Please note: the above coordinates
are NOT for the final cache location. They are for suggested
parking about 0.5 miles from the first stage.
Tintin's Chatham Adventure
Several of Hergé's great heroes - Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock,
Professor Calculus,and Thomson & Thompson - have just arrived
in Chatham, MA to embark on another of their whirlwind adventures.
Their goal: explore, discover, and stop crime wherever they go.
However, after over 80 years and 24 adventures, they decided they
need a break from running around and solving crime. Instead, they
plan to have a low-key week relaxing on Lighthouse beach and
savoring some fudge from the Candy Manor.
Since they’re hoping to enjoy a relaxing week on the beach,
they’ll need some help solving the mystery! Many years ago,
while searching for Red Rackham’s treasure in The Secret
of the Unicorn they discovered this treasure map that reveals
the existence of a long lost treasure (a micro cache) right here on
Cape Cod. 
Unfortunately a few coordinates have been obscured. If you’re
up for the challenge, continue reading and the final treasure
location will be revealed…
Stage 1:
To help fill in these missing coordinates we asked Tintin and his
friends for help. While reminiscing over their many years of
solving mysteries, each one told us about the adventure they
enjoyed the most as well as the one they enjoyed the least. Use the
clues below to determine which adventure matches which
character.
Prior knowledge of Tintin’s adventures may be helpful but is
not required. Then, using the year each adventure occurred (given
below), you can solve for the map coordinates.
Don't forget the leading zeros for any numbers that are less than
three digits long
1. Tintin and the character whose finest moment took place
in Flight 714 didn’t enjoy Bianca Castafiore’s
singing one bit; however, neither of their worst memories involved
her visit to Marlinspike Hall.
2. Tintin’s worst memory occurred during the same
decade as Thomson & Thompson’s finest.
3. Snowy's pride was wounded when he was thrown from The
Shooting Star into a raft, but he especially hated giving up a
bone for a sceptre.
4. Calculus’ favorite memory happened before Captain
Haddock’s favorite but after Thomson & Thompson’s
worst memory.
5. Four of the five characters we interviewed are Professor
Calculus, the character who loved The Cigars of the
Pharaohs, and the characters who still cringe at the thought of
The Black Island and King Ottokar’s
Sceptre.
6. Three of the characters (the Captain, the one who was
terrified on The Black Island, and the one who hated The
Calculus Affair) flew to Chatham together.
7. Professor Calculus’s dreams were realized when he
saw the rocket (which he helped design) take off into space for its
maiden voyage in Destination Moon.
Once you've solved for the coordinates of the 1st stage
(starred location), you can check your solution at
Geochecker.com.
Stage 2:
You will find a plaque at the 1st destination. Using the full name
of the person on the plaque as the key to the cipher below,
determine the missing portion of the coordinates to find the final
treasure location. A few more pieces of data from the plaque will
also be necessary to find the coordinates.
R: zu uo sb fa as ps zs go pu on ks nl mg zr za go wf nb
mz
S: aq go pr bs sa gn gr zr aw rp ag ae gq ou pq gn zs
Again, don't forget the leading zeros for any numbers that are less
than three digits long and don't forget to bring a pen or
pencil...
Note:
Parking for more than a few minutes can be difficult at these
locations. There is parking available about 0.5 miles from the
first destination. Coordinates are given above.
The walk between the first and final destinations is about 0.5
miles by the most direct route (may depend on the tides); by road
it is about 1.0 mile. No bushwhacking is necessary.