We are going around in Colin Jameson’s boat here a little bit, and there he is taking his lines down. But I wanted to give you a shot of what’s going on on the island, as well as the folks who are part of the Oak Island Convention. Here they are — this is the 9:00 a.m. tour going on this morning. I’m trying to zoom in. There’s Tony Sampson with a bunch of the folks from the tour, or from the event Oak Island Con, happening right now. They’re coming around right now, all getting a look at the Money Pit area. Hopefully, we’re not in Tony’s way here. I know he wants to get in close so people can get pictures, and they’re doing that now. He’s going to back up a little bit. There’s the other boat right there — the other group from the 9:00 a.m. tour.

We had a fantastic night last night with Fiona Steel and Leard Nven giving their presentations. It was amazing. Folks, I did get some video of it, and we’ll do our best to get that to you. But yeah, here are the folks — some of them on the early boats this morning — coming in to get a look at what’s going on in the Money Pit. We’re having a fantastic time out here this year. Tonight, we’ve got several speakers lined up. Let’s zoom in a little bit on what’s going on in the Money Pit as you can see right now.

Hey Mike Owen, how you doing? K. Franks, oh hi Honeydew and Beaker Neilborg. Hi guys. Here’s what’s happening in the Money Pit right now. They have the large crane up, of course, and it is working caissons only — no hammer grab. It’s actually laying on the ground right there, and the auger crane is in use. We’ll have to get Tom Burns to help us out with that a little bit, because he’s done a lot of research on what’s going on with that auger drill. That’s what they’re using today. I’ll tell you, the caisson they’re working on is not Toot-1, to the best of my knowledge. They’re working on a different one, and I did see that they had a marking on the ground for the next caisson to go in. I’ll update you all at some point to tell you exactly where it is because it’s an interesting spot.

Again, there are the folks — the first groups of people on Tony Sampson’s Salty Dog Sea Tours today. A lot of blankets were purchased this morning because it’s a bit cold, though not too bad. We’re supposed to get some sun this afternoon. There you go — there’s the Money Pit happening. We’re going to go around a little bit. Hi D. Jones, how you doing? Nathan Bishop, watching from Melbourne, Australia — wish I was there with you guys. I wish you were too, Neil. Glad to see them hard at work. Yes, they are hard at work. Good morning from South Carolina. Bev, hi Bev — how you doing? Judy K. Franks — thank you guys for tuning in real quick. I just wanted to do a little live this morning so everybody could kind of see what’s happening in the Money Pit.

Leard gave up a lot of good information last night — but nothing about what they’re doing right now. They’re very excited about some finds they’ve recently made, and it was not on Lot Five to the best of my knowledge. More information to come on that as we get it for you guys. We’ll try to get some video and updates. We’ll also talk about that new caisson placement — I think you’ll be surprised at that. Christine and I were on the island tour Sunday morning — it was awesome. Everybody’s enjoying themselves this morning. The tour was given by Danny Hener, and our driver was Carmen Legge. Those two were a blast. We did learn some new information that I want to share in the coming days on the podcast.

I mentioned to Colin, “Man, ease in there a little bit and I’ll jump over on a rock,” then I thought, “No, better stay in the boat.” You can see that auger crane working away right now. It’s knocking dirt off the auger, raising back up, spinning, and going back into the caisson. They’re being careful not to damage anything — as you know, the hammer grab hits hard, and they’re afraid it pushes things down into the solution channel. So, they’ve opted for the auger method — a wise choice. It looks like they’re not very deep yet, he’s already back with another load.

We’re going to head around to the swamp now and let you get a look at what’s happening there. We saw Steve Guptill cruise by a few minutes ago in one of the side-by-sides. They’re working on both ends of the swamp — the north end where they found pathways last year — and they’re still at it. My interest is what’s going on over here. We’ll ease up on that in a minute. How deep are the caissons? We saw one marked at 220 feet — pretty deep. They’re going over 200 feet. Good morning from Graham, Washington. Good morning, Janette! Alan Hall, greetings from North Carolina. I know it’s windy. I hope you’re hearing me okay. Here’s the swamp — and as you can see, it’s drained. That’s why you see all this vegetation. They’re keeping it drained because there’s a lot of work happening. You can see where they’ve pushed all this dirt back. Something of interest is happening on the southwest side of the swamp.

There goes Steve, gave a little wave. They’re putting these signs up all over the island — at key points for tourists and fans. They’re really getting ready for the season. We’re going to cruise over there in a minute. Colin’s turning the boat so we can get another look. They’ve really cleared this area out. I’m curious what we’ll find this year on the south side of the swamp. You’ve seen pictures online — the large cleared area. We saw it, but weren’t allowed to take pictures. We were allowed to take some pictures elsewhere, but nothing near where they’re working right now for obvious reasons.

It was funny — during that time everyone looked at the Money Pit and down 10X. I’d seen 10X before, so I stood on the hill above the Garden Shaft watching carefully what they were doing. That’s how I could tell they were not working on Toot-1. No idea if they pulled that caisson or left it. When they pull them out, they have to backfill the hole. How many have they done so far this year? Don’t know. But there’s a lot of activity in that circle. The wash plant is running, rock and water flowing back into containment. We saw Billy Gerhart’s dump truck come around with a load from the Money Pit.

Doug Crowell, Charles Barkhouse, Scott, Fiona, Judy — all there last night. Great time. And if you saw my picture on Facebook, zoom in. You’ll see a new face. More details to come on her — a new member added for 2025 and Season 13. Got to meet her last night — more soon. Don’t fall in! I know — there’s nothing to hang on to up here. I’m on the roof of Colin’s boat.

We’re going around now, marking spots where they found something with the metal detector. As you know, they’re closing on the season now — a chilly, windy September day. Not much time left for filming, but they’re still hard at work in the Money Pit. Last year they ended early around this time. They left the Toot-1 caisson in the ground. Oh — hi Sue! Sue Jameson — thank your son for taking us out today. That retaining wall was done this summer — a new feature. And that’s where I think some of the new finds are coming from, the lots right in there. Keep Lot 8 and Lot 7 in your thoughts this season. Something interesting’s happening there.

We saw an excavator over here earlier — still working. You remember they were working this spot last year? They’ve flattened that whole area out now. You can see the excavator moving. That was a big area of interest last year. Sorry for the shaky video — I didn’t bring my gimbal today. Too much going on with the conference. I’m holding my phone by hand. They’ve done a lot of work on this retaining wall area. I hear it’s of higher importance this season. Leard and Fiona were both very excited but couldn’t say much. They just said one word — “Old.” So we’ll see what that means.

You can see clearing going on in the trees there. We zoomed in — lots of flags visible. I think this is Lot 5. Yes, this has got to be Lot 5. Cold day to be digging in the dirt today. Look at all those flags. No cameras over there this morning. All right, folks — I’m going to sign off for now. We’re going to catch the second tour group coming out soon. Thanks so much for joining this morning. This is why you should click that notification bell — you never know when we’ll go live like this.

Anyway, there you have it — that’s what’s happening on Oak Island right now. Things are still in operation, and we’ve got some interesting stuff coming up. Tom Burns and I will go live when I get back and put all this together. We’ll talk about what’s been going on in the Money Pit and over by Lot 8. Thanks for tuning in. We’ll catch you next time right here on the JFree 906 Podcast. See you later. I’ve got to get wrapped up and get down inside.