Cooper's Treasure

Darrell: WHEN JIM AND I WENT TO LONDON

WE DISCOVERED THAT WE ARE ON THE TRAIL

OF SHIPWRECKS 2, 3, AND 4 ON GORDO'S LIST.

THESE SHIPS LEFT ENGLAND...

WHOO-HOO! GOOD JOB, GUYS.

...MADE THEIR WAY TO ACKLINS BUT NEVER RETURNED.

Diver: That water drops off to about 3,000 feet right there.

I FOUND THE BIGGEST CLUE SO FAR,

DRAGON'S TEETH.

What is this?!

THERE'S A LOT OF JAGGED CLIFFS THERE.

YEAH, LOOK AT THAT RIGHT THERE.

-LIKE A NEEDLE IN A HAY STACK. -IT'S LIKE THIS ONE HUGE PUZZLE.

YOU GOT JAGGED HERE-

Darrell: EVERY SINGLE ARTIFACT IS A CLUE.

YOU GOT JAGGED THERE.

LET'S SOLVE THIS MYSTERY...

Holy moly!

...ONCE AND FOR ALL.

I THINKS GORDO'S GOT THE ANSWER RIGHT HERE.

There's gold everywhere!

NOW TELL ME YOU'RE NOT EXCITED.

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

Darrell: WE'VE BEEN FOLLOWING THIS SHIPWRECK MATERIAL

IN AN AREA THAT WE BELIEVE IS DRAGON'S TEETH.

ON THAT FIRST LETTER WHERE GORDON GIVES KIP'S ACCOUNT

OF THE GOLDEN TABLE THAT HE HAD FOUND AND REBURIED,

THERE'S A SECOND PAGE OF THIS THAT I BELIEVE

REFERS TO THE VERY AREA THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW.

THE LETTER THAT GORDO WROTE

DESCRIBES KIP WAGNER HAVING FOUND A GOLD TABLE

IN AN AREA CALLED DRAGON'S TEETH.

THIS IS THE SECOND LETTER THAT WAS ATTACHED

TO THE FIRST ONE.

LET ME READ THIS TO YOU AND THEN WE'LL GO FROM THERE.

"THERE IS A SMALL OLD ENGLISH ANCHOR" --

LIKE THE ONE THAT YOU FOUND --

"JUST OFF THE LEDGE OF THE REEF.

HER SHANK POINTS INTO THE INSIDE OF THE ISLAND

SAYING THAT SHE SANK IN A LARGE HURRICANE

OUT TO THE EAST."

WELL, THAT TIES IN WITH THE DIRECTION.

HE GOES ON FURTHER TO SAY THAT "PEOPLE WHO

MANAGED TO SAVE THEMSELVES GRABBED WHATEVER

PERSONAL BELONGINGS OR THINGS OF IMPORTANCE

FROM A SINKING SHIP,

MADE THEIR WAY, IN A LIFEBOAT, TOWARDS LAND."

SO IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE SURVIVORS OF THIS

TRIED TO SAVE THEIR LIVES

AND SALVAGE WHATEVER THEY COULD FROM THESE SHIPS,

AND MADE THEIR WAY TO SHORE.

DRAGON'S TEETH, LAND, TREASURE.

IT'S THAT SIMPLE.

FOLLOWING THE LINE THAT WE'RE ON

LEADS US TO THE BEACHES THAT WE CALL ROCKY COVE.

SO WE'RE GONNA GO THERE AND LOOK FOR THE TREASURE.

HERE'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO.

MIKE, WHY DON'T YOU AND I CONTINUE MAGGING THAT AREA

WHERE WE FOUND THOSE THREE 10-FOOT CANNONS.

ERIC AND JIM, WHAT I'D LIKE YOU GUYS TO DO,

IS SCOUT THE BEACH WITH THE METAL DETECTORS

ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF ROCKY COVE.

Schmitt: IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO INVESTIGATE THIS ISLAND.

A LOT OF THE WRECKS THAT HAVE BEEN FOUND IN HISTORY

ARE USUALLY MADE BY BEACH FINDS

THAT KIND OF POINT TO WHERE A WRECK WAS IN THE WATER.

IF IT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR GORDON, IT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME,

LET'S GIVE IT A SHOT.

OKAY.

GET IT BACK UP, GET IT BACK UP, GET IT BACK UP.

IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME.

IF THERE WAS SHIPWRECK MATERIAL,

IT'S NOT NECESSARILY JUST GONNA BE ONE RANDOM,

LET'S SAY, COIN.

BACK HOME, WE HAVE THE 1715 FLEET,

AND IT WAS KIP WAGNER WHO ACTUALLY FOUND THE WRECKS

IN THE 1960s.

ONE OF THE STORIES HE LIKED TO TELL WAS, YOU KNOW,

HE WAS WALKING DOWN THE BEACH SKIPPING STONES,

AND REALIZED HE WAS ACTUALLY SKIPPING SILVER COINS

OUT TO SEA.

SO HE REALIZED THEY MUST BE COMING FROM THE WATER,

SO HE PUT TOGETHER AN OPERATION

AND STARTED SEARCHING THE AREA OFFSHORE

WHERE HE WAS FINDING THOSE COINS

AND FOUND MORE AND MORE INFLUENTIAL SETS OF SHIPWRECKS

EVER BEFORE FOUND IN HISTORY.

THE 1715 FLEET WAS LOST IN A HURRICANE

ON JULY 31st OF 1715.

THEY HAD SMASHED AGAINST THE FLORIDA COASTLINE.

IT WAS MOSTLY OVER A 40-MILE STRETCH.

TEN SHIPS WERE LOST, CARRYING OVER 13 MILLION PESOS

IN TREASURE, WHICH TODAY TRANSLATES OUT

TO BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

STARTED A MINI GOLD RUSH IN FLORIDA,

AND THEY ENDED NAMING THAT SECTION OF FLORIDA

THE TREASURE COAST.

Schmitt: THAT'S HOW KIP FOUND THE 1715 FLEET

SO IT MAKES SENSE THAT GORDON WOULD WRITE A LETTER

TELLING US TO GO TO THE BEACH AND DO THE SAME THING.

VERY POSSIBLE THAT WHAT WE FIND ON THE BEACH

COULD LEAD TO SOMETHING BIGGER OUT IN THE WATER.

Darrell: MIKE AND I ARE GONNA MAG AROUND THE ISLAND

TO SEE IF WE CAN PICK UP ANY ANOMALIES

THAT ARE LEADING CLOSER TOWARDS LAND,

TOWARDS THE ISLAND.

Perna: SO, RIGHT NOW WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE TARGET AREA.

WE'RE REALLY WORKING AS A TEAM TODAY, THIS IS GOOD.

THAT'S HOW WE MAXIMIZE OUR TIME OUT HERE.

TIME IS MONEY, SO WE GOTTA MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

LET'S SEE WHAT WE GOT.

I STILL KEEP THINKING,

WE HAVE FOUND LOTS OF OLDER PERIOD MATERIAL,

AND WE HAVE FOUND ONE HALF OF WHAT WE THINK

IS A VERY LARGE SHIP.

NOW I NEED TO FIND THE PART OF THE SHIP

WHERE THE STERN CASTLE,

OR THE CAPTAINS QUARTERS, ONCE WAS.

THAT'S THE AREA WHERE THE MOST VALUABLE TREASURES

ARE GONNA BE.

SO IF WE CAN FIND THE CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS,

OR THE BACK OF THE BOAT,

WE MIGHT FIND THAT GOLD TABLE.

OKAY, WE GOT A LARGE HIT.

WHAT'S THAT?

WE GOT A PRETTY DECENT HIT WHILE WE WERE ON

THAT LAST PASS-BY, I COULDN'T SEE IT.

HOLY

LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT.

I'M GONNA GET READY FOR A BUOY.

YOU CAN DO THE BUOY OFF THE PORT SIDE, THAT'S FINE.

TWO,

ONE,

GO.

CLEAR.

IF I GOT A LINE AROUND IT, WE COULD PULL IT UP.

-USE THE BUOY. -OKAY.

Perna: DO IT.

I WANNA BRING THE MAST STRAP UP JUST IN CASE

IT'S RELATED TO THE SIX CANNONS WE FOUND.

-NEUTRAL. -NEUTRAL.

I GOT IT.

OH, HERE, COME TO PAPA.

Perna: IT LOOKS LIKE A MAST RING.

WATCH YOUR FOOT.

Darrell: THE MAST RING IS A RING THAT WAS KINDA LIKE A REINFORCER

OF THAT LONG PIECE OF TIMBER.

I THINK THAT IT'S TOO SMALL TO HAVE BEEN

FROM A CENTER MAST.

SO IT'S EITHER FROM THE BOW SECTION

OR THE STERN SECTION.

IF IT'S FROM THE STERN SECTION,

WELL, THAT'S WHERE THE STERN CASTLE'S GONNA BE.

THE STERN CASTLE IS WHERE THE CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS WERE.

AND WHERE THE CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS WERE

ARE WHERE THE MOST VALUABLE ARTIFACTS WERE KEPT.

THAT'S THE AREA OF THE SHIP

THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.

SO WE'RE GONNA KEEP DIVING IN THE AREA WHERE WE FOUND

THAT MAST RING TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND MORE EVIDENCE

OF STUFF THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN RELATED TO THE STERN CASTLE.

Sinclair: EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS LIKE A FAIRLY SIMPLE TOOL,

A HAND-HELD METAL DETECTOR

IS ONE OF THE BEST DEVICES FOR ACTUALLY FINDING

LOCATIONS OF LOST TREASURES THAT ARE OUT THERE

BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES, THE MATERIAL

HAS BEEN BURIED THROUGH THE YEARS,

WHETHER IT WAS ON THE SAND OR UP IN THE WOODS,

OR WHEREVER IT HAPPENS TO BE,

AND THIS IS THE WAY TO FIND IT.

Darrell: SIR FRANCIS DRAKE WAS SWEEPING THE NEW WORLD,

AND WHAT HE WAS DOING,

IS HE WAS HE WAS ROBBING FROM THE SPANISH,

WHO HAD ALREADY ROBBED FROM EVERYBODY ELSE.

Sinclair: SIR FRANCIS DRAKE DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB

WHEN HE CAME AROUND THE SOUTH COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA

AND CAME UP AND SORT OF SURPRISED THE SPANISH

'CAUSE THEY WEREN'T EXPECTING HIM, SEE.

THEY THOUGHT THAT WAS THEIR SEA

AND NOBODY ELSE WAS EVER GONNA GET THERE.

THE SPANISH HATED HIM,

THEY CALLED HIM THE DRAGON, OR EL DRAGóN.

HE WOULD CONTINUALLY TRY TO PUT EXPEDITIONS TOGETHER

AND GO AND HARASS SPANISH SHIPPING.

HE TOOK WHATEVER TREASURE HE COULD FROM THEM,

TOOK THE TREASURE ALL THE WAY BACK TO ENGLAND.

THEY WERE SO GRATEFUL, "HERE'S YOUR KNIGHTHOOD,"

AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF, SO, I MEAN, HE DID OKAY.

BUT STORY GOES IS THAT WHEN SIR FRANCIS DRAKE

CAME IN, HE TOOK THE WHOLE LUMP OF TREASURES

THAT THEY HAD ON THERE,

WHICH APPARENTLY WAS AN AWFUL LOT,

AND WHAT HE DISCOVERED WAS,

IS THAT HE HAD SO MUCH TREASURE ON BOARD,

THAT HE REALLY COULDN'T HANDLE IT

ON HIS VESSEL.

SO HE WOULD STOP SOMEWHERE,