In Nova Albion and The Treasure of Sir Francis Drake, Robert L. Stupack unravels a 16th-century puzzle that has baffled treasure hunters for centuries: the Hondius Broadside Map of 1595.
This map, created by Dutch cartographer Jodocus Hondius, contains mysterious hints about the location of Sir Francis Drake’s legendary treasure in Marin County. When Stupack figured out how to decipher the map’s “flat” perspective and the mysterious number 72, his backyard became a battlefield for treasure hunters.
The Hondius Map’s inset, is lableled “Portus Nova Albionis”. It shows a sketch of a peninsula resembling Florida with images on it. Other features include a tri-masted ship, an Indian next to a smoking fireplace, and six cabins. At first glance, it appears to be a simple drawing.
But Stupack realized it wasn’t a typical map. Unlike modern maps, which use perspective to show depth, Hondius employed a “flat” view, where landforms are outlined without regard for distance or elevation. This insight was revolutionary. Stupack’s eureka moment came when he compared the inset to a Google Earth image of Greenbrae Ridge; he found that the peninsula matched the shape of Greenbrae Ridge as seen from above. The “island” was the same shape as the top of the hill on a topographic map of the land before residential development, which he obtained from the Larkspur Building Department. The tri-masted ship is shown floating on water. However, what is shown as the water is actually the outline of Larkspur Landing, which was a flat depiction of land rather than a sea.
The number 72 became Stupack’s guiding star. Stupack discovered that Drake, a master of geometry, was obsessed with this number and that it was intricately woven into the map’s secrets. By aligning the features in his backyard, as shown on the Hondius inset over the topographic map, he determined that one inch on the map corresponded to 33.33 feet in real life. Stupack measured the distances between essential markers in his yard, such as triangular rocks he thought Drake had placed, and found they were precisely 72 inches or 72 feet apart.
This wasn’t a coincidence. It was Drake’s code. The map’s black marks, enlarged via photocopier, revealed a pattern of holes Stupack replicated in his excavations, each scaled to match the map’s 72-based geometry.
Imagine a diagram of the Hondius inset: a peninsula with a fireplace (Drake’s smelter), cabins (excavation sites), and a ship (the treasure’s heart). Now, overlay Greenbrae Ridge’s outline, with dots marking Stupack’s dig sites, all spaced in multiples of 72. This visual unlocked the treasure zone, crossing into his neighbor’s yard.
The map was a 425-year-old guide to Drake’s hoard of gold, silver, and gems, and Stupack is the first to discover it to date.
For treasure hunters and map lovers, Stupack’s decoding of the Hondius Map is a masterclass in persistence and ingenuity. This discovery transforms a dusty artifact into a living clue, proving that history’s secrets can hide in plain sight, waiting for the right mind to crack the code.
Read the book to decode the whole story and join Robert as he connects the dots to unearth one of the most thrilling mysteries to date.
Order your copy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1917238312.
