GC231Z7 JamGuys' Cold Weather Treasure Series #4 (Unknown Cache) in Oklahoma, United States created by JamGuys

This cache has been archived.

JamGuys: Finally archiving this cache and the series ... should have done so a long time ago. Will there be a 2010 edition? It's been a busy year for me at work but the weather has changed and I do have a few ideas in my head so stay tuned! [}:)]

GC231Z7 ▼

A cache by JamGuys Message this owner

Hidden : 1/24/2010

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

The co-ordinates above are FALSE
Solve the puzzle below to obtain the TRUE co-ordinates.

This is the final instalment of my Cold Weather Treasure Series (all good things do come to an end!) and it's a real life mystery based on an intriguing discovery I made recently right here at my home in Edmond! Please read on as I share with you .....

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The Mystery of Red Hering's Booty!

I know that at least some of you are aware that I lived for many years in Jamaica before moving to the US. Well, a few years ago, in fact, sometime in the early '90s, I spent two weeks vacationing in the Bahamas where one of my younger brothers was living at the time. It was my very first trip to that island nation and everything seemed strange and fascinating to me. One afternoon, I was leaving a downtown Nassau restaurant having just consumed a large platter of conch fritters, grilled red snapper, and fried parrot fish, followed by a generous serving of that most sumptuous of Bahamian desserts, guava duff, when I noticed a small antique map and print shop located right across the street. Having a passing interest in things of that nature, I crossed the road and stepped into the store. There were many beautiful maps and prints displayed on the walls and the one that caught my eye was a gorgeous framed antique map of Jamaica that seemed to date back to the mid-eighteenth century. As a bonus, it contained insets of both Port Royal and Port Antonio harbors and, since these just so happen to be two of my favorite spots to visit on the island, I knew I simply had to have it. So I purchased the map for what seemed to be a fair price, took it back to Jamaica with me, and hung it in a conspicuous location in the living/dining room of my small apartment. I've held on to this map despite a number of career moves since then and it still commands a prominent place on the wall of our study.

Well, that might have been the end of the story except that, a few weeks ago, I noticed that the old map frame was beginning to come apart in one corner. In the course of inspecting the damage, I spotted what appeared to be a folded piece of parchment tucked into the space between the map and the frame. Curiosity aroused, I carefully slipped it out and had a look. When I saw what was printed there, my initial state of curiosity was soon replaced by one of excitement and disbelief!

You see (and for those of you who have not lived in the West Indies for any substantial period of time), the elusive Captain Bigg Bright "Red" Hering (1681 - ?) was one of the most bloodthirsty pirates who ever sailed the turbulent waters of the Caribbean. He and his cutthroat crew pledged loyalty to no-one and plundered English, Dutch, French, and Spanish ships alike. They ruled the waves for nearly two decades and amassed a vast fortune in looted treasure. But, as suddenly as they had appeared on the scene, so did Red Hering and his men disappear. Five of his motley crew, including his first mate, Judas "The Snitch" Turncoat, were found murdered in the backroom of a brothel on Tortuga in 1742, and it was widely rumored that they had met their fate at the hands of Red Hering himself. But, despite more than two centuries of searching, neither Red Hering nor his stolen shiploads of gold, jewels, and precious stones, including a legendary hoard of Colombian emeralds, have ever been discovered. Which brings us back to the cryptic document tucked inside the frame of my old Jamaica map. If it is genuine, who was its author and does it offer any insight into what actually transpired between Red Hering and his men? More importantly, does it shed any light as to the whereabouts of Red Hering's missing booty? Or is it all just an elaborate eighteenth century hoax? Since I know how much you all enjoy solving riddles of this sort, I think I'll just step back awhile and leave it up to you to figure out!

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ABOUT THIS SERIES: This is the fourth and final instalment of a series of four puzzle caches that I've been releasing over the course of the 2009 - 2010 fall and winter seasons. For this puzzle, the container is another small well-stocked ammo can. The First to Find prize for each of these caches has been an unactivated 5th Anniversary Compass Rose Geocoin and the reward for this one is the Limited Edition Black Sea coin (polished black nickel). To raise the stakes even higher, I'm also including an unactivated 2009 Compass Rose Geocoin (polished gold with polished nickel) for FTF, STF, and TTF! For those of you who might be late starters, don't worry, there's gonna be lots of time for you to catch up, heh, heh! Anyway, here are links to the three previous caches in the series:

JamGuys' Cold Weather Treasure Series #1 - JamGuys' Best Idea!
JamGuys' Cold Weather Treasure Series #2 - JamGuys' Golden Hoard!
JamGuys' Cold Weather Treasure Series #3 - The Case of the Mysterious Envelope!
BONUS CACHE: Each cache also contains a portion of the co-ords for a special BONUS CACHE that will be released as a stand-alone cache. The first THREE individual cachers or teams to successfully solve and find ALL FOUR puzzles and then visit the BONUS CACHE will be rewarded with one of three unactivated Crystal Compass Rose Geocoins (Glacier Ice Clear for FTF, Amazon Forest Green for STF, and Earth Stone Brown for TTF). The co-ords for the bonus cache have been issued in the form A.C B.D with the values for A-D being stuck inside the front cover of the logbook for each of the four caches in the series.

Oh, for those of you who've already found the first three caches in this series and might be tempted to go hunting for the bonus cache without solving the fourth puzzle, I'm going to be extra nice now and tell you that I've already made allowances for that and any such attempt on your part will NOT be successful (although I'd still love for you to try!).

HINTS: Since this is the final puzzle in the series and major prizes and bragging rights are at stake, I've decided not to issue ANY clues for this cache until FTF honors have been decided. Among other things, I'm especially curious to see whether individual effort or team tactics will prevail, and whether the Tulsa group can actually pull out the stops and upstage our local area puzzle cachers in this most important final challenge!

Additional Hints (No hints available.)