CAPTAIN KIDD

The mystery that has baffled historians, researchers and treasure hunters the world over for the past 70 years, has, I believe, been solved. The location of John Avery's and Captain Kidd's island has, in all probability, been identified. Many people in the past have also claimed to have identified the island. Many hundreds of thousands of pounds have been invested in fruitless expeditions to various islands in odd corners of the world - simply because the shape of the island resembled the distinctively shaped island Avery and Kidd sketched on their maps. However, no one, to my knowledge, has ever based their claim on deciphering the code that Avery and Kidd used on their maps. - UNTIL NOW!! - I have definitively decoded the maps and identified the treasure island site, and cache site/s on the island.

Until the island site is excavated and properly authenticated, I still have to use obscure phrases such as "I Believe", "To The Best Of My Knowledge" and "In All Probability" in respect of my claim. However, I am as sure as one can be without actually excavating the cache sites, that I have decoded the maps and discovered the site of island first used by Avery, and then by Kidd, to conceal their Indian Ocean plunder.

Around 300 years ago, Captain William Kidd carefully concealed two maps in various items of his furniture, in secret compartments. They were discovered in the late 1920's and 30's by two brothers (Guy and Hubert Palmer) living in Eastbourne, UK. The Palmer brothers devoted their lives to collecting pirate memorabilia and relics, and were very careful to accept only authenticated items into their collection. The museum they created was probably unique in the world. From the time when the first map was discovered in 1929 people have been trying to locate the mysterious island that is depicted on both maps.


Kidd's Writing Bureau (Claimed) - upon which he allegedly drew a map (Sarah Map) of his island. This discovery is subject to much speculation ~ which is aired on the "Behind The Maps" page.	Hubert Palmer holding the false bottom of The "Hardy Chest" which contained the concealed "Hardy Map". The chart depicts the same distinctively shaped island, but gives no clues as to the island's location.

The "Key Map" (the most descriptive map in the series of charts discovered) found hidden inside Kidd's wife's work box.. Kidd's map	The "Morgan" or "Skull" Map found concealed inside another sea chest owned by Kidd ~ transported back to London Avery's map

The materials used (parchment and ink) are believed to have been laboratory tested by the British Museum and verified as 17th century in origin, and are to all intents and purposes, genuine. The enduring question must be asked - why would Kidd sketch, encode and cleverly conceal three maps of the same island, in items of his furniture, if he never intended to return to the island to recover his hoard at a later date? After studying Kidd's life and times, I believe Kidd relocated his personal cache on the island hide-away before leaving the Indian Ocean for America in November 1698. Unfortunately for Kidd, he never had the opportunity to return to recover his hoard, for on his arrival in America he was arrested and transported to England where he was executed. After his arrest, Kidd hinted several times of his secret cache in the Indies, but as far as we know, either through lack of opportunity or his desire to hold on to his secret, he told no one. Kidd elected to take the secret of the island's location with him to his grave. Read a résumé of Kidd's life and times on my History Page, where I qualify my belief and theory.

I have shown Kidd's believed main cache site on his island together with an explanation of the coding system I believe he used on the Solution page.

The reason for publishing my site is to keep all like minded "Kiddologists" informed of the latest developments in the search for Kidd's island and cache sites. The charts he cleverly concealed have, I believe, been deciphered and his clues decoded. The exact latitude and longitude coordinates of his island's location is, I believe, known. I possess photographs of the island site that lies on the precise coordinates that I believe Kidd encoded in his charts. I possess Bathymetry evidence showing the island rising from the sea-bed at the precise coordinates I believe Kidd encoded in his charts. It does look like Kidd's distinctively shaped island, exactly as he drew it 300 years ago.

I would like to pay tribute to George Edmunds, author of "KIDD - The Search For His Treasure". I have met George on several occasions and although I take issue with him on many points of interpretation, he has written the complete and definitive book on the subject. I am sure that without reference to the information contained within his book, I would not have deciphered Kidd's charts so quickly. I urge all serious students of Kidd to get hold of his book.

Right now, I am in the process of registering the copyright of how I deciphered Kidd's charts and located his island. When this is completed, and the expedition scheduled, I will publish the full document, including the coordinates of his island on the Member's Page. The same conditions apply to the photographic and video evidence of the island's location in my possession. As soon as I am legally able to do so, I will publish all images, regularly updated, on this site.

This is your opportunity to experience the excitement of the search and to share, if successful, in a momentous discovery.