Sign Up  /  Login

Granville "Treasure" Island LbNA #57995

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:May 27, 2011
Location: Granville Island
City:Granville Island, Vancouver
County:British Columbia, CAN
State:British Columbia, Canada
Boxes:2
Planted by:benjemma
Found by: Not yet found!
Last found:N/A
Last edited:May 27, 2011
This series is loosely based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” and takes you around one of Vancouver’s most popular and beautiful spots, Granville Island. The whole series takes a couple of hours to complete on foot or bike, but you may want to give yourself more time to enjoy the island once you’re done the series.

Begin your pirate adventure at The Pirate Pub (#1-1012 Beach Ave. in Vancouver). To get there, you can park in the parking lot by the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, under the Burrard bridge just off of Beach Ave. between Burrard and Thornton streets ($2.50/hr.). Alternatively, you can make your way here by bus (C21) or by bike (you can lock your bike up in front of The Pirate Pub or take it with you on the Aquabus). To the right (west side) of the parking lot, you’ll see a sign directing you to the False Creek Ferries. Cross the seaside bike path (watch for bikes!) and go onto the seaside foot path. The ferry ramp will be to your right. Go left and under the bridge. There’s a staircase with a white railing going down to your right. Go down those stairs. On your left is The Pirate Pub. Have a seat at one of the benches outside the pub. This is where the story begins.

If you would prefer to skip the costs of parking, you can park for free on Granville Island, then take the Aquabus to Hornby St. and start your journey at the rainbow gate. If you don’t want to take the Aquabus, you can start the series at the Aquabus (not the False Creek Ferries) ferry dock on Granville Island. You’ll miss out on the treasure map and secret words, but you may still be able to figure out where the treasure is buried from the clues listed here.

Finally, be sure to bring a handshovel or spoon, because you’ll have to dig for this buried treasure, as well as a camera phone or digital camera so you can take a picture of the treasure map. Also, you may want to print off a modern map of Granville Island before heading off on your adventure: www.granvilleisland.com/granville-island/maps-island

As a modern budding pirate, one of your favorite hang-outs is The Pirate Pub. Recently, at this pub, you met and became mates with an old pirate by the name of Billy Bones. He told many a tale about his old crew and Captain J. Flint, the most ruthless and feared pirates of all of False Creek, and their great adventures on their ship The Walrus.

One day, an old blind pirate named Pew comes looking for Billy Bones. “Arrr, Captain Flint may be dead, but I know ye be havin’ the map to the treasure and I be wantin’ me share!” he bellows. When Billy Bones refuses, Pew curses him with the dreaded “Black Spot” and takes off. Suddenly, Billy Bones begins to choke and fall. In his last breath, he reaches to you and says “Aye, I be dyin’… Ye be a good mate and a darn fine pirate-in-training. No longer a landlubber ye be. Ye be deservin’ that treasure”.

Then he whispers: “Captain Flint gave to me his secrets upon his death bed and now I be givin’ them to ye. The gold be buried on Granville Island, and the treasure map be buried near here. To find the map, follow the white rail along the marina and water’s edge, past the House of Chilli, the fountain of youth, the building of columns, and the half-moon park, until ye reach the rainbow gate. At the gate, go up the steps to yer left, where a hedge grows behind two benches. There are a few more steps next to the benches on the left to take ye over to the side of the hedge. Look there behind the hedge, on the edge of the wall, ye will find a barnacle-covered rock. Dig under there to find a message in a bottle. But be discreet! Everyone will be wantin’ to get their hands on this treasure! Beware especially of the one-legged man…” And with those last words, Billy Bones dies, and your adventures begins…

Follow Billy Bones’ advice to find the treasure map. Be sure to take a photo of the map and the secret words, or to draw and write them in your logbook, as you will be needing these later. While you’re here, feel free to stamp your logbook with the pirate flag contained in the bottle. Then place these back into the bottle and bury it carefully where you found it, placing the barnacle-covered rock on top once again.

You decide to hire a ship and a crew, but you’re a little worried when you meet the crew’s cook. He goes by the name Long John Silver and has only one leg… But he actually seems quite nice, plus he has a cool pet parrot, so you decide to take your chance and set sail to Granville Island.

You make your way back to the rainbow gate and board your ship The Hispaniola. It’s not quite a schooner, but more of an unusual-looking, colourful, little bilge… but it will get you where you want to go (you might want to confirm with the crew that you are indeed sailing to Granville Island!). While aboard the Hispaniola, you overhear Long John Silver and his crew planning a mutiny against you! They want to steal your photo of the map and get the treasure for themselves! As you dock at the island, Long John Silver and his pirates start to attack! Luckily, you manage to escape off the boat. Quick! You must follow the path on the treasure map before the pirates realize you have gone!

Look on your map. Which way should you go? Looks like you need to veer left and walk along the water’s edge, maybe along that boardwalk? Can you see the old boat “The Relief” up ahead? Go past it. Now the path on the map seems to curve right. Turn right near the end of the boardwalk, walk a bit, and look for an old anchor in some water, just like on the map. Do you see it? Have a seat on the bench in front of there. Now you notice that there is a number (1) at this point on your map, but you’re not sure what to make of it… Maybe it has something to do with the number (1) and the missing words in Captain Flint’s log?

Suddenly you hear someone coming! At first you think it might be Long John Silver and his men, but another old man appears instead. “Ahoy, matey!” he exclaims. “Me name is Ben Gunn and I be an ole’ shipmate of Captain Flint. I be hearin’ that ye be searchin’ for his treasure”. He too has been looking for the treasure, but without the map, he has not succeeded. “Aye, those numbers ye see on the map be for the words ye be missin’ in the Captain’s log. Captain Flint be leavin’ me with the clues ye be needin’, but without the map, I not be knowin’ where to go. Promise to share the treasure with me, and I can help ye decipher the clues, and even give ye a bit of a tour of this glorious isle!”. He seems like a trust-worthy fellow and so you agree to have Ben help you.

He pulls out an old logbook on which he has written Captain Flint’s clues. “The first missing word can be found by sitting at the place on the map marked by a (1). The first word in the name of the art store in front of ye is the word ye seek”. Do you see the word? Add it to your logbook.

“Aye, I be knowin’ where to go to next on yer map,” says Ben. “‘Tis a dragon’s den up ahead. Better we tread quietly”. You follow Ben left up the stairs and along the boardwalk, and pass the dragon’s lair on your right. Looking at the map once more, Ben turns left at the end of the boardwalk, and takes you past the totem pole carvers. “We must turn right at the ocean”, he says. You look ahead and see no water, but do you see the ocean? Turn right onto the street across from the ocean. Looking at the map, you see that we are close to finding the second missing word, near some red doors. Can you find the red doors on your left, just after you cross Railspur Alley? Ben pulls out his trusty logbook again. It reads “The second missing words are TWO words, writ in white on red doors at the place marked (2) on the map”. Add those words to your logbook.

The map indicates to keep going straight and to turn right on the road with a red trolley. Ben leads you to the intersection. Do you see the red trolley over on your right? The third missing word awaits you. Ben reads from his logbook: “At the place marked (3) on the map, go under the rainbow, past the climbing bean stalk, and into a place of books and manuscripts. The missing word be a picture ye can find, a tall and mighty emblem on the covers of these books: “Storm Boy” and “Frog Girl” by Paul Owen Lewis, “Northwest Coast Indians Coloring Book” by David Rickman, and a tourist book by Pat Kramer”. Find these books (try the Canadiana section) and add this missing word to your logbook. “By the way”, says Ben. “This market also be a wondrous place to buy pirate clothes and pirate toys for the littlest scallywags!”

According to the map, you need to leave the shops, so turn right when you come out of the bookshop, past the flags (“Good place for a Jolly Roger flag!”, says Ben) and out the back of the market. Ahead, do you see the tugboat and the duck pond? “Follow me”, says Ben as he leads you to the right and across the crosswalk. On the other side of the crosswalk, you turn right and then follow the road as it curves left. As you walk, Ben points out all the things marked on the map: a sea of silver fish up above your head as you veer left, a wooden mermaid and fish on your right (“That there be good treasure!”, comments Ben as he points out the store in front of the mermaid), an old metal propeller on your left, “The Lobster Man”, and a host of other sailor-friendly shops. You pass the hammock store (“Those be good sleepin’ quarters aboard me vessel”, Ben interjects) and a triangular court is up ahead on your right. “That is where the minstrels and jokers be entertainin’ us with their song and dance”, explains Ben. The delicious smell of baked bread from the bakery wafts through the air. “The fourth missing word is in there” says Ben, as he points to the Net Loft building across from the triangular square. The map is marked by a book and a blackberry. Can you find such a place inside? You find the store and Ben reads aloud: “At the place marked (4) on the map, ye must look for nature. The fourth word ye seek be a red or white __________, and it be found in the following tomes: “Trees of the West” by Mabel Crittenden pg. 124-125, or “Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to Know in Washington and BC” by CP Lyons and Bill Merilees pg. 84-85. Add this word to your logbook. “While we be here”, says Ben, “ye may want to check out a grand sailing story by Pamela Stephenson. Or perhaps ye wish to peruse the shops nearby… ‘tis a perfect place for a fine pirate’s hat or exotic wares from across the sea”.

With only two words left to find, you head back out the way you came, facing the triangular courtyard. The map indicates to enter into the building on your right, under the green and white striped awning. Do you see it? Together you and Ben walk in and he leads the way, turning right at the first intersection and past the delicious stalls of cheese, deli, sweets, fresh produce, meats, and finally fish and seafood, until you get to the very end of the market. Your lips are smacking, but you press on. Ben mentions that favorite pirate hang-outs here are “Blue Parrot Coffee” and “Olde World Fudge”, just in case you want to come back later. You head out the reddish-orange doors on your right and turn left at the road, following the path on the map. You are approaching the fifth missing word. Ben reads: “The fifth word be upon a red sign that ye must pass under, at the place marked (5) on the map. It be directing ye to shops of a certain kind of house. The kind of house it be, be the word ye need”. Look up. Do you see the sign and the word you need? Add it to your logbook.

You are now close to finding the last piece of your puzzle. Walk on, past the totems and the ocean once more, this time continuing straight. You soon arrive at the grand school named for the legendary artist, Emily Carr. “Aye, we be lookin’ for the lady’s stash of books and documents, accordin’ to the map”, says Ben. You look to your right and see the library. You enter through the wooden doors. Ben reads from his logbook: “The final missin’ word be a name, the surname of a fellow who has writ about the great “Moscow Style”. If ye be clever, at the place marked (6) on the map, ye can be usin’ them there machines to search for this man, or try this code instead NK1456.M67M677 2004.” Add this author’s last name to your logbook as the final clue. Can you figure out where the treasure is buried now?

“Great jumpin’ whales! We be havin’ all the clues! I be knowin’ where the treasure is!” exclaims Ben. He decides to take you on the scenic route to get there, justifying that “Ye should see all that this here island has to offer!”. So you head out of the library, turn right and continue down the road past Opus and a bright blue building, and follow Ben into the Granville Island Hotel. You walk straight through and out again, out onto the terrace and the boardwalk behind the hotel, with a view of the Pelican Bay Marina ahead. “Many a sailor be docking their ships here, and the grub at the Dockside Lounge be legendary”, shares Ben. You follow the boardwalk to your right, and turn left when the boardwalk meets a cobblestone path. “That there has the best views of all the island” says Ben as you walk past the hill with the flag at its summit on your right. You turn right at the grove of trees at the end of the path and onto the boardwalk. You keep going along the boardwalk and just a bit along the cobblestone path until another path heads left. A bench dedicated to Susanna Klaver is over to your right.

Suddenly, Long John Silver and his men surprise you and attack! They have been following you all this time! But Ben manages to save you and kill all except Long John, who manages to escape. Ben was a trustworthy man after all. You are now free to find and enjoy your treasure together.

From here, you should be able to use your clues to find the treasure. One last clue: it is on the side near the blue and white Welcome to Granville Island sign. Be careful of passers-by and others who would steal the treasure if they knew where it was hidden! And be sure to return the chest back to its hiding place when you are done.

Now you can enjoy all the other wonderful treasures this island has to offer before sailing home once more. Good job, fellow pirate!