Talking pirates with Discovery's "Expedition Unknown" (before the pandemic)

At the end of August, long before the new coronavirus infected its first human, I was in Paris talking with Josh Gates, host of Discovery Channel's "Expedition Unknown" about the pirate Olivier La Bous and the legend of his treasure. Our interview was filmed at the city's Museum of Freemasonry, which is also the center of the order in France, with numerous temples in the basement.

The episode -- "The Fortune of the Buzzard" (S8:E6) -- premiered here in the US on March 11th, re--aired Sunday, and is available for streaming via your cable provider if you follow this link. Hope it brings some lighthearted respite to your family's bunker.

Was great fun hanging out with Gates -- who has very much the same personality when the cameras

aren't rolling as when the are -- and to share the story of one of the subjects of my history of the great Caribbean pirate gang, The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down. A couple caveats from our hours-long shoot that wound up on the proverbial cutting room floor: (a) the legend of the cipher, necklace and the gallows is a great story, but makes absolutely no sense when you think about it and; (b) if La Bous's treasure is out there, I think the environs of his former Madagascar hideout would be the place to look.

For those with an unhealthy interest in pirates like La Bous, I'm also a proponent of the theory that he -- not Sam Bellamy -- came to Machias in 1718 before continuing on to raid ships in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, one I sketched out a few years ago for the Portland Press Herald.

My last pirate-related television production appearance was alongside Hilary Duff, of all people, on a dock in Bath, North Carolina, talking about Blackbeard for TLC's "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Did the Caribbean Pirates Visit Downeast Maine?

While researching The Republic of Pirates, I became interested in the legend of the Machias pirate fort, which has Sam Bellamy building a temporary base in Downeast Maine in April of 1717.

The story comes from the same source as so much of popular pirate history, the 1724 General History of the Pyrates. But is it true?

In today's Maine Sunday Telegram I dig into the legend, talk with other experts, and put forth the theory that the Downeast pirate lair may have been built, but by someone other than Bellamy. Dig in and see what you think.

For Republic of Pirates fans, look out this winter for "Crossbones," the forthcoming NBC drama based on the book.

The Oak Island Treasure Mystery : a 19th century hoax?

Buried treasure enthusiasts may be interested in my column on the famous Oak Island "money pit" across the water in Nova Scotia in the current issue of Working Waterfront. The article airs the case for this -- perhaps the most famous "buried treasure" mystery of them all -- having been a 19th century hoax gone wild.

As others have noted before me, the legends surrounding Oak Island -- rehashed in a shelf's worth of books -- bear many of the characteristics of those in circulation in New England and New York in the 18th and 19th centuries, when thousands were afflicted with treasure digging mania, digging up islands, fields, and hillsides from Manhattan to Mount Desert.

The piece has only been out for two days, but I'm already getting mail from Oak Island cognoscenti. One, who runs this website, notes that technically the current owners of Oak Island don't yet have permission to resume digging and, due to last month's provincial elections in Nova Scotia, may have difficulty securing it. (Nova Scotia's Treasure Trove Act -- yes, there really is one -- allegedly has enemies within the new ruling party.)

Perhaps the treasure really is defended by evil spirits.