the darker the green,

- The more valuable the emerald.
- Oh, really?

- Yeah.
- What the hell is that one?

$500,000, $600,000.

- Whoa!
- Wow.

Move these away from me.

I don't want to hurt 'em.

You know there was a
common denominator there

On that atocha thing you
and I were on, though, rick.

You know how, when the
hammer grab comes out here,

Every time you're thinking,
"wow, I wonder what's in there."

- You're eager to go look at it.
- This'll be it.

Yeah, well, as that stuff was

Coming across the
screen out there,

That same feeling was there,

- I'm sure you had it, too.
- Oh, sure.

Will an emerald pop up,

Will a silver coin pop up?

- That's right.
- Hope arises,

And the sort of
"today's the day" thing

Was even happening
to us out there.

- Absolutely.
- Today's the day

That these emeralds
are going to pop up.

Yeah, I was so honored
to get two cracks at it

And go back with tony sampson.

Let's put on our dive gear.

Let's get the
gear on, let's go do this.

- Let's make today the day.
- Today's the day!

Several weeks
after his trip with rick and marty,

Matty returned to key
west with their friend,

Professional diver
tony sampson...

Find some treasure, boys.

To once again assist the fishers

In their quest to find more
of the atocha's lost treasures.

What do you got, fellas?

Over. What do you got?

My heart's pounding right now.

No way! Whoo!

Well, of course, we've
stayed in touch with the fishers.

They have an update, and
mel's actually standing by,

- So...
- That's great.

Let's see what they're up to.

- Hello, mel. -Mel.
- Hi, mel.

Hey, guys, how's it going?

- Good.
- We were wondering that

About you, how's it going?

Very good, I'm enjoying

My time here in
sebastian right now.

What's on the
wish list right now?

Like, I know when we were there,

We were looking for emeralds,

And then we moved off that
site when tony and I came out,

Looking for more kind of coins.

Are you hot on the trail
of kind of a new area

You think might
make new discoveries?

Yes, so,

The magruder's focus for the,

The remainder of this
season is going to be

Working the areas they've
been working, that gold line.

We want to continue
to excavate in that area

And recover whatever
artifacts are there.

As far as the new areas,
one of our other ships,

The dare, a 90-foot
salvage vessel,

Is headed out to the
northwest area of the trail,

An area of virgin territory,

And they're going to
be making excavations,

Seeing what they can find there.

We do have a lot of very
good magnetometer targets

In this area, so I'm
hopeful that we will

Start finding coins in bunches.

There's still an
estimated 100,000 coins

Between the atocha
and santa margarita,

Roughly 60,000
alone on the atocha.

And just to find one chest

Of 5,000 coins

Would really make me very happy.

Hey, mel,

I see on the
internet... and I kind of

Half-follow these things...

That an emerald from the atocha

Went for a really good price,

An amazing price, at sotheby's

Recently.

And I also saw that
the money from that,

Which is really heartwarming,
went to the people of ukraine.

Is there more to that story?

- Can you give us some background?
- Sure.

So, a while back
we were contacted by

A pr firm that's working with

Mitzi perdue, the widow
of chicken empire magnate

Frank perdue.

And frank was a
longtime investor

In my grandfather's expedition,

And he was all the way
through the mother lode

And then some.

He received lots
and lots of treasure...

Coins and chains and
bars and emeralds...

And one of these emeralds

He had turned into an engagement
ring for his wife mitzi perdue.

And she has now
auctioned off that item,

And, uh, cause for charity.

That's a great round trip
for that emerald, isn't it?

I mean, that's-that's
really nice, to be...

So, the treasure that
your grandfather found

Is now going to help
the people of ukraine.

Absolutely, and mel
used to say, you know,

We're just the
custodians of this,

It belonged to
somebody before us

And it's going to belong
to somebody after us.

Funny, we hear
that all the time, too.

Well, it's clearly true.

Well, there's a lot more
emeralds out there,

Ready to be brought up,

And we have
plenty in stock, so...

If anybody else wants to

Buy an emerald and donate it

For another good cause,
you know who to contact.

I think maybe you
got your grandfather's

Sales ability, you know?

I think I can feel it

Coming through the screen, okay?

They call that
the fisher factor.

Yeah, I think I just
sensed it, yeah.

Well, listen, on a similar note,

Please say hi to your
mother and your uncle,

Taffi and kim, and,
um, from all of us.

We wish you the best of luck

And hopefully we
can stay in contact.

I sure hope so, too,
and it means the world.

Thank you guys so
much for having me,

It's really been an
awesome experience.

Yeah, for us, too, and if
you find that sterncastle,

Give us a ring, will you?

You guys will be
one of my first calls.

I got about 85
investors ahead of you.

But I will call you.

That's completely fair

And the right priority.
Thanks a lot, mel.

Been a pleasure, thank you.

- Bye, guys.
- Thanks, mel.

All the real treasure
stories that we've been on

Or been lucky to
hear of or be a part of,

It all has that
same theme, right?

- Pretty much.
- Ill-gotten gains,

Chased by the
authorities, a need to

Safeguard it, and then

- Leave and never come back.
- That's right.

And that's the genesis of

- Almost every treasure story.
- A lot of them.

I was thinking,

What we were looking
for this year varied.

But there were a couple
direct searches for gold,

Which is always exciting.

And it was kind of fun to
kick things off, basically,

With a search for
gold, with captain joe.

Oh, yeah.

That story was really
interesting because

I had never heard
of it. Had you heard of

- This guy before?
- No, no. Aury?

- I certainly had not.
- Right,

And that's really fun,
to learn these things,

- This captain aury...
- Yeah.

- Who was quite a character.
- Yes.

This is captain joe's house.

All right, I think
I see our crew.

Yeah, there's our crew.

When marty was contacted

Early last year by joe
zsiga... a retired boat captain

From tampa, florida...
And given the opportunity

To help recover more
than a billion dollars

In buried gold,

It was an offer that he and
matty blake could not refuse.

The document that I have

Tells a little story
about captain louis aury.

Went to this well

- To stash his treasure.
- Yeah.

According to their research,

Captain joe and his
friend michael gattuso

Believe that the
treasure had been buried

On a nearby beach in
1817 by captain louis aury.

Originally from paris, France,

Captain aury helped lead

Numerous central american
revolutions against the spanish

Before becoming one of
the most successful privateers

In the early 19th
century, establishing

A base of operations
near tampa, florida.

However, when the united
states outlawed privateering,

Aury was forced to flee...

But not before reportedly

Burying 11 separate
caches of gold

On a beach near an ancient well.

- You guys can start hammering away.
- All right.

After recruiting
archaeologist dr. Aaron taylor,

Who secured a permit
for the search to proceed...

Right here, I'm
actually getting a signal right here.

- There it is.
- Do we have a well?

I think we have
a well, gentlemen.

Marty, along with matty,
helped joe and his team

Locate the old
well and then obtain

Metal detection
readings that indicated

11 different caches of gold

Were possibly
buried on the beach,

Just as joe believed.

There's
definitely something here.

- Shall we begin?
- Yes.

The team found several
promising clues and artifacts,

Potentially dating to
the early 19th century.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...

- Whoa.
- I don't know what that is.

Hey, you guys got something?

That doesn't look
naturally made.

Feels like the bottom
of a pot or something?

It's a chert; it's something
first nations would have used.

However, like many
treasure hunters have experienced

On oak island, each time

The team's digs
approached the target depths,

Ocean water rushed in,

Thwarting the chances
for a major discovery.

- You still believe the treasure's here?
- Yes, I do.

- You do?
- Yes, I do.

There's just too much out there

- That points to it.
- Yeah.

If we were allowed to have

A small backhoe in there,

We would have got to that cache.

I don't think this is the end

Of captain joe zsiga.

This is only the beginning.

It will continue on.

It's, it's frustrating.

Exciting, exhilarating, but
also frustrating, because

We kept getting that gold hit.

Yeah, well, there's
similarities, too,

The sand and the
water were coming in.

No flood tunnel this time,

But, you know, come
on, we're digging right...

- The beach was just, like, right there.
- Right.

And, um, so, the
water... deeper we got,

The more, you
know, sand sloughs in.

Not only just us,
but dan and dunfield.

I mean, dunfield lost the
big dig because of that.

- Similar, yeah.
- The cave-in pit

Was abandoned because of that,

The south shore pit was
abandoned because of that.

And those were real clues.

Those were... presented
real opportunities

To do what you
were trying to do.

Locate something
to be retrieved.

So, yes, it's happened
here many times.

Yeah, you couldn't help
but think of oak island,

Watching that sand
collapse in on itself

When the water came up,

As we're getting
gold signatures.

Impossible not to
think of oak island.

It was exciting.

You know, it would be nice to

Pull out a, you know,
a nice little chest

Full of gold coins.

And he'd done his research,

The story seemed plausible.

- Mm-hmm.
- And then, of course,

The thing you
admire so much, rick,

About all the
treasure hunters is that

You say to captain
joe, "are you done?"

"hell no! No, no, no,

I'm coming back,
I'm gonna get..."

He's supposedly trying

- To get different permits.
- Yes.

He's trying to
research the title.

He wants to get in
there with equipment.

According to his own admission
when we talked to him last,

It really validated him
with state archaeologists

And the local authorities there

To continue his search,

Because he found
something of great educational

And historical value in that
area, and that's awesome.

And was done properly
'cause we furnished

Dr. Taylor's expertise.

Anyway, it was a real
interesting story and

A real interesting hunt, and
it was fun, wasn't it, matty?

- It was fun.
- It was really fun.

It was fun to get a little
dirty and do some work.

And then, speaking of gold hits,

Then you went on an adventure

- Without us.
- Without us.

Yeah, but actually came up with

Some of the shiny stuff, right?

This was my top-pocket find.

You have it with you?

I do.

I mean, this is a
small piece of gold,

But I can't tell you...

- I can see it from here.
- What it means to me

And what it meant
to me in the moment.

And, um...

Oh, yeah.

I mean, just incredible.

The fisher family were awesome.

Father-son team again.

And what they've uncovered
is really, truly incredible.

We always say it, we're
showing up for one,

- Maybe two days.
- Yeah.

I did not expect this moment.

And that can't
be the lone ranger,

- There's more of those.
- Right.

And the gentlemen in this case,

Tim and ross fisher,

They knew there was a history
of gold mining in the area...

- Yes.
- When they bought their piece of land.

But they had no idea there was

- A complete ship dredge there.
- That's right.

As they uncovered it, just,

"wow, wow, wow,
what did we buy here?"

- That's right.
- So that's interesting,

And that's the serendipity
side of things, too,

- I guess.
- Incredible.

Well, we made it.

Nikoline, we're here.

Two new englanders in the south.

- Let's go!
- All right.

Last year

In nash county, north carolina,

Matty blake and
metal detection expert

Nikoline bohr

Seized a golden opportunity
for rich discoveries

With father-and-son
treasure hunters

Tim and ross fisher,

Who have been
searching a gold dredge

That they discovered on
their property back in 2019.

You won't believe
what you're gonna see

Just through those woods, man.

- Holy moly.
- That is incredible.

Come on down
and check it out, guys.

The dredge,
which was constructed

In the early 1900s,
is actually a ship

That was designed
to float in shallow water

While scooping soil
into compartments.

Check it out,
guys, it's all, uh...

Very much a frankensluice.

Just over a century later,

Tim and ross have created

Their own gold
processing machine,

Known as the frankensluice,

And a digging
crane that they hope

Will help them discover
untold millions in gold

That they believe is
still waiting to be found

On the dredge and in old spoils
piles that it produced long ago.

Well, uh, I want to see
some gold coming out of this.

- Yeah. -Let's do it.
- All right.

- Come on, baby!
- Yes, sirree.

Oh, how about
this? What's that?

- Where, where, where?
- You think that's gold?

- Yeah, it's gold!
- No way!

- Good job.
- I can't believe it.

Aah!

Matty and nikoline

Made numerous
incredible discoveries

With tim and ross.

- Fire it up.
- Whoo!

Before having a
portion of them processed

In the fishers' very
own gold smelting plant.

Put your hand out.

- Gold!
- There you go.

The spirited
and rewarding adventure

Culminated with special
gifts from the fishers,

Which matty delivered
to rick and marty...

- Wow!
- Back on oak island.

I see a bunch of gold in here.

Geez, didn't expect that.

It is some gold

From our area, off the dredge.

Very cool.

I'm staying in touch
with them, and, um,

When they start
pulling out more gold

And those chunks of
gold, we'll know about it.

Okay, well, thanks
for being our emissary.

- Oh! -They're great people.
- Oh, yeah, loved them.

They're the best.

Southern hospitality
personified.

We've been
hot on the trail of many

Scallywags and
pirates and privateers.

Some, actually a huge surprise
in what they accomplished.

Others, we knew
their reputations.

You know, the blackbeards
of the world, things like that.

But we've been really
lucky to be with true experts

On a lot of these
pirates, privateers.

I know I've learned
an incredible amount of

What I thought a pirate was

And what they really were,
the reality behind them.

The most informative trip that
we've been on, in my opinion,

Was the ability to
go to your backyard...

And talk to the cliffords,
barry and brandon,

Father and son, again,
and talk about the whydah.

It was informative,

It was insightful,
it... to your point,

It changed my perception of
the "conventional understanding"

Of "pirates and piracy."

And the other thing
that was quite revealing,

Which I did not know at
all, when barry said to us,

"it's the only authentic
pirate ship found

With authentic pirate treasure."

- Yes, yes.
- In the world.

Although more
than a dozen legends revolving

Around lost pirate
treasures believed to exist

Throughout the united states
have captivated searchers...

Including those connected
to the likes of blackbeard,

Captain william kidd,

And louis aury,

To date none of them
have been located.

Get the divers ready.

However,
thanks to renowned explorer

Barry clifford and
his son brandon,

In 2022, rick, matty,

And diver tony sampson
got the historic opportunity

To search for artifacts
from the whydah gally...

Diver's in the water.

A wreck valued at
more than a billion dollars,

Connected to the english
pirate black sam bellamy,

Which broke apart and
sank in a storm off the coast

Of cape cod,
massachusetts in 1717.

In 1984, barry,

Along with his friend
john f. Kennedy jr.,

Located parts of the
wreckage and an estimated

$400 million worth of
multicultural artifacts

And valuables,

Which are all
preserved and housed

For public education in
two dedicated museums.

This is cool already.

Wow.

Here you see
the whydah's anchor.

Oh, wow. My goodness.

During rick,
matty, and tony's adventure

With the cliffords...

Tony and brandon,

Who has been
working with his father

For more than two
decades in the ongoing effort

To recover artifacts
from the whydah,

Made some
incredible discoveries,

Including a spanish silver real.

What is that? That
looks like a coin to me!

Spanish eight real, buddy.

- Come on!
- Is it, really?

And the thing that is
indelible in my mind is

Barry and brandon's commitment

To using that
discovery, which was

Years in the making,

And revealing this story,
but it's their commitment

To, not to sell anything.

- Yeah.
- The museum that they were

Kind enough to
allow us to visit.

Their commitment to these
things are more precious,

Telling young people the story

Of pirates and piracy,
the-the commitment

- To preserving this history.
- Yeah.

Because that has impact,
that has legacy attached to it.

Another sort of tidbit that
sparked my imagination

Is, the whydah was a sl*ve ship.

It was captured by
"black sam" bellamy.

- Yep.
- Named after his hair,

By the way, I looked that up.

- Oh, cool!
- It's 'cause his hair was very black.

- That's cool.
- That's why he was black sam.

I thought it was 'cause
he was evil or something.

- Right.
- No, no, apparently his hair was jet black.

Anyway, so he
captures a sl*ve ship

And emancipates the
human beings on board,

Some of which then
served on his crew.

- That's right.
- Yeah, and this is

A well-built ship, so he says

"well, I think I'll
just take this one."

That story is the
living embodiment

Of what they... the
credo they lived by.

Equality, democracy,
the principles of

One man, one woman,
a fair share for each.

And to see that history also
come up from the depths,

When we were there, is
just exciting, and it was also

Awesome to watch
someone like barry,

Who's done what he has done,

To be there when tony and I
were there on the second trip.

They found an artifact

That barry feels
is really important.

And you could just see
and feel his excitement.

The power of that artifact,
and to be there on that day,

I mean, again, the
chances of that happening

- When you're there are not very good.
- That is pretty amazing.

And they nailed it.

Upon returning to cape cod

Several weeks later,

Matty blake and tony sampson
rejoined barry and brandon

Aboard their state-of-the-art
research vessel,

Known as the vast explorer,

To investigate an area

Where new sonar scans

Indicated a mother lode

Of the whydah's
bounty may lie buried

Beneath the sands
on the ocean floor.

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Let's go!

Once again, brandon
and tony made historic finds,

Including another silver real

And an escutcheon plate,
believed to have once adorned

A p*stol belonging to one of
the whydah's crew members.

Wow, that's beautiful.

This is, like, amazing.

This is extremely important.

- Wow.
- Extremely important.

Barry and brandon
have been kind enough

To join us today.

I believe they have
an update about

Their activities to
date, after you left.

And I'm hoping

For some good news.

Some new "a-ha!"

So, they're standing by.

- Great.
- I think we can get them up.

- Hello, gentlemen.
- Hey, guys. -Brandon: Hey.

How are you?

- Hanging in there.
- Doing pretty well, thanks.

How are you guys?

I think hanging in there
works for us, too, actually.

That sounds about right.

How are things
back home since, uh,

Since tony and I left?

We made some pretty
shocking discoveries

That we weren't, none
of us were really aware of.

- Wow.
- Until there was a side scan sonar done.

This is, like, in our backyard,
we've been swimming

Over this thing for 40
years, and we never saw it.

Wait till you see

What it is, and it's in perfect

Condition in the
image that you'll see.

What you're looking
at is approximately

A 100-foot-long
section of wreckage.

- Oh, my god.
- Wow.

That's pretty cool.

And in the side scan,

What you're looking at

Is a perfectly preserved
section of a shipwreck.

- Wow!
- Yeah, we see it now.

An old shipwreck,

Approximately a
hundred feet long,

That's been completely buried,

Because it's absolutely
in perfect condition.

Incredible image.

I mean, we swim over
the top of this all the time,

And all of those dark
areas that you're seeing

Are from objects protruding
up from the bottom.

So there's a lot of wreckage
here that's sticking up

Off the bottom, four,
five, six feet high or more.

And this was all
covered with sand.

Again, this is directly in
shore from the cannon pile

And all of the
treasure that we found

Over the years.

It's scary because
it's uncovered now,

So this, this, this very
well could be the whydah.

Wow.

And...

It looks like there's
a chest, or boxes,

In the image.

And we have to investigate
this thing immediately.

That's pretty cool.

So, brandon, off your
father's description

I can kind of picture where
this was, and I remember

On our first trip, rick and I,

You were diving right around

That area, but there was mung

And bad conditions,

And you wouldn't
have seen it anyway

'cause it was covered in sand.

Why is it exposed now?
Why is it showing itself now?

Is this a result of storms?

Yeah, you know, we've had

A number of, like,
pretty substantial swells

Come to the cape over
the last couple months and,

You know, big waves,
just digging this wreckage

Out of the sand really, so

This is now more exposed.

So it seems to be
continuously getting uncovered.

Hey, look right here, see this?

- Yeah.
- You can see the dark spot,

That's the shadow.

There's something
laying on the bottom there

That hasn't been
washed away yet.

That's a target right
there, that's a target there.

These long objects are targets.

The whydah was known to
have had african ivory on board.

What are these things?

You can see all
these ship's timbers.

The ship is on its side.

So I think we're looking at,

You know, the side of the ship

Because anchors are
kept on the side of vessels.

That, I believe, is an anchor.

Do you see that?

I see it now.

We have the potential to get out

And dive a bit, but
this is something

We'll save for next season

Because, uh, there's
just a lot of work.

Well, it looks pretty
exciting, that's for sure.

Targets galore,

The actual
substance of the ship,

Not just the stuff
it was carrying, so

That's excellent!

Congratulations on that
image, that is exciting stuff,

And I hope you can get
on it as fast as possible.

We want to be kept
informed as you progress.

Yeah, this is a fascinating
adventure. Thank you

For sharing it with us.
I mean, I... like I say,

To some extent we're
jealous... what a great find,

And well done to you.

Best of luck to both of you,

And if we can help,
you know our number.

-Thanks, guys. -Thank you.

- Take care.
- See you later, then.

Thanks a lot for your time.

Take care.

Yeah, that's pretty spectacular.

Barry and brandon are
a great example of what

We say... the
persistence to keep going.

And I know you guys
have been fairly persistent

With this poverty
island treasure.

I mean, we've taken
multiple cracks at it,

You've been a couple times,
I got to go back with you.

And I feel like every trip,

The needle has moved

A little further every
trip, it feels like.

Yeah, I think so.

During the american civil w*r

In 1863,

A believed-french ship

Sank in the northern
waters of lake michigan,

Near a 200-acre landmass
known as poverty island,

While attempting to smuggle
five wooden chests of gold

To the confederate army.

The treasure, worth an estimated
$400 million in today's value,

Was reportedly brought
to the surface in 1933

By a team of searchers
from milwaukee, wisconsin.

But unfortunately their
efforts were met with disaster

As well, when a massive
storm surge sank their vessel.

- This is the spot?
- Right here.

In 2019 and 2020,

Northern michigan
native marty lagina

Made two attempts to
find the sunken riches

With a team led by
historian bob kreipke,

Searching the north and
southern coasts of poverty island.

However, no clear
signs of treasure were found.

- Here we go, rick.
- Here we go.

We have taken treasure
hunting to new heights!

Then, in the summer of 2022,

Rick lagina, who still
resides in michigan's

Upper peninsula,
joined his friends,

Treasure hunters
mike and jess groleau,

Along with matty blake

To search the waters

On poverty island's
western coast.

- There it is, I see it.
- Yeah.

- Yep.
- It's actually light-colored,

It's in front of the boat.

Yep.

Incredibly, the laginas' third

Poverty island
adventure resulted

In promising discoveries,

As the team found
not only two shipwrecks

But also potential evidence

Of two chests on
the lake bottom.

Copy that.

Did you say a large chest?

Ship on top of
another ship... we find that;

Boxes chained together...

He sees what looks like a box
anomaly on that dive in between,

- Basically, boards of the ship.
- Mm-hmm.

So everything just lined up.

It was like they had
made a b*llet point list.

"well, first we'll see
this, then we'll see this."

- Yeah, which never happens.
- It can't be,

There's something wrong here.

And then he finds another
square-shaped anomaly,

Like you said, right
near there, alone.

Sitting clear as day with
a shadow coming down...

I mean, you saw that
imaging, it's really exciting.

Mike and jess have made

Themselves available, I
believe they have an update.

And I look forward
just to talking with them.

They're a wonderful
couple and they are

Immersed in this story.

Right.

We'll get them up.

- Hi, mike, hi, jess.
- Hello.

Hey, guys!

How are you?

-We're good. -Good, good.

We were talking about when,

When matty was in the u.P.

And, you know, the
finds that you made.

Are you still every bit as
excited today as you were then?

- I think more.
- Yeah, we are, we're

Consistently moving forward
and we've been back out there

At least a half a dozen
times now, if not more.

And we've just got
a trove of information

To dig through from side
scans and r.O.V. Video,

And that's stuff we're
going through now.

And what is that stuff
you're going through now?

We actually went back out there

To try make a dive on that box.

The weather was so
bad that we weren't able

To get down on that box,

So we were running
some more side scan sonar,

And we have something that, uh,

We think you guys are
gonna be impressed by.

It's a really great, clear image

We were able to send the r.O.V.

Down on, and we'd
like to show it to you.

Yeah, let's see it.

Holy moly.

That's a box of some kind?

- Yeah, that could be a box.
- I think it looks man-made.

That's pretty big.

Wow.

You can actually
see a small cable

Or a small chain
that's laying right next

To what we think is a box.

I certainly see
what he's looking at

- There on the left.
- Right there.

What are those grooves?

Yeah, how do you
interpret those grooves?

Yeah, I don't know, they're,

The grooves are kind
of mysterious to me.

It definitely doesn't fit

Any other thing
that's around there.

I think it looks man-made.

Can you estimate size?

I think we figured
it was probably

Four or five feet,
roughly, each way.

Wow, I would not
have thought that.

What in that image
makes you think

That's not a rock and
that's a box of some kind?

So, I think the thing
that really stood out to us

Was the slots or the,
you know, the vertical slots

Or grooves that are
kind of carved into it.

Yeah.

Didn't really fit anything
else we saw there,

So it definitely warrants
getting, you know,

A diver down with actual eyes
on it to see what it actually is.

U.P. Michigan

Winter weather...
Are dive operations

Pretty much ceased for now,

- You think?
- Yeah, the dive operations

Are done for now, but we're
looking to get out there early,

- Early in the spring.
- Have you done any

Efforts to get permits?

What we're doing is

Trying to really get
everything combined

And put together to be
able to send to the state

As a good package that shows
this is the c aptain lawrence,

Or this is the gold
and this is why because

What that would do is, if
those boxes are related,

That would expand the area

That the salvage rights
would be in as well.

So, it'd give us a
larger area to work in.

And that's what
I would focus on.

That it is historical.

You both have approached it

From that perspective,
so hopefully

There'll be a positive outcome.

I will fly down
tomorrow to testify

In front of whatever
committee it is

To let you get
the salvage rights

To that if it helps, 'cause

You've done more on this story

Quickly than our
previous efforts.

This is, everything
keeps lining up.

There's nothing you've presented

- That doesn't fit the story.
- Right.

All right, well, you're
gonna have this solved

With one more season?

That's what it
kind of sounds like.

- Hoping.
- Yeah.

Have an answer
one way or another.

- Yeah. -That'd be great.
- That's perfect.

Thank you guys so much.

- An amazing adventure.
- It was.

And you guys were so hospitable

And welcomed us so much.

And we're rooting for
you, we really, really are.

I want to get back in
lake michigan.

We'll see you this
spring or summer, I hope.

And you also want to get
back to the upper peninsula.

- Correct?
- Of course, I'm... you said I'm almost...

Rick said I'm almost
an honorary yooper.

I did.

So, if you want
to be an honorary yooper,

We've got a little, a little
bit of a ceremony here.

Oh, yeah.

- You ready?
- Yep.

- Let's see.
- And you know what,

By the way, this was done
with mike and jess's help.

- I'm nervous right now.
- You should be.

Oh, my gosh.

This, sir, is for you.

- There's your kit.
- What? Get out of here.

Open it up.

No!

That actually
worked pretty good.

Oh, yeah.

Do you know what that is?

A stormy kromer?

That is a stormy kromer.

Fantastic.

Oh, this is the plaid

That we were talking about... oh!

Well, what are mike
and jess wearing?

Yes.

This is beautiful, guys.

Oh... Wow.

- Pretty nice, huh?
- "yooper matty."

- It's more than pretty nice.
- Put the things on

- Properly.
- All right.

- That's good, that's it.
- There you go.

You look like a yooper,

- That's looking good.
- But there's one more thing.

- Hi, menna.
- Hello, menna,

- What have you got there?
- Hi there.

Actually, he needs
to identify what this is,

Would be good, too.

- Okay.
- Let me see.

- I'll let you do the...
- Okay.

Let's see what's in here.

Oh, I think I remember this!

- I know I do.
- What is that?

A, a patsy.

Pasty... pasty!

All right!

Pasty, right?

It's a pasty.

- Pasty!
- Yes.

Oh, yes, yes, okay, a patsy.

- Pasty.
- Pasty!

Put the shirt on.

And before you
take a bite of that,

Which is the final

- Indoctrination.
- Okay.

Is there something weird in it?

No, it's... No,

It's good, that's a good pasty.

Okay, you're looking more yooper

- All the time.
- How am I doing?

- All right.
- Looking good.

And that is my grandmother's
recipe, by the way.

- Aw!
- sh**t, now I want some of it

- More than ever.
- That's awesome.

- Now wait, the words, right?
- Okay.

Well, in the u.P. We say,

"so, you wanting
to be a yooper, eh?"

And you say,

"yeah, sure, you betcha."

all right, let's see what I...

All right, you ready,
you ready, you ready?

And then you have
a bite of the pasty.

- All right, ready?
- Go ahead.

So, you want to be a yooper, eh?

Yeah, sure, you betcha!

I guess he passed...
What do you think?

- Should we let him in?
- How'd I do?

- Great.
- You're in.

I get emotional

At these things,
and I'm not going to.

So, I'm just going to
say thank you, thank you,

This is above and
beyond, and, um,

It, it, um, it symbolizes

How the people are
in the upper peninsula.

- You go. -All you got to say is...
- He did get emotional.

"you betcha."

You betcha!

You betcha.

Yeah, you betcha, eh?

- You betcha, eh?
- Amazing.

All right, till the next time.

- Thank you both.
- Thank you.

- Stay on course.
- Thanks, we will.

- All right, bye-bye.
- Bye. -Bye.

Amazing people, amazing place.

I mean, it's been
an incredible year.

Like I said at the
beginning of this whole thing,

We found treasure.

Every step along the way

We at least found
corroborating evidence...

Artifacts,
incredible artifacts...

But it brings to mind a
question: Looking back now

At this year, if you

Had to pick one
tomorrow to go hunt,

Which of our adventures
this year would you choose?

Well...

I mean, they were all fantastic.

All, almost just
off-the-charts incredible,

Right, for all kinds of reasons.

History, the
application of science,

The fortitude, the perseverance,
the legacy left by forebearers,

They all have really, uh,
quite a unique signature.

But I'm going to quote
dorothy from the wizard of oz,

"there's no place like home."

I would go back
to mike and jess.

Excellent. Marty?

You said tomorrow.
It's winter, okay?

- Mmm.
- I, tomorrow, would

Go to key west and get
back on top of the atocha,

That's what I would do tomorrow.

But if I could only be in one

For, say, the rest of my life,

I'd stay in my backyard

And I'd be looking
off poverty island

Till I solved that.

So, it's a small variation
on what rick said.

It's a good point.

I-I don't even know that I
could answer my own question

Because I love them all so much,

But selfishly the first
thing that comes to mind

Is, I would like you
guys to get to the ones

That you weren't able to go to,

Like the gold dredge
in north carolina

And meet that family
and do that whole thing.

But I also think, as you said,
"there's no place like home,"

And isn't it funny that two of
the most successful journeys

That we looked at,

One's in your backyard

With the poverty island mystery

And then the whydah
in my backyard.

That's kind of incredible,

Out of all the
possible mysteries.

- Mm-hmm.
- Um,

I might want to go
home, but then again,

They didn't make
me a box or a pasty,

So I think I might go back
to michigan with you guys.

Look, you are going
home in one sense

If you go back
to poverty island.

You're in the u.P.,
you are home.

- Thank you.
- There are a lot of people

Looking for their own treasures,

You know, which is really cool.

And you know what
really sparks my interest is,

There are some
fascinating stories out there.

The door doesn't close, it
never closes on treasure hunts.

And that has, through eons,

There's always a
treasure hunt somewhere.

Guys, this has been an
awesome year, it really has.

All right, well, let's
be on our way then.

- Off to a new adventure.
- Yep.

- There's lots to do.
- A lot to do right here.

To the hunt.

- To the hunt.
- To the hunt.

- To more treasure hunts.
- I love it.