All language subtitles for S02E04.Ming Dynasty Treasure

When I think of amazing places
to film underwater,

Shark Bay's way up at the top of the list.

It's so beautiful and stunning.

And you get these incredible red cliffs

that just meet
this beautiful turquoise water

and the wildlife is just phenomenal.

You can feel it's spiritual.

It's quite powerful.

Then there's something else.

The place is actually littered
with shipwrecks.

And there's two good mates that live here

that found something
absolutely incredible.

We'll dive into this adventure together,

and you'd never know
where it's gonna take us.

On a remote coastline,

an ancient treasure is found
buried in the sand.

Rightio.

Closely guarded secrets.

Oh, my God.

That thing is gigantic.

That's crazy.

Discoveries
come quickly...

We're not even in the water.

-It's sitting there.
-That's what we do!

While hunting
for a 600-year-old shipwreck.

If this is what we think it is,

it would be the biggest historic wreck
ever found in Australia.

You won't believe it!

How beautiful is this.

It's the most stunning location
in Shark Bay.

And it's the most westerly point
of Australia.

Right. So, it works
like a big shipwreck trap, right?

Kind of, well, it sticks out
so west, you know.

-If you're lost, you'll run into it.
-Yeah.

Eight hundred kilometers
north of the Shipwreck Hunters' base

in Fremantle,

Shark Bay has for centuries
lured ships into its seemingly calm waters

only to trap them with extreme currents
and surging tides.

More than 20 historic shipwrecks
have been found here.

The team is meeting locals,
Leon Deschamps and Shayne Thomson,

who made an incredible discovery,
they believe could lead

to something even bigger.

So, welcome, guys.

Look, this isn't the exact spot
we made the discovery.

That's still pretty sacred to us,
that spot, for obvious reasons.

But yeah, this is pretty much identical
to the spot where we made a discovery

-which changed our lives.
-Jesus.

We were out metal detecting
and finding beer can after beer can.

And the detector got a massive signal.

It just went off.

Just about blew my ears out.

So, we called over Leon
and we started digging and we found him.

Well, give us a look then!

Come on.

No more suspense.

Rightio.

Say hello to baby Buddha.

What? No way.

Wow.

Look at this.

Look at it. It's so beautiful.

How did you guys feel when you found this?

Stunned would be
a good description.

He's only 15 centimeters tall,
so he's not a big thing.

But when you lift him up,
he weighs over a kilo.

So that's what really got me,
first of all, was just that heavy weight.

I kind of, like, knew straight away
that it was a Buddhist object

but also I had an inkling it was Chinese.

And because we are so close to the water,

there was a distinct possibility
it might be associated with a shipwreck.

So that's why it's great you guys are here
to help us find it.

Leon and Shayne's
discovery made headlines

when it was confirmed as a rare relic

from the Ming dynasty, in China.

Look, look, look, look.

Ah! This is beautiful. Um... Ha!

That is unbelievable.

And as you can probably guess by now,
you've got a genuine artifact.

You know I don't know whether
it's 500 or 1,200 years old,

but it's genuinely old.

The bronze statues
symbolized power and wealth

and were used in ceremonies
to celebrate Buddha's birthday.

How this one ended up
in the vast Western Australian wilderness

is a mystery.

Looking at this Buddha, it is almost
too good to be true, isn't it?

It's like something from a movie.

You wouldn't expect to find something
like that in such a remote place.

This area has a history of pearling.

Particularly, you know, Malay
and Chinese pearlers.

And so, it could have come
on a Chinese pearler's boat.

But the information that we've got
from the world-leading experts

is that's the sort of thing
that was made for an imperial person,

you know, potentially an emperor.

This is made for someone of high-standing
in Chinese society.

How that then gets all the way
to Western Australia?

We don't know. And that's the mystery.
That's what we want to find out.

But the problem you face is
there's no other evidence

that ever said that the Ming dynasty
came to Australia.

So there may be no other evidence

that the Ming treasure fleet
came to Australia.

But that's what the last few years
has been about,

researching just how realistic
that possibility is.

Once it got out there
and the public knew,

we were getting contacts from people
that were sort of saying,

"I know where there might be
a Chinese shipwreck."

-And that was the exciting thing.
-Really?

-So we have some leads here in Shark Bay.
-In this area?

In this area.

So I'm trying to get my head
around exactly what we're looking for.

The Buddha had to have come here
by ship, right?

So the Chinese back then
didn't do anything in half measures.

The fleets had 10, 20, 30 ships.

Some of the ships
are up to 120 meters long.

So the size of a soccer pitch.

What we're then made aware of,

there's a location
in the very south of the island

of a 300 foot long ship shape.

And up here in the north,

a research colleague believes
he's seen a very, very large anchor.

So, hopefully, using some of the equipment
that you guys have bought up,

you might be able to see
just what is there.

It'd literally
be rewriting Australian history.

Like, that is an incredible discovery
if we can make it.

In the early
fifteenth century,

200 years before Europeans crossed
the oceans to Australia,

the Chinese were already sailing
vast distances.

Known as the Ming treasure fleets,

it's claimed that large flotillas
were sent on voyages across the globe.

Shayne and Leon believe one ship
may have ventured further south,

only to be wrecked in Shark Bay.

Andre is contacting maritime archaeologist
Dr. Deb Shefi

to explore a connection
between the Ming treasure fleets

and the Buddhist statue.

We're learning about this,
like, epic baby Buddha

that Leon and Shayne found

and I'd love to know
what the WA Museum thought about it.

Look, Shark Bay
has that huge maritime history

and the Chinese and Malaysian communities,
they would have come,

say 150 years ago or so,
even 200 years ago.

They were very involved in pearling.

So it's quite likely that this would have
belonged to one of them.

Yeah. Wow.

I still can't stop thinking it, like,

is there any possibility
it could have been,

you know, related
to, like, a shipwreck of any kind?

So, when it comes down to it,

the Chinese during the Ming dynasty
were exploring the world,

but there's no historic
archaeological evidence

that suggests that they ever came
to Australia, let alone to Shark Bay.

And if we were looking for a shipwreck,

we would assume there would be more
than one isolated Buddha statue.

So, it's a nice story,

but there's no historic or archaeological
evidence to back that up.

That's fair enough.

I do love the fairytale around it
and I'm still, like, so intrigued.

That's such a unique object.

The fact is, is that there's still stories
out there to be told.

We know, for example,
that there are several pearling camps

that are still unlocated, and shipwrecks
that still need to be found.

So, who knows,
you might uncover a new secret.

Thanks Deb, take care.

To claim that it's from a Chinese junk,

like, from the 1400s, which is ancient.

Like, it's so long ago.

I just can't picture it but,
you know, it's...

I do love the thought of it.

I think there's a lot more to this.

World Heritage listed,

Shark Bay is a sanctuary for many rare
and endangered species.

It also has some of the world's
largest sea grass meadows.

To help with the mission,

the Shipwreck Hunters are about
to find out

how these meadows can hide secrets.

Local indigenous Malgana women,

Simone and Laetitia Wear,

are taking them to the wreck
of the timber barque, Gudrun,

which sank in 1901.

Our traditional Malgana name for Shark Bay
is Gutharraguda.

And it means "two waters."

So, when you have a look on the map
of Shark Bay,

you'll see two bodies of water,
one to the west and one to the east.

This is what we wanted to show you.
This is a really great example of how

a shipwreck site
can still be really deceiving

and it's really hard to tell
whether we're on the site.

Yeah, look, that sea grass can hide a
ship, but it can also define the shape.

I don't know what's down there,
but the best bet is to get in the water

-and have a look.
-Let's do it.

-Let's go.
-Gearin' up.

Thousands of years old,
each sea grass bed is one plant.

They are some of the largest
single organisms in the world,

providing habitat for a vast array
of marine animals.

I had a good look,
I did have a good search

-and it's all definitely sea grass.
-Yeah.

It's quite flat with a bit
of sand around the outside.

Maybe we move around
and search a little bit more.

But it's not in this little area.

This was a known mark as well.

So we're on the mark.

We're in meters of it
and we still can't see it.

-How'd you go?
-We got it!

You got it? No way!

-Yeah, we got it!
-Whoo!

Finally, a clearer patch
reveals the wreck of Gudrun.

It's a beautiful site,
so spread out.

The sand is just like a vault.

You can see the uncovered bits of wood,
they're still in good condition.

-Condition's great.
-That's just that sea grass

that's made that amazing environment
for the timbers to survive.

Well, thank you guys so much
for taking us out here.

It's been amazing to be
on Country with you, we've learnt so much.

To see a shipwreck at home in the bay,
salt water, awesome.

We wish you good luck
to find your shipwreck.

-Thank you.
-Thanks, mate.

Thanks. Cheers.

Day one of the mission.

-Is this okay, Nushy?
-Yeah.

Great to be with you guys.

It's a nice day too! Pretty lucky.

-Giddy-up. Buckle your seat belts.
-Yee-haw!

The team is heading

thirty-five kilometers across the bay
to Dirk Hartog Island.

It has a rugged and dangerous coastline.

It's named after a Dutch explorer
who landed here in 1616,

the first recorded European to visit.

This is also where the team will search
for a 15th-century Chinese shipwreck.

Its discovery
would change Australian history.

Shayne and Leon have two targets.

The first was passed on to them
by a researcher

who saw what he thought
was a large and very old anchor.

It's been a long, long time coming.

And after five years of wanting
to get out here,

we're finally here and it's fantastic.

We've just stopped
because we've seen a chain of manta rays

that are either in a mating chain
or a feeding chain.

They're such beautiful animals
to swim with.

They're very graceful,
so we're all itching to get in the water.

Going in!

Going in!

Manta rays have the
largest brain-to-body size of any fish.

They are intelligent, inquisitive,
and playful.

In the water, you can really see
why they get the name manta.

In Spanish it means "cloak,"

and they really look
like a big black cloak.

Oh, my gosh.

How good was that?

-That was a pretty big manta ray.
-Yeah.

You had your arms out...

I had my arms out and it was still bigger
than my arm span,

so it must have been
two and a half meters.

-That's a lot.
-Yeah, three meters.

That's pretty big.

That was absolutely amazing.

But we'll go have a look for a shipwreck.

-Yeah, I guess so.
-We're the most easily distracted.

-Always. Yeah.
-Wildlife always keepin' us distracted.

That's the Terra way.

Back on track, the team
is nearing the area

where the old anchor was seen.

Well, we're at target one.

It's pretty shallow.
It's looking like about two meters.

And we can make the bottom out,
so we've got some visibility to play with.

We're just havin' a scan now.

Just gonna go over the mark,
make sure we're in the right area.

Got a site scanner here, so we can pick up
something on the sea floor.

Can you see anything at all?

That's, like,
a bit corally and weedy,

so it could be somewhere in that.

We're gettin' a few little,
like, anomalies on the site scanner.

Really? There's something straight
just there.

We've got something straight
on our port side.

-We got it, we've got it.
-We got something.

-This bit, can you see it?
-I can, yep.

-There, Dre.
-Isn't that it?

We're not even in the water.

-It's just sitting there.
-We'll go have a look.

-That's got to be it.
-Goin' in!

-Cool!
-We've been here five minutes, mate.

Haven't even got wet.

That's what we do!

Well, it looks like a really old anchor.
Let's get closer.

Everyone's really excited,
but we still have to be really methodical,

and the plan is to get to work
and start taking high-quality video.

We'll do photogrammetry on it
and also take some measurements.

That data that we bring back
will be able to be later analyzed

not only by the team,
but we can send it off to experts

that can look through it, so I think
the WA Museum will be pumped to find that.

-See yous in there.
-No worries.

Bye.

Just got in and we're just
doing a little swim around the area.

Roger that.
We're standing by, bated breath.

We've found the anchor.
It's a beautiful, old anchor.

What style of anchor
are we looking at, guys?

Very old look about it.

It doesn't quite look like
it's from the Ming Dynasty, though.

Ming Dynasty treasure ships

carried large anchors with four flukes.

But this is a European-style
admiralty anchor.

Although not from
a Ming dynasty treasure ship,

the discovery does create
a new shipwreck mystery in Shark Bay.

Really is an incredible piece
of maritime history

that we get to look at down here.

Leon and Shayne
are eager to see it for themselves.

-Whoo! Look at that.
-How's that!

-How good was that?
-That was amazing.

The thing I'm stoked about
the most is this was our first tip-off.

Like, we had a lot of crazy tip-offs,

but we had really solid info
from our researcher mate, Adam Jolly.

And without his advice,
we wouldn't have found that today.

Just makes me more interested.
What else is it hiding?

Maybe a lot, lot more.

-Yeah.
-We'll keep on looking.

The anchor is a remarkable find.

-Run aground!
-Ship wrecked!

To help uncover the story behind it,

Ryan is working with the images
from the dive.

-Anything? That looks wicked.
-Wow. That looks amazing.

These are Nushy's photos,
I've just done the edit.

-Wow, Nushy.
-You've done a great job.

That's awesome.

-That is an anchor.
-Yeah!

-Look at the size of it.
-Yeah.

And then we can have a look
at the photogrammetry.

This is like a sort of halfway
finished render.

This is really great
to send to the WA Museum.

Gives them a good idea
of what we saw down there,

-and what it really looks like.
-That's super cool.

In association with all the video
that we shot, all the still photos,

they've got, like,
a lot of evidence here,

and almost everything they need
to either make a positive identification,

or at least keep a record of it.

We can put this in the books as a win,
but tomorrow's another massive day.

We've got another really good target
to hit.

Yeah, it's a big target tomorrow as well,

you know, big history-wise,

-but also big size-wise.
-Yep.

Sounds good.

-We're out.
-Sweet dreams.

Some Ming dynasty treasure ships

were more than 120 meters long

and 60 meters wide.

Shayne and Leon's second target
fits this description.

This one...

is exactly the size
of the Ming Treasure fleets.

And we actually have an exact shape
with the square bow

and square stern of one
of the Ming treasure ships.

There's other wrecks on the coast
that have done the exact same thing,

like, an outline of... Yeah...

-The hull.
-Yeah.

-Nothing grows there, right?
-Nah.

The thing for me
is that we're talking about...

The largest style of ship.

And you can imagine the population
on that boat.

So that boat wrecks,

-what happens to all those people?
-Yeah.

And there would be a lot of artifacts

being on the ship that would still remain
pretty well intact on the sea floor.

So you see anomalies or pictures
or shapes like this,

you can definitely get a shipwreck fever
that will play with your mind,

and it will take over.

The Shipwreck Hunters
are heading to Sunday Island Bay

at the southern end of Dirk Hartog Island.

Shayne and Leon want them to investigate
a mysterious patch of sand,

the shape and size
of a Ming dynasty treasure ship.

Site's there, I reckon.

And then looking over there,
that's where the ship would have been.

That big, wide open area.

Now that we're anchored,
let's check that it's the right spot.

We'll fly the drone

and have a look around, and we should see
this sort of image of a ship outline.

-Okay. Let's get the drone up.
-Let's go.

Firing up, Nushy. Going up.

It's come back.

Back up to the boat.

Okay.

Oh, mate.

Look at that. You can see
straight lines there, it's weird.

Strange, yeah.

You can see
proper straight lines.

That is...

-And it's huge.
-Yeah, that's so weird.

It's so good.

-It's almost it's too good to be true.
-Oh, yeah.

Could there be any other explanation
for straight lines on the seabed?

There has been a lot of fishing
and the industry around this area.

Could be old pearl net lines or something.

I don't know. We have seen rock formations
in other areas that are dead straight.

But then, you got two parallel
straight lines here as well...

The fact that you got
not just straight lines, but 90 degrees.

If we're seeing straight lines,
then it may be exposed timbers

that have growth on them.

And if it is wood,

and it runs for that length,
then we've got a shipwreck.

No doubt about it.

Nothing else would be out,
down the bottom there of that size,

other than an ancient ship.

All right, let's go.

We're just on the bottom.

We're doing some searching
around this first flag.

Visibility is good.

We've probably got about four meters
of visibility, which is nice.

Roger that.

Now it's just a waiting game, isn't it?

The team begins searching
in the sea grass around the area

shaped like a giant ship.

We just got to the floor
where the sea grass is down here.

You had any pings
on that metal detector yet?

Nothing yet, mate.

No worries.
Just get some good coverage,

and we'll just widen the search area.

Yep.

Super flat down here,
but unfortunately, nothing yet.

Thanks for the update.

It's like, every academic
that's doubted us so far

has, like, you know, mocked us
by using the word "fairytale"

to describe the Ming Treasure fleet.

And, I don't know, man, like,
every fairytale I've ever read

has got a happy ending. So...

I'm not giving up hope. There's still
possibly a ship on this site.

Having moved into
the center of the search area,

the straight lines appear.

It just looks like a natural ridge line,
which is really crazy

because they look very manmade.

There's a lot of straight lines.
There's right angles.

But I don't think there's anything here.

If there's something then it's buried
way out of sight 'cause we can't see it.

Top side. Top side. Got a copy?

Roger that. Go ahead.

We've come to the end
of our search line.

We've done an extensive search
around the seabed,

covering a good 30 meters squared,

and unfortunately, we haven't been able
to locate

any signs of shipwreck artefacts.

So, we're going to pack up our equipment,

wind up the search line, and bring it up.

Yeah, loud and clear.

You did a great job.
We'll see you at the surface. Standing by.

I reckon that's the most searched patch
of water in Shark Bay right now.

Fair play to 'em.
That was hard work.

Welcome back, guys.

No dice.

That's not the news we were hoping.

Especially with the detector,
we thought there might be somethin'.

Not that you haven't looked hard,
we really appreciate that.

But how about get yourself on board?

The landscape itself
feels like the right place.

Yeah.

But the hunt
for an ancient Chinese ship

and the origins of the Baby Buddha
may not be over.

That night, Andre introduces the team

to the owner
of the Dirk Hartog Island Homestead,

Kieran Wardle.

How are you doing?

Very well. Yourselves?

Good.

So Kieran's family have grew up
out here for generations,

so they know the place pretty well.

-It's steeped in maritime history, right?
-Yeah.

I mean it, you know, it's...

There's so much ocean out there,
and there's so many things

that, you know, you talk of the Chinese
that possibly came to Australia

before the Dutch, and...

You guys have got a spot,
that you think might be Chinese?

Well, it's possible.

Sorry to stutter.

Spit it out, mate.

Look, we were snorkeling on a reef
up the north end,

which we've done a thousand times.

And on this one particular day,
I said to my son Will,

"Chuck the drone up and get some photos
of us swimming on this little area."

I just went, "Oh, my God,
that looks like a shipwreck."

-Beauty.
-Wow.

For all these times that we've been there,
but when you get a drone image

and you look down and you go,

"You know what, that is just too freaky
to not be a wreck of some sort."

Now you've talked up this photo.

I've gotta see it.

He's got it in his pocket, look!

I've got it. Here we go.

Wow.

Oh, my God.

And if you have a look that, that boat
at the back is a nine-meter boat.

That's a 100-meter ship.

It's too much like a shipwreck
to not be one.

-Nine-meter boat.
-Wow.

-Oh, my God.
-That thing is gigantic.

That's crazy.

It's so big,

and the only thing that really
of its size,

-you're talking a Chinese junk.
-Yep.

You can easily see the stern
all the way up to the bow.

And then there's another image there,
which sort of...

you can almost see the track that it took.

I reckon it looks like it sat
on the ground here

-before being forced down a bit further.
-Wow.

-It's a good drag mark.
-A drag mark.

And this could be areas where
they've dumped stuff over the side...

Like jettison.

...to try get it off the bank again.

Do you mind if we go up tomorrow
and check this site out?

-You should stay there until you find out.
-Perfect.

Early to bed for you guys
and get up early and get going.

That's the plan.

We might be able to come back
with some history-changing news for you.

It'd be incredible.

The hunt
for a Ming treasure ship continues,

with the team heading 60 kilometers
to the northern end of Dirk Hartog Island.

Kieran is convinced an aerial image
is an ancient Chinese shipwreck.

This time, the shape
isn't formed by sea grass. It's coral.

We've had come up here this morning
and it's right here.

It's so clear.

There's some parallel,
straight lines on it.

It looks like it's a stern,
and we're gonna check it out,

that's what we're here to do.

Never seen anything that looked
so much like a treasure ship.

If this is what we think it is,

it would be the biggest historic wreck
ever found in Australia

and so significant.

Where do you reckon, Dre,
we're gonna start off? What's the plan?

I'm hoping this might have
a bit of structure deep in these holes

and cracks and caves.

It's really interesting to me,
this sort of outline around it.

-That's scarring.
-I'm excited to see what that looks like.

It's pretty much getting right
into the nitty gritty, take torches,

look into any caves, under cracks,

and hopefully find
any type of artifact or timber.

Let's get the rest of the gear ready
and get in.

Yeah. Sounds good.

The marine life
down here is so beautiful.

The ship-like shape
is a colony of coral.

This is a good sign,
as coral can grow on a shipwreck.

But like sea grass, the more it grows,
the more it hides.

Some really lovely corals,

these brain corals.

It's pretty stunning.

It's beautiful, mate.
It's like an aquarium in here.

It's super clear.

I'm gonna have a good look around
in this area, see if I can find anything.

We're investigating all
the little cracks, nothing yet.

A lot of beautiful wildlife,
we've got sea snakes, beautiful little...

Corals and tropical fish,

it's a lovely sight
but no shipwreck material yet.

At this stage,
I'm still just looking around

trying to find anything
that resembles wreckage.

After an extensive
physical search with no findings,

the team turns
to more powerful technology.

I think the only way
we're really gonna know

if there's anything
under all that deep coral and sand

is if we tow the magnetometer.

A magnetometer can
penetrate further than hand held detectors

and will pick up anything made of iron,
such as a cannon or an anchor,

that is buried deep under the coral.

So, we've just deployed the mag
and we've come into here

and started our first run here.

We're gonna try and do a couple
of hundred meter plus lines.

We get nice long straight lines.

And then just cover the whole area
of that seabed shipwreck shape

that we've seen.

Where we had that first spike now.

It comes down to this moment.

What do you reckon?

We've covered the whole site,
and we're not getting...

That would be off the chart
if there was a cannon and anchor.

Yeah. So, that's pretty much done
this site?

Yeah. We've covered, look at that.
It's only 100 meters by 50 or something.

So, I think we can say
that we've done a really good job...

-Yeah.
-...magging that whole area.

Andre calls Kieran
to discuss what to do next.

Unfortunately, we haven't had
any solid mag hits at the moment.

Oh, really?

Yeah, right. Okay.

So, where to from here?

Well, what do you reckon
about the drag marks?

You know, the drag marks you showed us?

Yeah. Well, the more you look at that,

right at the beginning of that drag mark,
there's some solid stuff in those images.

So, I reckon, if you go back up that way
and have a look,

and you know, keep your eyes peeled
and have a good search down that way.

-Thanks heaps, Kieran.
-Cheers, brother.

The team now heads further north

to where Kieran thinks there might be
a trail of shipwreck debris.

On the way, they have some company.

Look at all this jumping
out over here.

Hey! There he is.

No way! Whoo-hoo!

You can hear them.

That's obviously a hotspot
for them to chill out.

It's a heat run, Ry.

Yeah. So, a heat run,
so, ten to twelve humpback whales

just all in formation and they're
literally right behind us here.

Many males are following a female,
and they're all moving quite quickly.

And they're all sort of chasing
to be the one suitor.

Oh, wow. Big Mumma!

Sort of, like,
the most dominant male wins,

and he gets the right
to mate with the her.

Wow. That's down below, too.
That's a lot of whales.

-Oh, how magical, mate.
-Great, there's another one.

Oh, my gosh!

That's the beauty
of being out on the ocean,

you never know what you're gonna get.

That's why I love getting in the water
or getting on a boat

because this stuff just...

Just appears and sometimes it's the best,

some of the best experiences
you'll ever have.

Having reached
the next search area,

Andre re-deploys the magnetometer.

-Look all right?
-Away we go.

Any hits?

-Nothing yet, brother.
-Nothing yet, mate.

This is the spot Kieran's give us, yes?

It's in a pretty gnarly area,
like, I don't...

We're very close to the reef here.

How's the conditions out there?

Perfect, it's so glassy.

Yeah, this is not...

Normally you got a howling southerly
smashing into these cliffs,

and you got rolling breakers.

They maneuver as closely
as possible to the edge of the reef

where a shipwreck
is most likely to be found.

We're getting pretty close
to the shores.

If we do get a ping then...

What is that?

We are really close to
the edge of that reef right now.

Is that...

Oh, there! Look at that.

-Yeah. Yeah.
-That's actually... That's it.

-That's solid as a rock.
-That's it right there.

-Okay.
-Yeah.

I'll drop the pin there.
And that's now GPS located.

I think we're on to it.

Let's go for a dive.

Far out.

It's a significant hit.

Something large and made of iron
is on the edge of the rocks.

-See you, Johnny.
-Bye, bye. Bye, bye now.

Panic stations!

Bye, bye.

-Oh! You won't believe it!
-Oh, my God, what is it?

What is it?

Come and check this out quick!

-What is it?
-What?

-What do you see, Ry?
-What you got, Ry?

It's an anchor.

-What?
-You're kidding me?

-Big anchor. This is it.
-What?

-How big? How big?
-He's gone down.

-Oh, my God.
-Tape measure.

Just... Or just tell me.

It's pretty huge. It's a lot bigger
than the last one we saw.

It's a monster.

It's massive.

Kieran's tip has paid off.

They've found a large anchor
that could date back centuries.

The team takes detailed measurements
and photographs,

hoping the museum can identify the anchor.

It's about a 1.8-meter stock,
I reckon.

Wow. Well done, guys.

While the anchor
isn't from 15th century China,

how it got here is a mystery.

It's good to laugh about,
isn't it?

Yes. That's a big anchor.

So cool, that was awesome.

So, the length of it was 1.8.

So, like, bigger than me.

-That's a big piece of metal.
-There was a long piece of chain

coming off it as well. That's amazing.

If they were caught and trying
to pull anchor

and they couldn't, they were in a world
of hurt, so they've just cut it away.

It screams caught in a blow
'cause no one anchors there,

you don't rock up next to a cliff face
and casually drop the pick.

-Yeah, that's right.
-Yeah.

But it was a sensational find.

Like a seal.

That was an incredible find.

Like, such a stunning anchor, it's huge.

Yeah. That was magic. Magical.

It actually does make it better
that we get to do it together, right?

-It doesn't get much better.
-That's so fun. Here.

We've got two anchors
on this mission now.

We're gonna send a few images back
to WA museum.

We gotta get home. It'll take us hours,
and hopefully have a call,

and learn where they're from.

After returning to the mainland,

Andre contacts maritime archaeologist
Dr. Deb Shefi.

The first anchor we came across was
this small, beautiful admiralty anchor.

Did you find any more information
about that?

From what I can tell, it dates
about the late 19th, early 20th centuries.

And it would've probably been from,
considering the location that it's in,

one of those small sailing vessels,
like, a lugger.

-So cool.
-And an anchor alone

can tell so many different stories,

without any other shipwreck
material around.

-Yep.
-The best I can say is that it's,

you know, it's a decent aged anchor,

and you guys are the first ones
to report this one.

Wicked. Nice.

Well, another feather in the cap.

And keep adding 'em.

The second anchor was found to the north,
it must be from a big ship.

We were really excited to see this one
because this is one of those late,

again late 19th, early 20th century
admiralty anchors,

but this one's 1.8 meters,
so it came from a sizable ship.

This one has been reported before,
but we've never seen what it looks like.

So, it was perfect, it was just one
of those pieces to add to that puzzle,

which we can now put eyes
to the information that we know,

so we really appreciate that.

So, we didn't have any luck
finding the Ming Dynasty treasure ship,

or where the Buddha, you know, came from

which is still gonna play on our minds.

Some mysteries will never be solved,
but it's fun to keep looking.

Always, yep.

Keep on hunting, and can't wait
to hear what you learn next.

For sure, Deb. Thanks so much
for your time, it's been epic.

While there's no evidence
of a Ming Dynasty shipwreck,

the Baby Buddha
brought the Shipwreck Hunters

to an extraordinary place,

leading to discoveries
and new maritime mysteries to explore.

Guys, just thanks so much
for the last few days,

it's been just beyond belief.

There's been some incredible moments,
you know, there really has.

And we believe that there's a Chinese
shipwreck out there somewhere.

So, I guess just from Shayne and I,
to all you guys, you know.

To treasure ships and small ships
and all the ships that sailed the sea,

the best things are the friendships,
so here's to you and me.

-Cheers for everything gang.
-That's amazing.

Love that.

It's been incredible to have you here
with us on Country.

For us, it's really about
bringing everyone together.

Different cultures and people
from around the world.

The fact that this beautiful, amazing,
really significant treasure

has landed upon our shore is incredible.

And I feel like we've learnt so much
coming all the way through this mission.

It wouldn't have happened
without the Baby Buddha.

-So, we thank you two so much for that.
-You're welcome.

-Want one more look at the Buddha?
-Yes.

Okay. Here we go.

Yeah, the Buddha.

-Thanks, Buddha.
-Thank you, Buddha.

-Thank you, Buddha.
-Thank you.