The Curse of Oak Island: Drilling Down (2016–…): Season 5, Episode 2 - The Great Feud - full transcript

Of all the people associated

with the Oak Island
treasure mystery,

two men stand above the rest:

Dan Blankenship
and Fred Nolan.

Dan is Oak Island,
was Oak Island,

and he always will be
Oak Island.

My dad had an absolute fixation

with this treasure.

But even though
they shared the goal

of finding
the Oak Island treasure,

they were also locked
in a bitter feud;



one that lasted for more
than half a century.

A lot of full-on,

in-your-face litigation.

We'll investigate
just why two men

who should have been
the best of friends

became the bitterest
of enemies.

These were two
very strong-willed men,

who were fighting over something
that they believed in.

We'll also evaluate

Dan and Fred's
greatest discoveries.

Nobody had found anything

on a par with the Money Pit

until Fred found
the stone cross.

Dan found man-made evidence
that predated the Money Pit.



And examine just how close
they came

to finding the world's
most elusive treasure.

The Curse of Oak Island
Drilling Down
Season 5 - EP 02 - The Great Feud

It started with an article

published in the January 1965
edition of Reader's Digest.

It was a reprint from a piece
written by local historian

David MacDonald and originally
published in the Rotarian

one year earlier.

It told the story
of a treasure hunt

that began in 1795 and had
continued up to that day,

but without any treasure
being recovered.

Although it was only
five pages long,

it fired the imagination
of nearly everyone who read it.

But perhaps none so much
as a 41-year-old contractor

from Miami, Florida by the name
of Dan Blankenship.

When I read the article,
and I handed it back to my wife

and I said, "There's treasure
on Oak Island.

And I'm gonna be instrumental
in discovering it.

When my dad first became
interested in Oak Island,

I remember him discussing it
with Mom,

and I don't remember my mom
really being excited

about the article.

But he was gonna come see what
it was about.

Dan had Oak Island in his blood

and just felt he had to
come up here, and that was it.

Dan was determined,
and if he made up his mind

to do something, he was,
uh, he was going to do it.

Having settled
with his wife Jane

and their three children
in Miami,

Dan built a successful
construction business

that Jane helped him run.

But Dan wanted something more
than a conventional life,

and the article
in Reader's Digest

offered it to him.

I think Dan's initial decision

to head to Oak Island and try
and figure this thing out,

I think that's noble and cool.

I admire him for it.

He makes a commitment
and he uproots family,

changes his life,

on the strength of an article
that's five or six pages long.

In August of 1965,

Dan and his 16-year-old son
David packed up the family car

and a made
a 2,000-mile road trip

to Western Shore, Nova Scotia.

He was determined
to offer himself

and his years of construction
and engineering knowledge

to the people
who were currently looking

for the treasure on Oak Islan.

Dad was very successful
as a contractor in Florida.

His last job
was a 125-bed hospital,

Hialeah General.

He finished the job early,
and he came to Nova Scotia

with a $100,000 check
in his pocket

to buy into Oak Island.

Shortly after
arriving in Nova Scotia,

Dan met with the island's
primary owner, M.R. Chappell,

a second-generation
treasure hunter

whose father William had
discovered what became known

as the Chappell Vault
back in 1897.

Now too old to look
for the treasure himself,

the 78-year-old Chappell
informed Dan

that he had licensed
the treasure hunting rights

to a former motorcycle
daredevil named Robert Restall,

who was now living on
the island with his family.

Undaunted, Dan and David
went over

to meet with Robert Restall
to offer his services.

It was at this time that these
remarkable home movies

were shot,
showing Robert Restall

and his operation.

Although Robert Restall
was reluctant to take Dan up

on his offer, the two men
promised to keep in touch.

That is,
until tragedy struck,

just a few days later.

On August 17, 1965,

Robert Restall
and three other men,

including his son, Bobby Jr.,

lost their lives after being
overcome by poisonous gas

in a 27-foot-deep shaft
at Smith's Cove.

It was the worst accident
and greatest tragedy

in the history of Oak Island.

Eager to get things
back to normal

as quickly as possible,
M.R. Chappell made a deal

with one of
Robert Restall's investors,

a geologist from California
named Robert Dunfield.

But although Dunfield believed
he had the right strategy

to finally solve the mystery,

Chappell only granted him
six months to prove himself

before the treasure hunting
rights would once again

be offered
to the highest bidder.

To meet
the impossible deadline,

and with winter
fast approaching,

Robert Dunfield
needed money, and fast.

Enter... Dan Blankenship.

So Dad's lawyer
called and said,

"Did you see on the news
that there was an accident

up on Oak Island?"
Dad said "No."

Well, he jumped on a plane
and he flew back up here.

I thought at the time

Bob Dunfield was going
about it wrong.

And the truth of it is,

it was doubtlessly
his first attempt

at recovering, uh,
some kind of treasure.

And it was definitely
my first attempt at it.

With Dan's help,
Dunfield constructed

a 600-foot-long causeway,

which directly connected
Oak Island to the mainland.

After bulldozing tons of earth
at Smith's Cove

in hopes of clogging
the legendary flood tunnels

that fed seawater
into the Money Pit,

they brought in a digging crane
and dug a massive hole

100 feet wide
by 143 feet deep

in an effort to locate the
original treasure shaft.

Although the effort
was impressive,

the result
was a monumental failure.

At a depth of 143 feet,

just ten feet shy
of the fabled Chappell Vault,

the giant hole collapsed
due to flooding.

Dunfield finally, he gave up,
ran out of money,

and went home to California.

And Dan was left here
with these gaping holes

and his own theories
of what to do next.

With Dunfield out,

Dan Blankenship finally
had his chance

to make Oak Island history
the only way he knew how...

his way.

Joining forces with
Montreal-based businessman

David Tobias, the pair formed
Triton Alliance

and signed a contract
for the treasure hunting rights

with M.R. Chappell.

David put up some money

and, uh, Dan was the,
the boots on the ground

and ran the operation here.

I think between them,
they thought

that with some extra cash

and Dan's hard work,
they could solve the mystery.

Over the course
of the next two years,

Dan dissolved
his contracting business

and eventually built a home
on the island

with his wife Jane.

It was a hard life.

Everything,
including electricity,

had to be brought in
from the mainland.

It was also lonely,

as for the couple's first
several years,

they would be
the only two people

living on the island.

Well, they loved each other.

They'd sit in the living room

and not say a word
to each other for hours,

but yet, you knew that

they were communicating
with each other.

I don't think it would have
really mattered

what my father was doing,
as long as they were together.

But my mom ended up
loving it up here.

In 1966, Dan Blankenship

and his partner David Tobias

were solely in charge

of the Oak Island
treasure hunt.

As far as they were concerned,

they had complete control

of every one
of the island's 140 acres.

There was nothing
that would stop them now.

Nothing, that is, except for
a local surveyor by the name

of Fred Nolan.

There would always be

disagreements between them

about being
on each other's land.

This place gets hold of people.

People become very possessive.

There was some
"take it to the Supreme Court"

kind of litigation.

For Canadian-born surveyor
Fred Nolan,

it wasn't an article
in Reader's Digest

that fueled his interest

in solving the Oak Island
treasure mystery.

Instead, it was one that
appeared in the May 1939 issue

of Popular Science magazine.

Titled "Mystery Island
Baffles Treasure Hunters",

it told the story
of a treasure search

that had involved
hundreds of men,

including a young
Franklin D. Roosevelt.

It speculated that the island
could be hiding everything...

from pirate plunder
to Marie Antoinette's jewels.

But while Fred remained
captivated by the island,

and its promise of vast riche,

Fred's wife Ora was not
the least bit interested.

I visited the island
with my wife

as a tourist.

There were no treasure hunters,
just, uh, local people.

They got off the boat
and as the story goes,

he took off, and sort of
left her by the beach,

and, uh, came back
about three hours later.

And she wasn't very happy.

And...
That's just that was my dad.

As one of the first designated

provincial land surveyors
in all of Nova Scotia, in 1961,

Fred was invited by Oak Island
landowner M.R. Chappell

to map the eastern end
of Oak Island

from the swamp
to the Money Pit.

It was a dream come true

for the 34-year-old
would-be treasure hunter,

as he set out to map
every inch of the island.

And it was soon after that he
began noticing what he believed

to be man-made clues
hidden in plain sight.

Just like Mr. Blankenship, it
was all-encompassing for him,

what had happened here.

And I think, because
of his surveying background,

he saw something here
that, you know,

that needed to be put together.

That's when Dad set up
the original baseline.

Which was the first
survey work done

that was really involved
in the treasure hunt.

Those survey maps,
they were highly detailed,

but he didn't make them
for somebody else.

He made them for himself.

And trying to make sense
of them is very difficult.

But him? He could look
at any point on those maps

and tell you exactly
where he was and what it meant.

Fred also noticed
a number of drilled stones

and curiously placed
rock formations,

including three
triangular piles of rocks

that seemed to point
directly toward

the triangular-shaped swamp.

Convinced that he had
found evidence

of ancient man-made workings,
Fred pleaded

with M.R. Chappell to let him
replace Robert Restall

as Oak Island's
designated treasure hunter.

Chappell denied the request.

Undaunted, Fred was determined
to find other ways he could

continue his search for the
fabled Oak Island treasure,

with or without
Chappell's blessing.

Fred Nolan went down
to the municipal office,

and found out that Lot 5

and Lots 9 through 14
were not mentioned on the deed

when M.R. Chappell
bought the property.

Having found what he believed
was a loophole

in Chappell's claims
of ownership,

in 1963,
Fred was able to purchase

all seven of the four-acre los

for the princely sum
of $3,200 dollars.

Although M.R. Chappell
questioned the legitimacy

of Fred's land claims, the
deed, so to speak, was done.

By 1966, Oak Island
had two principal landowners:

Fred Nolan and M.R. Chappell,
who, following the departure

of Robert Dunfield, put control
of the official treasure hunt

under the leadership
of partners

Dan Blankenship
and David Tobias.

At first, Dan and Fred
got along fine.

They were bonded
by a mutual interest

in solving the mystery,
and each shared with the other

their most recent discoveries.

But what seemed like the start
of a lifelong friendship

didn't last long.

Fred and Dan actually did
go out, supposedly together,

and make their own map together
when they were getting along.

Well, Nolan,

he was really sincere
in what he was doing,

and-and he's a surveyor.

And so I didn't object
too strenuously at the time.

Dan Blankenship,
he was a nice guy, but, uh,

he was working for a guy

who we didn't get along with
too well. You know.

This place seems
to get hold of people.

People become very possessive.

Despite Dan and Fred's
common interest,

M.R. Chappell and David Tobias
bitterly challenged

the legitimacy of Fred's
ownership of his seven lots.

It was a situation
that soon went from bad

to downright nasty,

especially since Fred
now claimed control

over the only principal road
that ran from the Causeway

to the Money Pit
and Smith's Cove.

We were denied access to the
Causeway over to the island.

So, Dad very quickly
put up a chain

and that blocked anybody
from getting to the Money Pit.

There's an old picture, and
Dan's up there with a hacksaw

hacking through it.

It was crazy.

The battle over
access to the Causeway

quickly escalated into
a now-infamous altercation

between Fred and Dan,

one which happened
on a chilly morning in 1970.

When Fred put the chain up,

Dad loaded up a rifle
and went after him.

And they called
the cops out here.

The cops asked Dad,
"Is that thing loaded?"

He said,
"Well, it's no good as a club."

And he ejected three or four
shells out of it.

They took the gun.

They felt at the time that...

Dan just might, uh,
cause somebody some,

some sort of a mortal wound.

So, they make a deal that,

"Okay, you take down
the barricade and then,

I'll let you use the Causeway"

So, things were, you know,
copacetic for a little while.

With a truce,
albeit temporary, in place,

Dan Blankenship and David
Tobias began a major excavation

at Smith's Cove to look
for the legendary flood tunnel

connected to the Money Pit.

Fred Nolan built a cottage
on his property and,

with the help
of his teenage son Tom,

began draining
the triangle-shaped swamp.

It was a period of détente

between the two rival
treasure hunters.

One that, during the next
decade, would produce

some of Oak Island's
most intriguing

and perplexing discoveries.

When we had drained the swamp,

we found pieces
of what were part of a ship.

They were part of the scupper,

and they were quite
substantial pieces of wood.

They were off a bigger type
of vessel.

Fred's discoveries led him
to the incredible theory

that Oak Island was
once two islands,

created after
a treasure galleon

was purposely sunk
between them.

Using cofferdams to seal off

both the northern
and southern areas,

the center portion was draine.

It was later filled in
with dirt

from the recently excavated
treasure vaults

so that all signs
of the stolen ship

would be permanently hidden.

Not to be outdone,

Dan was making incredible
discoveries of his own,

especially at Smith's Cove,
where he and David Tobias

had undertaken a massive
excavation in an effort

to locate and seal off

the network
of legendary flood tunnels.

Dan Blankenship

built a, uh, earth and rock
cofferdam out there

and started exploring
Smith's Cove.

And that's when the so-called
U-shaped structure

was found.

These were very large oak beams
that had obviously been hewn,

and had Roman numerals
marking on them.

And dowels were
in some of them.

So, Dan knew that they had
found some man-made evidence

that predated the discovery
of the, uh, Money Pit.

Dan also found
a number of artifacts

that, when scientifically
examined,

proved to be more
than 300 years old,

including a pair
of wrought iron scissors.

Dan was convinced

that what was buried
on Oak Island was Spanish gold.

Gold that had been probably
mined by the Incans

or Central American Indians.

When you think,
the sea-lanes were filled

with Spanish galleons bringing
gold and silver back to Europe.

To think that there might be
some piracy or privateering

that may have, uh,
gathered some of that wealth

and you had the need
to hide it away,

I-I think it's very plausible.

It was also during this period

that Dan began to look
for an alternate way

to the fabled Money Pit
treasure vault.

After using an ancient method
known as dowsing,

Dan Blankenship began digging a
massive 235-foot-deep borehole

known as 10-X,
which led to what Dan believed

was a man-made chamber,

filled with evidence
that proved the legends

about Oak Island
and its treasure were real.

Dan firmly believed

that what that camera saw
was two chests,

some working tools leaning up
against the wall,

what could be a wooden post
supporting the roof

and, quite possibly,
a headless body

laying belly-down in the silt.

He absolutely believed that.

Unfortunately,
just 45 feet short

of finishing his goal
of expanding 10-X

to a total width of eight feet,
Dan ran out of money.

Meanwhile,
a short distance away,

Fred Nolan was making one of
his most notable discoveries.

It was a contrast in fortunes
that only served to reignite

Oak Island's
most infamous feud.

Dan was pretty sure he'd win.

But a lot of litigation.

"I'll take you to the Supreme
Court" kind of litigation.

It just soured that relationship
beyond hope after that.

In 1977,

90-year old Melbourne Chappell
sold his stake in Oak Island

to Dan Blankenship,
David Tobias

and their partners
in Triton Alliance.

But even though Dan and David
now had legal control

over most of the island,
they found themselves embroiled

in an increasingly
testy dispute

over whether they should
continue excavating 10-X

or search
for the original Money Pit.

Meanwhile,
their rival Fred Nolan

continued surveying
and mapping every inch

of his 28 acres on the island.

Those survey maps
of Fred Nolan's

represents decades of work.

He looked at everything.

He just didn't find one feature
and say, "That's curious."

Everything that he thought
was a marker on the island,

he would take it and he would
run lines against other objects

on the island to see
what it might, uh, reveal.

It was while surveying
a number of large boulders

on his property in 1981
that Fred made what he believed

to be a breakthrough discover:

Five massive cone-shaped stons

that not only appeared to be
deliberately shaped and placed,

but when measured and mapped,
appeared to form a large cross

measuring 720 feet wide
by 867 feet long.

Once those boulders
were located on the map,

and the measurements
were coincidentally exact, uh,

that is how he came
to discover that.

Those stones are different
than the other stones.

And there are only those five
that are like that.

Fred was so convinced
that this wasn't natural

that he dug around the bottoms
and saw that they were flat.

Which convinced him
they had to be dragged there.

And I-I think
that's a, actually,

a pretty convincing argument.

Speculating that it might
actually mark the spot

where the Oak Island treasure
was buried, Fred began digging

a hole at the center
of the two arms of the cross.

It was then that he discovered
a sixth boulder,

one which appeared to be carvd
into the shape of a human hea.

Nobody had found
anything that was, well,

on a par with the discovery of
the Money Pit or Smith's Cove

until Fred found the cross.

With the discovery of what
he dubbed Nolan's Cross,

Fred Nolan had assured himself
a legacy on Oak Island

that was literally
carved in stone.

It also served to further
provoke David Tobias

and Dan Blankenship.

If they were ever going
to legally challenge

the legitimacy of Fred Nolan's
land claims, the time was now.

When Chappell
acquired the island,

they tried to say, because
he thought he was

buying the whole island,
that it was just a mistake.

You know, their argument
that well,

Dad had no right to have-have
purchased those lots.

Dan and David Tobias

prepared extensively
for the legal battle

over the ownership of the lots.

And they thought
they had it all nailed down.

In January 1983,

Triton Alliance filed suit in
civil court against Fred Nolan.

But although the court deemed

that Triton's legal argument
was valid,

it also ruled that
the statute of limitations

tipped the scale
in Fred Nolan's favor.

It was 20 years
before they decided

to take him to court over it.

The judge said that,
"I got to give him the land

"because of you guys
let it sit for 20 years,

it's automatically his."

They said, "No,
you know, fair is fair."

Even if it was a mistake,

it was, and-and Dad bought
the lots fair and square.

For now,

Fred Nolan had
the right to pursue his search

for treasure on 28
of the island's 140 acres.

But for Dan Blankenship
and David Tobias,

the fight for Oak Island
was far from over.

There would always be
disagreements between them

about property boundaries
and being on each other's land.

There was always
accusations by Dan

and I don't know if any of this
is personally true

that Fred would find somethin,
and then if he surveyed it ou,

he would kind of cover up
his tracks

because he didn't want Dan
to see what he was doing

and also, trying to make sure
nobody else found it.

They did some childish things,

moving fences back-and-forth.

And I mean,
we saw some of that.

We'd go and Dan said, "Oh, look,
he's moved that fence back.

I'm gonna move it back again."

But some of that would've been

under the advice
of counsel, too.

"If you think that's
where your boundary is,

you better act like it."

I think it was professional
jealousy, if you will.

Right? And-and they got caught
up in each other's suspicions,

right, of-of the other man's
potential success.

Believing that they would
ultimately prevail

in the appellate courts,

Dan Blankenship and his partner
David Tobias

once again denied Fred Nolan
access to the Causeway.

Once they blocked us
at the Causeway,

everything had
to be barged over.

Drills, backhoes, you name it,
all came by barge.

So, it made for a lot more
difficult way

of doing business
on Oak Island.

You know,
he was that determined.

They weren't gonna stop him.

But it just soured
that relationship

beyond hope after that.

After the lower court's opinion
in favor of Fred Nolan

was once again
upheld on appeal,

David Tobias and Dan
Blankenship took their fight

first to the Nova Scotia
Supreme Court.

And after that failed,

to the Canadian Supreme Court
for a final judgment.

Dan was pretty sure he'd win.

But a lot of litigation,

full-on, never give up
kind of litigation.

-Dig your heels in.
-In your face.

In your face litigation.

"I-I'll take you to the Supreme
Court" kind of litigation.

So, in that, you know,
th-there was a lot of animosity

that went through
the court system.

After nearly five years

and hundreds of thousands
of dollars

in court costs
and lawyer's fees,

Fred Nolan
ultimately prevailed.

But even though
the legal battle had ended,

the bitterness
between the warring parties

would be lasting.

As far
as land ownership went, uh,

you know,
it-it went in our favor.

But it blocked us from using
the Causeway for 20 years.

And that certainly didn't help
my father as who was trying

to treasure hunt
on the island at the time.

If they'd have
quit the fighting

and wor both worked togethe,

I think we could have
found something.

A lot more than
what we found to date.

The feud between
Dan Blankenship and Fred Nolan

resulted in a two-decade perid

where hardly any new
discoveries of consequence

were made by either side.

To make matters worse,
the ongoing disagreements

between Dan Blankenship
and David Tobias

over the fate of 10-X had taken
a toll on their partnership.

For now, it seemed
that if the Oak Island mystery

was ever going to be solved,
it would take a miracle.

Or, perhaps, two brothers

from northern Michigan
named Rick and Marty Lagina.

So, it's time

to quit the fighting
and cooperate, right?

What do you think?

That's Spanish.

-I know.
-Yeah?

By 2005, more than
a quarter century had passed

since any major discoveries
were made on Oak Island.

This was due in large part

to the feud that existed
between landowners

Dan Blankenship and Fred Nola.

Fortunately, Rick and Marty
Lagina were two brothers

from Michigan, who,
like Fred and Dan,

had not only spent
most of their lives dreaming

about solving
the Oak Island mystery,

but who had the know-how
and financial means

to make it happen.

And their interest
was fueled by the same

Reader's Digest article
that Dan Blankenship had read

40 years earlier.

When I read the article in '65,

look, we're young boys,
there's something there.

We can find that one thing.

It's amazing.
It uprooted Dan and his family

and brought him here.

Uh, we're here
because of that article.

Rick and Marty's boyhood
interest first brought them

up to Oak Island in 1995,

but the reception they received
from Dan Blankenship

was not exactly what you would
call a warm one.

I see two guys, one carrying
a-a basket of flowers,

and the other one
carrying a bottle.

And so, they come across
and, uh, I looked at them,

and I said, "Beware of Gr
of Greeks bearing gifts."

And he says that, uh,
"We're not Greeks."

He said, "We're Italian."
I said, "They're worse yet."

Anyway, so, it didn't,
it didn't work out.

And Rick was horribly
disappointed, I remember.

But I knew then, for the first
time since I was 11,

that we would pursue it.

Fortunately, Rick and Marty's
patience paid off,

after Marty read a brochure
that indicated

that David Tobias,
Dan Blankenship's partner

in Oak Island Tours,
was looking to sell

his 50% interest
in the company.

It was a long haul

to not only buy out
the Tobiases,

but also to win
Dan's confidence sufficiently

so we could work together.

Along with their
Michigan-based partners

Craig Tester
and Alan Kostrzewa...

-There he is.
- Hey, Daniel!

...Rick and Marty joined forces
with Dan Blankenship,

and began infusing
their partnership

with long-needed cash.

Marty, Rick and Craig
were also able to add decades

of their own research,

not to mention
their engineering expertise.

Daniel!

What do you think, Dan?

You prepared a hell
of a big area here.

- When Rick and Marty

bought David's shares out,

and then Dad thought,
"Well, here's new money,

that we'll get
something done now."

So I think he was quite happy.

-All at the same time.
-All at the same time.

Here we go!

One, two, three.

Let's make hole!

Here we go!

- Heading down, Dan.
Digging, digging.

I see that Rick
and Marty has the heart

like my dad had the heart
for Oak Island.

The heart that there's
something here.

The heart for the story.

Although Dan's wife Jane
sadly passed away in 2008,

his Michigan-based partners
offered him and his son Dave

a renewed spirit of purpose.

My dad was heartbroken

when my-my mom had passed away.

It was nice that he was
able to move on.

Once again,

impressive discoveries
were being made

all across the island.

Whoa!

Is it a coin?
-I believe this is a coin.

No. Are you serious?
- What?

No.

- It's an eight.
What is it? - Yeah.

It is an eight,
isn't it? Yeah.

Brought something
we want to show you!

- Want to sit down?
-DAN B.: Well, looks like

-I'm gonna have to.

What do you think?

That's Spanish.

I know.

-You know?

Yeah.

-And that's the first thing
I've held in my hands... - I know.

...since I've been here
almost 48 years.

-That's why we came right here.
-Yeah.

And that's-that's
the first thing I have,

-the real evidence, you know.
- Yep.

I told you
we were gonna solve this.

That's just the start of it.

Tangible piece of evidence.

Tangible piece of evidence.
So, it was great.

We were really happy about it.
Ecstatic, I'd say.

And it was fun
to give it to Dan.

There were also fresh
discoveries at Smith's Cove...

You guys actually found
coconut fiber?

-That's incredible.
- And, of course,

near the site of
the original Money Pit.

You may have something.

Chappell's Vault.

Even 10-X became
the subject of renewed focus.

I think we're in the cavern now.

We're in the cavity.
- We're in the cavity.

But with all of the
breakthroughs being enjoyed

by Dan and his new partners,

there was still one
giant problem left unsolved.

The feud between
Dan Blankenship and Fred Nolan

continued to cast a giant
shadow over the entire island.

It made progress,
especially with regards

to excavating the swamp,
virtually impossible.

To solve the mystery,

Rick and Marty would have
to do the impossible.

They would need to put an end
to the feud.

-Come on in.
-Okay.

- We've got everybody
lined up here. - Everybody's here?

- Yep.
-We're eager to work with you.

So, it's time to quit the
fighting and cooperate, right?

-Good morning. How are you?
-Hi, Rick.

-How are you?
-How are you? Good.

-Good. Come on in.
-Okay.

We've got everybody
lined up here.

In 2015,
after years of negotiations,

and with
Dan Blankenship's blessing...

-Rick, Marty and their partners

arranged for a face-to-face
meeting with Fred Nolan.

We're eager to work with you.

So, it's time to

quit the fighting
and cooperate, right?

Yeah, I don't want to be
an obstacle anymore.

-You know, I'm...
I'm too old for that now. -Yeah...

Welcome to the team.

For the next year,
the Laginas and their partners

shared resources
with Fred Nolan.

-The bedrock should be
right down about 12, 14 feet. -Okay.

And had unprecedented access

to new areas on the island,

leading to a number of new
finds in the Oak Island swamp.

It's a large board.

Some of which also validated

Fred's long-held theory of
what might be buried there.

-Oh...
-Ooh, look at that! That's nice.

I found exactly the same objects
as this

off Spanish galleons

from the late 1600s,
early 1700s.

Fred,
I just want to say thanks

for coming to the war room.

We're very grateful that
you've brought your map

and we'd love to get
an understanding, at least,

-of where we're gonna go from here.
-Sure.

Fred also,
for the first time ever,

shared his extensive
survey maps

with Rick
and members of the team.

I've been at it so long now...

-Yes. -...that if I didn't relate
this kind of stuff,

-who'd put it together again?
Exactly.

-Yep.
-Yeah.

-Yeah.
-Exactly.

I think that's
one of the reasons that

he came around
to working with Rick,

is that he saw
a bit of himself in-in Rick.

Unfortunately,

the collaboration
would be all too brief.

In 2016, at the age of 89,

Fred Nolan passed away.

I-It's, uh, it's sad news.

I just got an e-mail
from Tom Nolan and, uh...

um, Fred Nolan has passed away.

I'm-I'm deeply affected by it,
by the news.

Um...

He brought something to the
island, the search

that no one else in the
221 years prior to him brought.

And that is a hard science,
a-a discipline,

and to work with him
was incredible.

He was a true believer
in this thing

from the time
he became involved in it

right to his passing.

And I think ,if he could have,

he would've spent all his time
on the island.

Happy Birthday!

Two years later,
at the age of 95,

Dan Blankenship would join
his former rival...

...and the two would
forever cement their place

in the long history of the
Oak Island treasure mystery.

We're going to acutely miss
Dan Blankenship.

He's always been coupled in
Rick and-and my minds

with Oak Island.
Almost synonymous, you know?

And he had a great run

and accomplished
some amazing things.

There's a little bit of Dan
in every one of us here.

-Yeah.

-I know there's
a whole bunch in me.

There'll not be a single day
where we won't miss him.

Hello!

-Hey, Daniel.
-Marty and Rick!

-How are you doing, sir?
-Good.

-Good to see you.
-Good to see you.

Good to see you, always.

-Good to be seen, right?

Oh, yeah.
Well, after a fashion.

Yeah.

And the fact that he's not here

as a living, breathing member,
if you will,

of the Fellowship of the Dig..

He's certainly not gone.
His presence will live on here.

Dan interacted with
each of us in a different way,

at a different level,
at different times.

And he had an impact
on our lives.

So, in all your years here,

I mean, did you ever see it
coming to this?

No.

- Good!

The old saying, Rick, is,
"nothing ventured,

-nothing gained."
-Nothing gained. Exactly.

When he passed away,

my brother had told me that
there was over 132,000 cards

and sympathies and condolence.

And I was just
really shocked, amazed.

My dad had touched
so many lives and...

and those people
felt so inspired by my dad.

Any time you talk to people
that come here,

they're apologizing that
Dad didn't-didn't live longer.

But Oak Island is Dad.

I mean,
when you think of Oak Island,

you think of Dan Blankenship.

And I don't think
it's going to change that much.

Dan and Dad,

although he would probably
hate to hear me say this,

were somewhat alike.

They were quite headstrong

about getting things done
on the island.

And it's kind of sad, in a wa,

because if that energy had ben
funneled into working togethe,

you know,
a level of cooperation

might have been able to bring
this thing to a close sooner.

I asked him one day,
"Dan, do you have any regrets?

Is there anything
you would've done differently?"

He paused,
and he seemed to look off.

And he said,
and I quote, that...

"I wish Fred and I
could have worked together."

But they certainly
left a legacy here.

At the end of the day,
the team will persevere,

the team will move forward.

Even though
Dan Blankenship

and Fred Nolan could not

bring themselves to end
their decades-long feud

during their lifetimes,

they have, ironically,
been able to work together

through the efforts of
their sons,

Dave Blankenship and Tom Nola.

-Hey, Dave. How are you?
-How's it going?

So, you want to see
what's here, too, huh?

-Well, I'm kinda curious, yeah.

Thanks to the
persistent efforts

of Rick and Marty Lagina

and the desire on the part of
Tom Nolan and Dave Blankenship

to honor their
now-legendary families,

Oak Island is,
once again, one island.

Having Tom on board is
a concrete example of the peace

that has been brought
to this island.

The cooperation as opposed to
the bitter rivalry.

-He just said if his father could see this now.
-Yeah, that thing floating...

-Yeah.
-He's probably looking at us.

We have no problem
working with Tom.

I think it's great
that we are working together

to try and find something and
I am definitely hopeful that,

with Rick and Marty, that
we are going to find something

and finish it and put it to bed.

-How you doing?
-Good to see you. -Hi, Tom.

-Hi, Dave.
-Sorry about the hand.

Welcome to the club.

What would your Dad have done
if he'd had that machine?

- I don't know what would be
left of the swamp...

...if he'd had that machine.

It's kind of ironic that

the relationship between
my dad and Dan

was such a bitter relationship
and now,

I've come to know Dave,
and you know,

we get along great.
It's

It's sort of a-a turn

in the, in the... in the way
things go on Oak Island.

Can you remember where
something was 35 years ago?

'Cause I know I can't.

Tom, I can't remember
where something is yesterday,

-let alone 35 years, now.

When I go out there,

there's a Nolan
and a Blankenship

discussing an activity.

-Now, get in here, Rick.
-Huh?

-You're just now
getting out here. -Yeah.

I mean, it's bittersweet,
because if Fred and Dan

had been able to do what
their sons are now able to do,

where would we be right now?

-Yes.
-Moment of truth, buddy.

-This is it. This is it.
-Coming up.

Yeah.

I think both Fred and Dan,

as they approached
the end of their lives,

would be happy to know that te
next generation is cooperatin.

We restored peace to one small
part of the globe: Oak Island.

And we're working together
to solve this thing.

-That's a nice feeling.
-Absolutely.

- Dan Blankenship

and Fred Nolan.

Two men who, in life,
were bitter rivals,

but now are strangely partnered
for all eternity.

For it was their shared quest

to solve the Oak Island mystery
that united them,

and now helps to motivate a nw
generation of treasure hunter.

With all things,
time heals all wounds.

-And I'd like to think that
we played a role in that. -You did.

And I'm grateful that we have
collectively moved on

and I do think that
from father to son,

from father to son,

I think they would be happy.