Jessy Jack The Sailor

Crew of the USS Montpelier march in the July 3rd Parade in Montpelier Vermont 2013

JJ Bio

Jessy Jack is an American sailor, navigator, seaman, Mariner, Seafarer, Treasure Hunter and explorer best remembered for leading a famous Treasure Hunt in eastern part of China and Western part of Africa in the early 2000's.

The Inspiration

My dad was an officer in the US Navy while I was growing up. My brother and I were both born in naval ports and we've always lived near the ocean. Lining the wall of our living room, Dad put up plaques from all of the naval tours he went on in his younger days. He sailed to places like Guam, Diego Garcia, Hawaii, the Philippines, South Africa, Ghana, Okinawa, and Yokohama, all which sounded quite exotic to me as a boy. Knowing that my dad had been to these far-flung nodes made me also feel connected to them. Our family history gave me a maritime sensibility.

My advantages and disadvantages to life on a ship?

Advantage:

I’ve yet to meet a Soldier, Airman, or Marine who has traveled to as many places as I have. It’s far from being on a pleasure cruise, but the fact is I’ve been to around 45 countries, eighteen of them because of my shipboard duty. And for those Soldiers, Airmen, and Marines who have gone to more places than I personally have, there are scores of Sailors who have been to more places. I would be willing to bet that the average Sailor has been to more places than the average person in the other services.

Disadvantage:

Time away from my family. Even on my “off-deployment” years I’m still underway for workups, training, anti-drug ops, etc, somewhere around five months of the year. Add to that the number of duty days, where I’m on board for a 24 hour rotation, and you see how I can end up spending a lot of time away from my family.

The best part of My job?

One of my favorite parts of the job is the travel. I joined sailing with dreams of seeing exotic places around the world, and I have! I’ve seen Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Australia, China, Germany, Iceland, France, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Ghana, South Africa, Philippines, Canada, Holland, Thailand, and many, many more places.

But maybe the best part of my job is leading junior Sailors. I’ve been mentored by some great Sailors over time, and I’ve bought into the mentoring program because I know for a fact that it works. I have experiences that younger Sailors can use, and I share with them what I can. And when it sticks…when a young Sailor “gets it”…that’s the win.

Treasure Hunting

If you’re making a treasure hunt you're probably trying to come up with some clues. A lot of treasure hunts for youngsters take place around the house, so the subject of your clues are going to be normal things you come across in a house, stuff like under the bed, behind the couch, or in the refrigerator. Treasure hunt clues for around the house can be hard or easy depending on what age you are making the hunt for. For example, if we are creating a clue to lead the treasure hunters to the bathtub, an more simple clue for younger kids could be:

Soap and water you will find in me

When you get out, clean you will be

A little bit more difficult clue for the bathtub geared towards older children could be:

Boats sail the high seas in me,

But not a man is lost at sea!

My shores are shiny and very slick,

My waters won’t ever make you sea sick!

One of the keys to writing great treasure hunt clues is to be sure you focus on your target audience and adjust the difficulty level of the clues. You definitely want the clues to be a bit of a challenge, but you don’t want them to be too hard. If they are, the treasure hunters can get frustrated and throw in the towel.

Despite what you may think, a good treasure hunt doesn’t necessarily mean you will need to have a great treasure. A great treasure hunt starts with great clues! It is not referred to as “give me a treasure”. It’s called a “treasure hunt.” Yes you do have to have a treasure, but it’s really all about the hunt. The entertainment is the challenge of hunting. And to have a great hunt, you will need excellent clues.

Treasure Hunting: Gold In The Sewers

Nobody likes toilets. They’re certainly useful, we would be lost without them, and they’ve provided a generation’s worth of humor and comedic gags. But there’s a taboo about them that we can’t shake. We can all think of an embarrassing toilet story that’s happened to us, or anyone that we know.

And yet, the lowly toilet – and the labyrinth network that runs under it, connecting all commodes like computers on the Internet – is full of surprises.

Got The Time?

Consider this story from Pleasant Gap, Pennsylvania, where a man lost both his wedding band and Timex Watch to the sewers when his four year old son thought it’d be a good idea to flush them down the drains. However, dad was reunited with his belongings after they were recovered – 3,000 feet away and a year later.

The watch still worked, although the smell precluded any emotional reunions.

The Lord of the Ring

Maybe the biggest treasure found in the sewers was this $2,196,000 diamond ring that was found in the sewers of Orange County, California in 2004. The 3.78-caray trinket went unclaimed for over a year before finally being put up for auction by the local district.

Perhaps the original owner of the ring was too embarrassed to step forward and admit that he or she flushed $2,196,000 down the pooper.