Although archived as a fictional character many believe that Captain Ortuga did infact exist, folklore passed down through generations of South American families recall a character that matches his physical and character description.

Born of simple parentage, from a large family in the Argentinean village of Cordoba; Juan Ortuga started his working life as a humble farm hand.
Spending most of his time alone shepherding Alpaca in the foothills of the Andes mountains, gave this young man time to contemplate his place in the world. Dreaming of distant lands and adventure he decided to pack what few belongings he owned and headed off to the port of Valparaiso in search of his fortune. Travelling alone, northward across the hostile region he saw the extreme poverty and desperation of his fellow countrymen, but he also experienced warm companionship, great joy and laughter. On the road he came apon a dying man, a mariner of sorts, a survivor from the sunken galleon; Nuestra Senora de Atocha. Who, in a frail voice told Ortuga of an immense fortune of gold, precious stones and ancient writings. Pushing a crumpled piece of sail cloth into Ortuga’s hand, and with his last dying breath the old man whispered “Help The World”; then he passed away.
Those words resonated strongly, and there and then Juan Ortuga knew that his life’s destiny was to help those less fortunate than himself.
Unravelling the dirty cloth revealed it to be a map of an un-named island, located somewhere in the Caribbean sea where the treasure was hidden.

Arriving at Valparaiso, Juan Ortuga took a job as a rigger on a merchant vessel of the East India Company, bound for Europe carrying only grain and spices. Once on the open seas the ship was mistaken by privateers as a spanish galleon transporting gold, who ransacked the ship. Throwing the captain and most of the crew overboard the pirates left, taking with them all the food rations and most of the grain. Juan Ortuga and just 5 crew members plus the cabin boy Tuli; remained. It soon became clear that one of them would have to take charge; a vote was cast to find that man.
Gifted with clear thinking and a sound judgement, Juan Ortuga was the obvious choice. Finding him to be honourable and trustworthy Ortuga soon won the respect of his crew; and though he held no formal qualifications this young man of humble beginnings became known as the famous Captain Ortuga. Renaming the ship under the moniker of The Beaufort, Ortuga set a course to the nearest port to recruit a minimal crew needed to sail the vessel. Docking in the Port of Bridgetown, Barbados, he exchanged what spices the pirates left for food and water; and recruited an additional 15 men. Unknowingly, Ortuga recruited a fiesty young woman by the name of Evangeline Moreau, who, disguised as a man found gainful employment as a sailmaker and the passage to Spain in search of her father.

Standing by his vow to the old man, to “Help the World”; Captain Ortuga spent most of his life sailing the Seven Seas visiting the far sides of the world carrying out charitable deeds and offering help wherever it was needed. A pirate by name, not by nature, Ortuga funded his altruistic pursuits by boarding pirate vessels; taking their gold, trinkets and other ill gotten gains, which for the most part they themselves had stolen. His reputation proceeded him and in no time he took on the nickname of the Treasure Hunter. Esteemed by his peers; even many of those he had relieved of gold and booty for his bold nature, stealth and ability to board vessels unobserved, leaving with a swag of treasure. Of course there were those pirates with heavily dented pride who seeked revenge, and for decades Ortuga was hounded by these angry mobs. Taking into account a few narrow escapes he and his crew successfully managed to out manoeuvre the majority of the contenders. After years of searching, Ortuga finally discovered the lost treasure of the Nuestra, located on the island of Curacao. But in an unfortunate twist of fate, no sooner had he discovered and loaded it onto The Beaufort; on setting sail he struck a reef and both his ship and the treasure were lost to the depths of the sea. After this ironic course of events he retired to Turjillo, a village in northern Venezuela, where he enjoyed the simple things in life. Living out his days he spent alot of time entertaining the villagers with spirited tales of his adventures, often smiling to himself and recollecting the softly spoken words of his beloved Evangeline that “in life, there is nothing that can’t be fixed with a little understanding and community”. Living to the age of 68, Juan Ortuga left a priceless legacy to the world in the form of the board game – ORTUGA

The vision of Captain Ortuga is simple, to bring the World together through understanding and community, to learn to live together and help each other whenever we can. Continuing his vision, a percentage of each game sold will be donated to charities dedicated to the World, its Environment and its People. Further underpinning the Captain’s vision, the board game; ORTUGA is the first GAIA Product in the world.