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Treasure hunt #3 - Kidnapped!

When pirate Lou landed on The Island, my island, to plunder our treasure she kidnapped me as well. No doubt she thought my boyish good looks would fetch a weighty price on some far off shores. 

As I was abducted I managed to grab a few belongings: my Chart (3), my trusty pocket watch, my plotter and dividers and my beloved Percy - whom I'm hoping will carry my location back to the Island when we finally arrive to wherever it is we're going.


Thick fog swirls around us as we row out to the yacht anchored south-east of The Island. I'm dragged on board and locked in the aft cabin. A small porthole affords a view over the misty waters to port and another, into the cockpit and out to starboard. I can hear the pirate discussing her evil plans with her crew.... 

weigh anchor.m4a

After a while the mist clears and for the first time I can see land through my grimy porthole.  I just start to recognise some of the features and check the time on my watch when I hear Pirate Lou bark an order.  It's half past eight.

"Alter course to Starboard - come up to one nine two magnetic. We need to get across while the tide is still slack"

Six minutes later one of the crews shouts out that they can see something in the water off to port.  Looking through my porthole I see waves breaking over a viscous looking rock right on our port beam.  I look at my chart and smile,  hmm , that gives me a useful figure.

As the sun sets, I feed Percy a couple of toe-nails I found on the cabin floor and settle down to try a get some sleep.  Looking out through my other porthole I notice that periodically the cockpit is illuminated, as if by some far off light source.  I start counting .... 

"What the bearing to that light now?" 

Pirate Lou's growl wakes me.  It's half past nine.

"Two four zero magnetic Cap'n"

"Ok, bring her round to one six five magnetic and reduce speed to five knots, we should have a good two knots of tide running with us now.  Give me the bearing on that light in half an hour". With that she scurries off down below to drink coffee and vape.

Half an hour passes and then I hear the crew swear : "s***!, it's gone out". Then louder: "Cap'n I was just about to take a bearing but the light in the light house just went out."

"I can't just go out stupid. Hmpf.  Hold your course and speed while I figure this out."  I think I already did.

Fifteen minutes later, Pirate Lou comes back into the cockpit.  "The tide's faster than I thought, but at least it's going to be in the same direction and speed for the next couple of hours. Let's head east. Bring her onto zero eight five magnetic. Maintain speed at five knots"

It's a quarter to eleven as the boat lurches onto its new course and fatigue overtakes me again.


"Cap'n,  we're just about on the transit now.  Shall I take her in?"

I've slept for an hour and twenty minutes, but it seemed like forever - dreams of blue turtles and flying swords.

"No.  We're not going there.  That's where they'll be expecting us to take him.  Slow down , 2 knots should do it, head due south, one eight six magnetic and the tide should do the rest.  By my reckoning it's high water back in Victoria. And it's a good spring tide at that."

The moon rises out to port and casts into silhouette the skyline of several islands in the distance.

"Ok scumbags, look sharp. We're nearly there.  When that white light flashing seven times transits the northern edge of the second highest island, we'll turn to the south-west and hold the transit to take us in.  There's three meters of tide now, so let's anchor in eight.  We'll wait until morning for the buyer to arrive"

While they're all snoring in their bunk, sedated by over consumption of cheap red wine,  I carefully write the latitude and longitude of this place onto scrap of paper and put in into Percy's tiny little satchel.   Gently I place him on the deck outside my open porthole, he looks over his shoulder and raises one wing, as if to say goodbye, and then flies off ....  to the south.?!?  Drat - I forgot I bought him in Blackmill! 

What position is written on Percy's scrap of paper?

Contact us with your answer

Treasure Hunt #4 - Mutiny
Crossword No 1
 

Comments 3

Guest - Andy on Sunday, 03 May 2020 11:18

Not a 100% sure of this, but still good to see Jim channeling his inner pirate and damsel in distress

Not a 100% sure of this, but still good to see Jim channeling his inner pirate and damsel in distress
Guest - Bora Dirik on Sunday, 03 May 2020 20:39

Hi all!!
Thanks for this week’s puzzle, was very entertaining and definitely creative to he limit

I believe answer is the 5m contour in Beauty Bay
45° 45.90’ N
005° 46.35’ W

Hi all!! Thanks for this week’s puzzle, was very entertaining and definitely creative to he limit :D I believe answer is the 5m contour in Beauty Bay 45° 45.90’ N 005° 46.35’ W
Jim Barden on Monday, 30 November 2020 11:31

Well done Bora - spot on. Sorry for the delay (6 months!)

Well done Bora - spot on. Sorry for the delay (6 months!)
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