The Curse of Oak Island (2014–…): Season 3, Episode 2 - Pipe Down - full transcript

Previously on the curse of Oak Island

we've got tunnels we've got gold we've

got silver rubies diamonds x marks the

spot right there that's the gold

signature we need to cut the riser pipe

there's a lot of stuff on the bottle

it's to the right there that's the post

we did some really good sonar we can see

it's a man-made object is it possible

chest really we did find something

unique it sits right here there's an



object down there that looks like human

remains

there is an island in the North Atlantic

where people have been looking for an

incredible treasure for more than 200

years so far they have found bits of

gold chain a stone slab with strange

symbols carved into it even a 17th

century Spanish coin to date six men

have died trying to solve the mystery

and according to legend one more will

have to die before the treasure can be

found

four brothers Rick and Marty lagina the



lifelong dream to solve the Oak Island

mystery may finally become a reality

let's be careful with this yeah let's

get it done roll off that edge because

that would be

look at this guy's it's a rectangular

object after completing this series of

sonar tests which indicated that

everything from wooden posts chests

man-made tunnels and even a dead body

might be lying at the bottom of the

235-foot deep borehole known as 10x they

are more determined than ever to send a

diver down to the bottom to find out if

the test results are true

but getting to the bottom of 10-x will

be both expensive and dangerous as more

than 40 years of harsh weather churning

saltwater and falling debris have taken

their toll if we're gonna get to the

bottom of 10-x we had to get the junk

out of it there's a bunch of stuff

laying in the bottom of the hole we

don't even know what it is but the first

things to remove are all the things

sticking up from the bottom that come

either to the top or near the top we're

gonna venture back down that hole those

things have to be there to remove the

obstructions yes all right these are

arranged reasonably well yeah let's just

play it right across and we'll put two

screws into that to hold it

over the railways oh yeah before

clearing out 10x the team must first

secure the working platform that has

been constructed over the 8 foot wide

hole we want people to be as safe as

possible but also they could be able to

see you know the various pipes and

things

an 8 inch wide riser pipe one of three

placed there over the years to pump

water out of the hole will be the first

to be removed

that's enough to get audited but since

the pipe is approximately 180 feet long

a boom truck with a 100-foot crane has

been brought in to lift it up okay it

will then be held in place with steel

bracing also known as ears

finally it will be cut with a welding

torch and taken away in 20-foot sections

yeah here's the deal guys I think you

should clear off there if that chain

breaks it's gonna spring

would get

I don't think he don't get it well one

thing's for sure Tinian hydrate

anhydride or anhydrous calcium sulfate

he's a hard rock like substance usually

formed by the evaporation of salt water

when digging 10x in the 1970s treasure

hunter dan Blankenship had to drill

through approximately 44 feet of it

before reaching what he believes is a 10

foot high

man-made treasure chamber

if the drill pipe is stuck in anhydride

it will be even more difficult to remove

come on just switching around to the

other side right now so it rocks it the

other way

yeah

by the balls now yeah whenever you're

pulling a string of pipe you pull it up

like this and it's hanging in the

derrick and then there's a thing down

here called the slips it

yeah we had that clamp to hold all the

pieces if you will still left in the

hole and then we could cut this off and

lay this piece down okay we're ready to

cut that was just a matter of David

torching them off we've got the clamp in

place so it's pulled 20 torch pull 20

torch

lamed all right over there

we got the first piece Oh everything

worked fine procedure seems to work then

we come back and get on to the next one

and just keep following that process

till we get that pipe out of the hole

as rick marty and dave blankenship work

to clear away rusted pipes and debris

from 10x Craig tester and his stepson

Jack Begley along with veteran Oak

Island treasure hunter dan henskee

arrived near the islands fabled money

pit to test an incredible theory one

that suggests there isn't only one

treasure buried on Oak Island but

several when the Laird's came here they

this map using satellite technology it

seems a little far out you're saying

that you can find objects within tunnels

we can through the magnetic resonance

imaging a few weeks ago father-and-son

treasure hunters Robert and Bob Leonard

came to Oak Island to present evidence

that using highly advanced satellite

based technology they had identified a

vast network of underground treasure

tunnels we've got tunnels we've got gold

bronze silver rubies ivory diamonds and

one part of me says this is completely

impossible on the other hand right

absolutely

if we're able to dig up one of these

hits today it should put me at a hundred

percent that this technology works so

what I did I examine the map before

leaving the island

the Leonard's gape Jack and the team a

number of GPS coordinates indicated were

both precious and non-precious metal

targets should lie buried I picked out a

bunch of small targets

that are about two to three feet down on

this map and there's one that's over

here by the money pit and I got a GPS

unit that should get us within a cup of

feet well why don't you lead us there

Dan

Wow this is the red line north okay all

right well you want to lead us there

okay here we go

getting too old for this we better find

something soon we really weren't looking

for a treasure at this point in time we

were looking for accuracy of this map

that the Leonard's presented to us okay

now it started near the money pit there

was supposedly a piece of metals that

was buried anywhere from two to three

feet down what do you think that's

pretty close we located it based on GPS

right about here and then ran a metal

detector determined where it might be

looks good within seconds Craig tester

gets a reading so it's right on the edge

could they really have found a metal

object buried in shallow ground right

were Robert and Bob Leonard indicated it

would be

bigger back at 10x Rick Marty and the

team continue their efforts to clear one

of the corroded metal riser pipes from

the shaft

we're ready to cut

well looks like we lost their pipe boys

how the hell did that happen the team's

plan to pull a riser pipe from 10x has

just gone terribly wrong after cutting a

second 20-foot section of the 180 foot

pipe the weight of the remaining 140

feet has slipped through its brace and

fallen back down the shaft landing far

below the water level what started as an

operation to remove obstructions has

just become much more complicated my

concern is that you know it did fall

straight down I'm worried that it might

have gotten tangled with the ladder if

it did then that's much more difficult

for the divers is it hung up is it just

balanced somewhere might it fall when

they're in 10x we simply don't know

so we need a diver to go down hook the

chain onto it or a cable and pull it up

and throw it all over again it's

something that weighs several thousand

pounds dropped 40 feet it was cooking

when it hit bottom and that pipe is

docking we needed to come up with a

different plan the island was another

one when did we win

there's a bunch of rocks meanwhile back

near the money pit Craig tester Jack

Begley and dan henskee have just

detected a metal target run for the

Leonard's nuclear magnetic resonance

imaging map indicated they would find

one still not all they have to do now is

dig it up it really makes me understand

how tough it is to dig this stuff that's

why you could dig the money pit without

putting in cribbing or safety liner the

ground is sturdy tough yeah although the

object they're looking for is not likely

to be treasure

it could help prove the theory that

there are dozens of treasure tunnels and

treasure sites line deep underground and

all over the island we kept on digging

deeper and the signal got stronger but

in a bigger area I'm really starting to

eat this clay it was such a big clean

target but oh my gosh I think I thought

this was gonna take tea all day well

used to talk about digging down to China

but I don't think Jack here is in much

danger of reaching China

if there is something two to three feet

down I'm gonna make sure that I get to

it and find it there you go all right

that looks like a rough stretch yeah

there it is

now what is it that's what we're gonna

find out hopefully

it is it's a big piece of metal is that

all metal coming this way yeah

yeah it is basically there's a wide

range of things that might be and none

of them valuable it's just the way

things my hopes up as one of the three

men who dug 10x more than 40 years ago

dan henskee knows Oak Island like the

back of his hand

he's also experienced his fair share of

helpful excitement followed by bitter

disappointment nevertheless the 76 year

old treasure hunter refuses to give up

yeah more than anyone on the island he

believes that the legends about deadly

curses and buried treasures are true

don't want to get in front of their

table down there wouldn't you know I was

under the cabling this wasn't common

there you go it's all yours you work for

it hey you guys they took an old man to

do a young man's job what the heck is

this looks like a tubing looks like a

piece of pipe that's split from one end

to the other which is interesting

according to the maps applied to the Oak

Island team by Robert and Bob Leonard

this exact spot is where their satellite

based technology indicated the presence

of a ferrous metal like iron

we found the pipe exactly where they

showed it was supposed to be I think it

gives really good validity to their

whole technology but if the Leonard's

map spotted the iron could the readings

on gold silver and jewels which are

allegedly buried much deeper be accurate

as well that looks like it's been there

quite a while and a little salt water

too booth I say they cool though I feel

like it's kind of my responsibility to

help prove that this technology is

something worth noticing instead of just

kind of throwing it away yeah all right

okay so what gets credit for locating

this you do you brought it up who gets

to carry all the gear back thank you Oh

later that same day members of the Oak

Island team gather in the war room okay

guys back on point where else do we want

to drill once you bring up your thing no

Jack I want to put the Leonard's to rest

I dug up that piece was that the depth

they said it would be

although Marty Rick and Dave have

experienced setbacks during their

attempts to clear the riser pipes out of

10x Jack and Craig's news that the

Leonard's map may actually lead them to

treasure has rekindled their eagerness

to keep digging I really like for this

spot to get why do you believe it jack

it seems to me to be somewhat feasible

this is supposin technology and I think

that drilling it is the best way to find

out you know they're giving us a map

that shows where jewels and rubies and

stuff are it seems way too good to be

true

quite honestly well Jack usually that is

because to drill well yeah yeah but I am

looking to prove or disprove theories

that come to us I am but I might say

some Jack I don't I just absolutely do

not buy at all the photographic NMR and

MRI I don't buy it but this to me I mean

just be candid there's this want to

believe thing that yes you join cavity

go get it it's the latins cave touch

nothing just bring me the lamp

right but the reason I'm it made me make

sense to still drill that well is the

resistivity at least but resistivity is

a known technology whether their device

worked I don't know right here's what

I'm willing to do if you will if you're

willing to vote with me okay yeah where

are you

I'm 5050 I we don't make them right to

be this or the right then I'll go up

let's do it right no I don't yeah

two thumbs

I vote like this with me okay way I want

what out of respect for the fellowship

then it would carry well well thank you

hey we're going on Thank You own all

right jack we're all going in on this at

least partially from your enthusiasm

okay

way to go Jack it's not drilled yeah

well you got your hole I know

it is the start of a new day on Oak

Island a day of new opportunities new

information and new challenges hey Rick

I do have a bit of a wall kind of feels

like bad news I was on the phone all day

with my office and I need to go back

Saturday and be gone next week

and I'm kind of disappointing I mean I

know I know because the whole thing

about this was for you and I'd have fun

together

all right next week is fun but next week

is the busy week yeah I know that's what

I feel bad about

I you know I woke up not this morning

but yesterday and I said our luck has

changed we're gonna make progress we're

gonna get to the bottom of 10x and it's

gonna happen expeditiously that's how I

feel I do I feel real bad about leaving

look you know like you know here's my

thing about that you know if we don't

make significant progress next week I

want to promise from you that we will

legitimately revisit the drawdown

intention

look it's a personal agenda call it

flawed but I would like to stand in the

bottom last spring the Oak Island team

held a meeting at Marty and Craig's

offices in Traverse City Michigan there

Rick lagina made it known that rather

than send divers in wetsuits down 10x he

favored an approach that would pump the

shaft dry a strategy that would offer

broader access and visibility I think it

can be done cheaply it's my belief that

it can be done safely and we'll learn

certain thing is gonna be real clear I

don't want to do that

I think it's undefinable dangerous

problem is when you evacuate a Danny

sort of tube if you have water pressure

on the outside and there's nothing

inside just air pressure on the inside

then that force becomes enormous tries

to collapse Rick I hate the idea you

going down the hall hey TD of anybody

going down that hole I'm willing to take

the risk and I believe that the shaft

will stand

I'm not asking you for a promise that we

will do that I'm asking you for a

promise that we will legitimately

revisit that issue

you got my promise fine I will in good

faith sit down and we'll discuss it

right you've got it brother

promises mutual promises done oh yeah at

the bottom of 10-x

and it will reveal its secrets

while Marty Rick and the rest of the

team returned to the task of clearing

the riser pipes out of the shaft Craig

tester along with his son Drake and

stepson Jack Begley have traveled to the

middle of the island northwest of the

Oak Island swamp

meeting with them he's Jordan Rogers and

his assistant Cody penny Oh from Valley

well drillers well let's show them where

the spot is you got it right yeah

it was at this same spot that Robert and

Bob Leonard indicated there could be a

large treasure cavity containing gold

lying approximately 140 feet below the

surface

pretty much right here this is pretty

much the middle of the cavity and then

it's even longer that way okay all right

let's get going today's the day the

cavity should be around 140 feet down

that's what they're projecting the slate

should drill quite fast I would think

three hours and we should be down to

that depth so you should know something

by noon today the first 10 to 15 feet of

earth that Jordan will be drilling

through is hard glacial till composed of

soil gravel and boulders steel casing

will then be inserted to ensure that the

hole doesn't collapse during the process

once through what is called the

overburden the ground changes to hard

solid slate

at a great pace we should be there in no

time what we're looking for is for that

bit to also drop down into the hole we

wanted to drop into that cavity slates

don't have cavity so if we find

something here it should be man-made

so this one

next section should hit it should be

real easy to see the drill drop because

it will literally drop

congratulations out we hit it water

the presence of water is not a good sign

it could mean that instead of a man-made

treasure vault containing gold there is

nothing more buried here than a natural

underground spring can we keep going the

extra 20 pizzas see if we can hit that

supposin cavity though yeah

Jackson Susie azzam has been sky-high

but he was the one out here when they

ran the resistivity he saw where they

indicated the cave was and seeing is

believing Jordan and his team drilled

through the water an additional 10 then

20 feet down in hopes of finding the

cavity but still nothing only water

you can

start breaking down here appreciate it

we did hit a water zone that may be

proving that the resistivity part of the

test they had run was working that maybe

it's not a cavity they were saying it's

just fractured slate and we're getting

water from that for the fractured slate

I'm not done I'm done searching with the

NMR I there's a couple more hits that we

can drill and I might be able to talk

you guys into it if I find those other

subsurface hits I think after this one

it's gonna be much tougher the talking

the group into the drill could finding

only water really be an indication that

the Leonard's treasure map is flawed or

is it possible that the maps numerous

treasure sites just like the original

money pit have been booby-trapped by

means of an ingenious network of

underground flood tunnels it's

chief by any means to drill wells we

need to focus our money on finding the

treasure and if this could have led to

it great but but we spent the money here

and we need to move on to other areas

other technologies that'll take us to

the treasure let's go let everybody know

all right okay let's get this thing down

hole with his brother headed back to

Michigan on business Rick lagina returns

to the task of clearing away the riser

pipes from 10x

first people need to partially drain the

235-foot deep borehole in order to

expose the pipes and allow easier access

to do so he will insert a high-powered

water pump into another borehole known

as 201 X this is a hole that dan

Blankenship drilled more than 30 years

ago when he needed to flush water and

debris out while widening the shaft it

is connected to 10x through tunnels that

are approximately 235 feet deep

underground today mark verge is here

he's gonna do the pump install

in addition to the 140 foot section of

riser pipe that fell down the shaft

there are also two others that will need

to be removed all right we get a 40

horsepower pump that will allow a

drawdown of 30 feet and keep it at 30

feet so we'll get that going a 4 inch

discharge line unto the beach

you're ready to hook that up yeah in

order to draw the water out of borehole

2 or 1x Rick and the team have laid more

than 200 feet of hose down to Smith's

Cove they've also built a burner or

embankment to ensure the pumping doesn't

cause erosion to the beach good job boys

okay

we've got our fingers crossed on the

boreholes can it perform as as we hope

with the pump in place and running the

water level in 10x slowly begins to drop

the goal is to remove the three pipes

simply because it allows the divers a

less obstructed diving so we remove the

three pipes and it's three less things

they have to encounter on their way down

get your horses in here let's go

what's your problem what do you think

you can latch on to that six inch I

think so

Dan the torch it up and unload them

right here give me 40 foot of hose

we pull up we tie off we can torch them

off at surface lay the pipes down and

just keep pulling up and extracting the

obstacles you got the best job you want

to take this seat now that the water

level has been drained down the team has

been able to locate the 140 foot section

of Weiser pipe that fell down 10x but

before they can remove it there is

another pipe that will have to be taken

out first

I'll do it

when Charles suggested that he would

like to go down I was a little worried

because before today the one thing that

he had never done was put himself in 10x

watch the lips that's where you're going

to get hung up

it can't be a real tough nut you gotta

correct its confined space you have to

make sure the basket is properly

oriented I want to go down and also make

sure that all the equipment to

accomplish the task it's at hand

but that guy lives and breathes this

place and he knows sometimes you just

want to get your feet dirty and get it

done so far everything is going

according to plan but on Oak Island the

only thing that can be expected is that

the unexpected will happen that fell as

Rick Dave Charles and their partners

know all too well the island lures those

who would know its secrets with the

promise of treasure you trust that Joker

the Joker die juden island the one I'm

worried about but when the seeker gets

too close tragedy strikes and usually

without warning

such was the case on March 26 1897

Maynard Kaiser one of the men hired by

Frederick Blair to help excavate the

money pit was being lifted out of the

shaft when a hoisting rope mysteriously

slipped off a poet sending him to his

death some hundred feet below when he

starts coming up

everybody off

bring back out

and while baby you can do it

the weight of the second riser pipe has

snapped the cable dealing Rick lagina

and the Oak Island team another serious

setback have to go down and get that one

again won't we mm-hmm hi Charles and

think that want to try that one who'd go

on that yeah harness yourself up and see

if he can put this back in the bucket

the pipe we lost the fact that it was

still vertical was great what do you

want Charles the bucket up a bit David

that's good right there halt it Charles

went down hole and latched on to it got

in taos okay pull me up

it was a bit of a struggle you want to

get through the shackle there yeah we'll

try one last pull on that riser pipe

hopefully it'll come

yep nice cut

Oh God another three or four feet yeah

but we got to put that i-beam across

okay well drag it over here

I push over far as you can't beat

finally progress is being made

now there are only two more riser pipes

left to be removed Erica

once done professional divers will be

called in to clear out the debris that

lies deeper down under the murky water

for dan blankenship the man who dug 10x

more than 40 years ago the sight of all

the discarded riser pipes is a

bittersweet one because for him each one

represents decades of back-breaking work

personal struggle hopeful planning and

chronic disappointment
but now if all

goes well Dan may soon have the answers

and the validation he has been seeking

for half a century

there is only time to remove one more

pipe before nightfall the pipe that

slipped the team's grasp two days ago

and Dave Blankenship is up for the task

I can tip them over no you can't just

get us some pipe up the surface there

that's all you have to do

he's caught take me up a little bit

all that

right now and easy

I'll be right there

hold everything right there

oh nothing on that page

okay good get me out of here

there she comes well the truth of the

matter is what hadn't been a very

successful day and we thought okay we're

gonna get even coming up easy alright

we're gonna take one punch at this thing

and that was the punch get that riser on

it a whole

watch your finger prick

that's free coming at you

what's important is that we're actually

working together as a team

oh I see Jack that's part of the fun of

Oak Island

so between us David Peter myself dan

henskee Charles and Jack we were able to

get those pipes out of the hole and we

felt pretty good about it beautiful

is that something hydrated at the bottom

then there's a hunk about ten inches

long of anhydride right here yeah that's

a mystery when dan Blankenship dug 10x

in the 1970s he hit anhydride at the 181

foot level he continued to drill through

the rock hard substance for another 44

feet until he reached what he believed

to be a 10 foot tall man-made treasure

vault when she dropped when we lost it

maybe she drilled itself a nice little

plug that dropped too hard for that too

hard for that have absolutely no

explanation is it possible that the

riser pipe managed to fall past the 181

foot level and through the 27-inch wide

hole if so could we be looking at a

piece from the floor of an ancient

treasure vault

are you doing out there good so far you

know you didn't drop any pipe did you

get that out of the whole house that

kind of typical Oak Island we were able

to pull the 10 inch but we broke the

wire cable pulling on it really yeah but

we got it all out and then the pipe that

you dropped the 8 inch we actually got a

core out of the end hydrate with it

because it went rocketing down yeah that

wasn't went in the cavity is weird then

you took a core of the floor not a core

of the cap well it's easy it's easy

enough we'll go measure it again I can't

yeah it's gonna be interesting to see

that right it might tell us a little bit

about rock property we got our am i

coming to clear the bottom of the hole

on it right now we have two pipes out of

the hole I think they have plenty enough

room to do their work so when are you

coming back your days

yeah well make it sooner rather than

later because you know what I want to do

I want to get down there all righty

see ya all right it is the end of

another long day on Oak Island

a day of setbacks but also possible

breakthroughs

two of ten exes old riser pipes have

been removed and it won't be long before

another attempt is made to reach the

mysterious cavern that lies 235 feet

beneath the surface of the island but

once there what will be found ancient

tools treasure chests a dead body or

will it lead to even more questions

questions that will only be answered if

and when the island is ready to reveal

them next time on the curse of Oak

Island I'll move some dirt

that's a nice machine right baby it's

time to dig and you told me that you

know where 30 rods to their lands right

on that line x marks your spot right

there I claim this spot

we're digging on Oak Island

x marks the spot

you can see something wait what's that

Subtitled by Diego Moraes