American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 371 The Secret on the Back of the Gold Coin!
[5:30 PM Bahamas time, North Star deck]

As the sun sets, the golden afterglow bathes Nassau Harbour in a warm glow.

On the deck of the North Star, the excitement of discovering the treasure had not yet completely dissipated. Raven was still like a child, lovingly playing with the royal gold coin that carried three hundred years of history.

Lin Yu'an has already ended today's live stream. Over the past few hours, he and hundreds of thousands of viewers witnessed this extraordinary event, and the live stream's popularity has already soared to the top of the charts.

Terms like "The Turtle's Repayment" and "1715 Fleet Royal Gold Coin" are going viral on social media.

The last wisp of sea breeze carried away the daytime heat, and Captain Mike took out three bottles of chilled Kalik beer, the national beer of the Bahamas, from the cabin and handed them to Lin Yu-an and Ruiwen.

“Two great explorers,” he raised his bottle, a relaxed smile on his face, “let’s celebrate our perfect first day in Nassau. And our next stop ahead.”

His gaze fell on the huge nautical chart spread out on the teak dining table, and his finger pointed to the name that all navigators longed for—Havana.

The atmosphere instantly shifted from the joy of discovering treasure to a serious discussion about future voyages.

“Cuba…” Mike took a big gulp of beer, his brow furrowing again. “Lin, Raven, this plan is crazy, I like it. But we have to face the realities.”

He looked at Lin Yu'an, then at his daughter, and said, word by word, "We are American citizens, sailing an American sailboat flying the Stars and Stripes."

"It is illegal to travel to Cuba for tourism without special permission from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)."

"Ordinary tourists might be able to skirt the rules and blend in with tour groups departing from Mexico or Canada."

“But we can’t. We’re sailing our own boat, which is too big a target, and…” He pointed to the now-off live-streaming equipment.

“Our every move is under the spotlight. If OFAC determines that we are involved in ‘illegal transactions’ or ‘illegal tourism,’ the consequences will be very serious.”

Mike's words were not ignorant at all; on the contrary, they were full of accurate predictions of legal risks and a professional attitude of being responsible to the team.

The atmosphere on deck instantly became somewhat heavy due to this insurmountable legal obstacle. The grand plan that had just been decided seemed destined to be shelved before it even began.

Raven, who had been silently playing with the gold coins, suddenly burst out laughing. "Dad, aren't you... overthinking things?"

Mike looked at her with some confusion.

Raven carefully placed the priceless gold coin down, then took out a document from her sailing bag.

It was a printed OFAC official regulation document, with several paragraphs of text clearly marked by her in yellow highlighter.

“OFAC has indeed banned travel to Cuba for tourism purposes.” She first acknowledged Mike’s concerns, then changed the subject.

"However, the terms clearly list 12 categories of travel that can obtain a general permit without prior application."

"Dad, do you still remember Aunt Margaret?"

"Hmm?" Mike asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Margaret?” Mike paused, as if recalling a distant name.

"You mean... that cousin of mine who broke off with her family and eloped to Cuba for a poor painter?"

"That's right! It's her! Margaret Montgomery. But now it seems that her courageous decision back then has become our perfect passport today!"

"Of the 12 categories of travel that OFAC explicitly allows, the first and highest priority category is 'family visits'."

"We don't need to prepare any complicated itineraries to support the Cuban people, nor do we need to keep every receipt to prove that we didn't travel."

“We only need one reason—we are going to Havana to visit our poor American cousin who lives alone and hasn’t seen her family in decades.”

She picked up the satellite phone and dialed a number. After a few rings, the call was answered, and Raven immediately spoke in fluent Spanish:

“Aunt Margaret! How are you? It’s me, Raven!”

A burst of delighted cheers, also in Spanish, came from the other end of the phone. Raven chatted enthusiastically with the other person for a few minutes, telling her that she was sailing and not far away.

After hanging up the phone, Raven looked at Mike and Lin Yu'an, "It's all settled. I've already spoken to Aunt Margaret, and we're going to see her."

"She was so excited she almost cried on the phone. She said she hadn't seen anyone from the Montgomery family for many years."

She shrugged, a playful smile spreading across her face. "Who can refuse this reason? OFAC? Or U.S. Customs?"

“I believe that no official would dare to prevent such a humanitarian family reunion.”

Mike recovered from his shock: "My God... I almost forgot we had such a relative... Sweetheart, when did you come up with this plan?"

“When Captain Lin first wrote the word Cuba on the voyage plan,” Raven winked smugly.

"A good first mate must always be prepared for the captain's crazy plans, right?"

"and many more……"

"No, that's not right. Sweetheart, your plan only solves the 'family visit' problem for you and me as American citizens."

"Lin holds a U.S. green card. In the eyes of OFAC's reviewers, this is still an illegal tourist activity!"

Mike, being a seasoned captain, immediately pointed out the most fatal flaw in the plan.

The atmosphere, which had just become relaxed, was once again brought to a standstill by this insurmountable legal obstacle.

However, to Mike's surprise, Raven's smug smile remained unchanged.

She even took a leisurely sip of beer, as if she had expected Mike to ask that question.

“Dad,” she looked at her strict father and smiled, “did you think that my ‘Plan B’ only had ‘visiting relatives’ as a card to play?”

Mike was stunned: "Is there something else?"

“Of course.” Raven turned her gaze to Lin Yu’an. “From the very beginning, Lin never intended to go to Cuba as a tourist or a member of a family visit group.”

She stopped teasing and revealed the answer: "Lin is now a journalist with an international media work permit. He is also the producer and host of his documentary, 'My Sailing Log.'"

"We have obtained OFAC's general license for 'news activities' and can legally travel to Cuba to gather material."

“And you and I,” she added proudly, “besides being visitors, we now have another identity—the ‘contracted navigation consultants’ for this documentary.”

“My God…” Mike muttered to himself, finally shaking his head helplessly. “Well… I’m getting old. The way you young people play is beyond my imagination.”

"Alright, now that all the problems are solved," Mike was completely relieved, rubbing his hands excitedly.

He spread the paper nautical chart, which covered the entire northern Caribbean Sea, out on the table and picked up a professional ruler and dividers.

“From Nassau to Havana…” He used a compass to measure the distance on the nautical chart, his eyes shining brightly, “That sea area, I’ve only ever been there in my dreams!”

“Perhaps…this time we really will have a chance to see it for ourselves.” Raven’s voice was also full of anticipation.

She took out the heavy royal gold coin again, playing with it between her fingers, as if drawing courage for her voyage from this relic from three hundred years ago.

“It’s strange,” she muttered to herself as she examined the coins, “the back of this coin seems a bit unusual.”

Lin Yu'an curiously leaned closer.

"The obverse of the gold coin features the standard Spanish Habsburg cross shield."

"But on the back, where the cross, castle, and lion patterns should have been equally clear, it now appears somewhat blurry and chaotic."

"It is covered with many extremely fine scratches, which seem to have been engraved on later."

"What's wrong?" Mike asked, puzzled. "It's an old gold coin. It's been submerged in the ocean for three hundred years, so it's normal for it to have some wear and tear."

“No, Dad, this doesn’t look like wear and tear!” Raven’s eyes sharpened.

“Look closely! These scratches aren’t random! They… they look like symbols and lines!”

She immediately ran back to the captain's cabin and retrieved the high-powered magnifying glass that Mike had used before.

When she focused the magnifying glass on the back of the gold coin, an incredible miniature world unfolded before the three of them!
Under a magnifying glass, those seemingly messy scratches reveal an extremely precise miniature map that was hand-carved on!
There are outlines of several small islands, cross symbols representing coral reefs, and a winding shipping route marked with dotted lines!

The end of the route is marked with a clear "X"! And on the edge of the map, there are several tiny numbers that look like latitude and longitude coordinates!

“My God…” Mike was the first to exclaim, unable to believe his eyes, “This…this is a condensed treasure map!”

“Three hundred years ago, the captain of the Royal Fleet engraved a secret treasure map on a Royal Gold Coin that was already priceless…” Raven murmured to herself, completely immersed in the immense shock brought about by this discovery.

Lin Yu'an quickly calmed down from her initial surprise. She took the magnifying glass from Ruiwen and carefully examined every detail of the gold coin, especially its edges and the scratches that had been engraved on later.

“No,” he said slowly, offering a different perspective, “I think the owner of this gold coin may not have a direct relationship with the 1715 Fleet itself.”

Mike and Raven both looked at him curiously.

Lin Yu'an handed the magnifying glass to Mike, pointing to the front of the gold coin—the perfectly intact cross shield emblem.

“Look at the obverse of this gold coin. If it had been submerged at the bottom of the sea for three hundred years, apart from normal wear and tear and a thin layer of patina, there would be almost no serious scratches or corrosion.”

"This means that for a long time after it sank to the bottom of the sea, it was tightly wrapped and protected by something."

He continued his analysis: "If it had fallen directly from the scattered treasure chest during the 1715 hurricane and tumbled on the seabed for three hundred years, its surface could never have been preserved so well. Gravel and reefs would have left countless scars on it."

“Therefore,” Lin Yu’an deduced, “the more likely scenario is that after the 1715 fleet sank, some pirate found part of the fleet’s treasure.”

"Then, from that treasure, he selected this precious, portable, and easily preserved royal gold coin, and on the back of the coin, he engraved a secret map of his other treasure."

"To protect this secret, and to prevent the coin itself from being worn out, he probably wrapped it tightly in leather and carried it with him as a talisman."

"Until later, due to some unknown shipwreck or battle, this mysterious 'owner' and the gold coin he kept close to his body sank to the bottom of this sea."

"It was only after the package slowly rotted and disappeared in the seawater that the gold coin was finally exposed and discovered by us."

This logically rigorous and progressive reasoning instantly brought the story behind the gold coin to life and made it incredibly legendary!
Raven was completely captivated by the story: "A pirate who found a legendary treasure, then hid his own treasure in another place... This is more exciting than a movie!"

"Alright! Alright! Never mind who he is!" Mike's mind was completely off the story at this moment, and he forcibly suppressed his heart, which was about to jump out of his throat.

"Quick! Raven, read out those numbers and letters first. They're probably precise latitude and longitude coordinates! Let's see where this clever bastard has hidden the treasure!"

Raven brought her eyes close to the magnifying glass and read out each word slowly and deliberately: "21°05N...51°30W..."

Mike immediately grabbed a compass and pencil, and began rapidly searching for locations and intersections on the huge nautical chart...

The finger moved eastward across the nautical chart, eventually stopping at a vast expanse of sea in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, south of the Azores.

“No…not at all.” He shook his head and threw the pencil onto the nautical chart.

“The middle of the Atlantic?” His face was filled with extreme confusion and disappointment.

"This is impossible... There's nothing here! And it's too far from all flight paths! This must be a fake coordinate, a prank!"

Raven confirmed the location on the iPad, and the excitement on her face instantly faded, replaced by immense disappointment and resentment.

"How could this be... Could it be... a prank?"

The newly ignited passion for treasure hunting was instantly doused with cold water. An incorrect coordinate meant that the treasure map was nothing but a piece of waste paper.

(End of this chapter)