The producers of Survivor bring us Pirate Master! Today, 16 individuals, whom Pirate Master refers to as pirates, embark on the first day of their 33-day journey.

Sixteen pirates board the ship as the host of Pirate Master, Cameron Daddo, welcomes them to the Picton Castle. As soon as Cameron gets their attention, he informs them that the Picton Castle will be their home for the next 33 days. After a brief introduction, the pirates heave and hoe until they recover a chest -- the chest of Zanzibar! They lower the chest of Zanzibar onto the deck, and Cameron explains to the pirates that the discovery of that chest confirms the legend of Captain Henry Steel. He goes on to say any treasure they discover on their journey will be theirs to keep and take with them after their voyage ends. Finally, he tells them now's the time to use the sailing skills they learned as they prepare to set sail for Island Dominica at dawn. Everyone screams with excitement and the game begins!

The pirates mingle and get to know one another before they set sail for Island Dominica. However, Cheryl from Sparks, NV chooses not to reveal every piece of information about herself. "Part of my game plan was not to tell them what I do, which is a Deputy District Attorney, which gives me insight on the whole game process, because we're pirates. Pirates are criminals," Cheryl says.

The next morning arrives as the pirates prepare to set sail for Island Dominica. Moments after the crew raises the sails, Joy, a Receptionist from West Columbia, SC gets seasick. As they drop anchor, one pirate, Joe Don, a fire fighter and former Navy officer from Fairbanks, AK has already deemed himself as a leader. "I was in the Navy for two years, so I got two years of ship board experience, so I'm use to the sea. I'm use to that type of lifestyle. I think I do have a knack for taking over and being able to see the big picture. I don't mind bootin people off that got an attitude. You know what I mean?" Joe Don explains.

Cameron rings the bell and calls all pirates to the wheelhouse. Once there, he tells them it's time to unlock the secrets within the chest. The pirates cheer as he pulls out two maps and two compasses from one of the chest's compartments. Next, he lets the pirates know they have to pick two crews. Joy steps up to the plate first and pulls a red ball from the sack. Joe Don follows and pulls a black ball from the sack. The rest of the pirates then pick their color until the entire crew is divided into a team of two. Once the crews are divided, Cameron tells them that on their first treasure hunt, the first crew to discover the treasure will be the winner, and that crew will get to keep all the treasure they find. Unfortunately, for the other crew, they will not get any treasure.

The black team is in the lead as the red team forgets they have a rudder causing them to fall behind. The black team finally arrives at their first location: The dead man's skull. From there, using their compass, they head East. While heading East, a few of the crew members sink in mud. Ben, a Musician from Charleston, SC slows his crew down when he loses his shoe in the mud and stops to dig for it. Just as the red crew approaches, Ben finds his shoe and the black team quickly takes off, leaving the red team behind again. Soon after, the black crew arrives at their third destination. There they dig for the keys and quickly find them. Once they have the three keys, they must figure out how to open the lock that will release the skeleton from its cage. As their trying to open the lock, the red crew discovers the mud. When one of the pirates from the black crew can't figure out the secret to opening the lock, John, a Scientist/Chippendale Dancer from Carlisle, MA takes over and immediately opens the lock releasing the skeleton, as the red crew is hot on their tail! The pirates from the black crew open a disgusting head full of maggots, and inside the head, they discover a map with another key. With map and key in hand, they head back to their boat. Once at the boat, they paddle up the river until they reach the sword and skull. Once there, they use the sword to chop a rope that causes a rope net to come up across the water. This is what Pirate Master calls a sabotage to slow the other crew down. After they sabotage the red crew, they head for their final destination: Croc's Lair. At the Croc's Lair, they all begin searching in the water for the sunken treasure, which is attached to two Croc heads. Meanwhile, the red crew reaches the sabotage. They work quickly to get past the rope net as they see the other team has yet to find the treasure. "You can see 'em. They're so close. You can see they're still looking for the treasure. They don't have the treasure. You know, hope is racing through you. You're thinking I can still do this! I know I can get it. I can get it!" Jay, an Auto Parts Salesman from Detroit, MI expresses with anticipation, referring to the black crew.

As the red crew manages to get past the sabotage, the black crew begins to worry. "I thought we had the deal sealed. Then the red team starts coming up and I'm thinking now we can lose this thing. Now they're right on our tails," Louie, a Fishing Dock Operator from Fishing Creek, MD sighs. Suddenly, John figures it out and dives into the water then emerges with the sunken treasure! Soon after John brings the treasure to the bank, the rest of his teammates gather round and they open the treasure chest revealing several gold coins! "I pulled the treasure out. I won it for the team. I pulled 'em through the whole thing. You know, I really expected a lot out of the people that I was crewing with, and somehow I found myself far and above the only one that was able to do it," John brags.

Back on the ship, the pirates of the black crew push aside the crabs as they sort through the coins in the chest. Once all the gold is counted, they learn that all their hard work and determination has earned them a grand total of $40,000! Silence ensues as Cameron instructs them to elect a captain for their crew. Someone elects Joe Don for captain, and Cameron asks them all to vote for Joe Don with a show of hands. Everyone raises their hand expect for John. "John is difficult. He's not a team player and he… um…" Joe Don sighs. "He's kind of a… black sheep," Joe Don finishes. Despite John's objection, Cameron announces that majority rules, so Joe Don is the team captain of his crew. He goes on to say that according to the Pirate Master Code, the team captain gets half of the treasure, which is $20,000! "You can keep it. Share it. Make deals with it. Whatever you want," Cameron notifies Joe Don. At this moment, the smiles on the faces of Joe Don's crew quickly disappears. Then, Cameron tells Joe Don he can pick two officers. Without delay, he selects Cheryl and Ben as his officers. Once that task is out of the way, Cameron informs Cheryl and Ben that they will share in half of what is left of the treasure ($5000), and the remaining crew members will spilt the rest, which leaves $2000 a piece for them. To make matters worse, Cameron lets John, Alexis, Kendra, Jupiter and Louie know they have been demoted and the black crew no longer exists. "And from now on, you must obey your Captain Joe Don's orders," he adds.

John, Alexis, Kendra, Jupiter and Louie join the red crew downstairs and explain to them everything that just happened. As everyone discusses the situation, John continues to fume and tells his team they screwed up. "I'm just like… you guys are morons. I won it for the team. I pulled 'em through the whole thing. I did everything, and I got nothing," he laughs.

Meanwhile, back on deck, Cameron hands Joe Don his captain suit, gives his officers their jackets, and then hands Captain Joe Don the key to his quarters -- the quarters he and his officers will share. With key in hand, Joe Don and his officers go downstairs and Captain Joe Don addresses his crew. "I am captain of the ship. Us three (referring to him and his officers) are moving out of here, and we're moving into there (refers to a door with a sign that reads Captain's Cabin). Things are going to change a whole lot. A whole lot!"

"When Joe Don came into authority, at first I think a lot of people were nervous, because he did kind of… err on the side of arrogance when he first addressed everybody and said there was going to be changes on the ship," Jay says.

Everyone gathers around as Joe Don and his officers enter their new quarters. They all awe at the exquisiteness of the Captain's Cabin, but instead of inviting his guests in to join he and his officers, Joe Don shuts the door to them.

"Once he put on that captain hat, Joe Don went into another world, and he thinks he is the boss, and he likes that fifty-percent pay," Louie voices.

"I like the new quarters a lot. I like it a lot. It's beautiful! It's absolutely beautiful, and I thought it was even better to have my first two mates with me," Joe Don boasts.

Later, Cheryl comes out to give the captain's first orders to the crew. She tells them they will do their part to help make the ship run, and that involves keeping the ship tidy. She continues by saying if they do not do what the captain orders them to do, then there will be consequences.

Just minutes after Cheryl fills them in on the captain's orders, everyone goes to work. Although Louie follows the orders, he doesn't hesitate when he expresses his anger to the camera. "Joe Don cannot harm me by making me do any work on that ship, cause I just do whatever needs to be done and I don't care what they do about it! I got news for him… his days are definitely numbered if I have any say."

The sun rises and the pirates stand on deck and complain after a hard night of work. In the meantime, back in the Captain's Cabin, Cameron enters with more news for the captain and his mates. "As captain, one of your responsibilities now is to choose three pirates… mark them with a black spot. Tonight, in Pirates' Court, those three pirates will have an opportunity to defend themselves before their fellow pirates cast their ballot. And one of those three will be cut adrift, and their voyage will end." He continues with a catch: If those fellow pirates rise up as one against him, and if his officers agree, then he will be the one cut adrift, and his journey will end.

After Cameron exits the Captain's Cabin, Captain Joe Don and his officers discuss which three pirates will receive the black spot. They all agree that they want John to go, and because they know Louie is plotting against Joe Don, they're going to give him the second black spot, because they know he can't vote or have any say in the vote if he has a black spot. Finally, Joy gets the third black spot. They want John gone, so they figure since she is well liked no one will vote for her.

Moments after their decision, Captain Joe Don, Ben and Cheryl join the pirates on deck. Cheryl explains how the Pirates' Court will work then gives each of them their letter, and the three pirates that received the black spots are revealed. John and Louie are not surprised they got a black spot, but Joy does seem a bit surprised that she did.

Louie expresses his thoughts on his black spot: "Now I knew this was comin, because me and the captain don't get along. I think it wise not to bad mouth the captain anymore," he laughs.

"I'm just pretty hurt right now, and if it is my time to go out, I wanna go out with my head up high and my shoulders back, and just know that it was a really great voyage from the beginning," Joy sobs.

"Now that I have the compasses, logically it makes sense for everybody to keep me in the game and get rid of Joe Don. I have control over all navigation… any crew that I'm on wins. Tonight, I think the only option is to go for a mutiny by taking the compass and saying look, if you don't get rid of Joe Don and keep me in the game, then it's over," John strategizes.

Cameron sounds the bell as the pirates gather on deck for Pirates' Court. Now, each pirate who received a black spot has a chance to defend themselves to their fellow pirates. Up first is Louie: "My crew… my sisters in the sea… you know I love ya, and I know you love me," Louie begins as he smiles and his fellow pirates laugh softly. "If you cut me adrift, I'll miss you as much as you'll miss me. As a worthy seaman, I don't mind being a swab. A swab is a strong man. All I want is pay… for my job well done," he concludes.

Next up is Joy. She thinks for a moment then begins: "You may look at me and say, she not a pirate, she not a worthy seaman, but I prove you wrong, and I gave a fight till the end. I didn't like the decision that was made, but in each thing that I did, I did it with the utmost ability… with a laugh or whatever. I'm not ready to go, and I don't think y'all ready for me to go either. So, we gonna do this together."

Finally, it's John's turn. "Well, I have to say for myself I why know my a** is on the line, and it's because I did not vote for Joe Don when the treasure was split up, when the rest of my crew said that they wanted him to be the captain. That makes me dangerous, and it says subversion and all sorts of things, and he's been defensive about it the whole time. Basically, I do think the captain should go, and I have a very convincing argument for it," he begins as he pulls the compasses from a pouch. "These compasses are your only compasses, they are you're only navigational aids. I have them. If I go, they go. Do you really want Louie to go? Do you really want Joy to go? Do you really want to lose the compasses? Or, do you want to send off the guy that took twenty-thousand dollars and gave everybody else additional duty and zero dollars for doing that duty? Twenty-thousand dollars… that's fifty-percent share! So, let me ask you something: Is that really worth running around the jungle and not finding this treasure? Or, maybe consider that the captain should have been the one receiving the black spot. John's calling for a mutiny," he continues to plead with his fellow pirates.

"How does that make you feel?" Cameron asks Joe Don.

"At night, the big dipper points to the North star," Joe Don replies as he looks toward John who shrugs.

"You know where North is. You know where South is. You know where East and West are. And the day you put a stick in the mud that casts a shadow. Mark the end of that shadow, wait thirty minutes it'll cast another shadow… draw a line between the two you'll have East and West, then you know what North and South is. I don't need your compasses, and I don't need you," Joe Don clarifies.

John rolls his eyes then asks Joe Don, as he opens the compass he's holding, "Which way points North?"

Joe Don looks up toward the sky and sees the moon but no stars. "I have no idea. Perhaps we may be further South then we can see at this moment in time," he answers, causing a few pirates to raise their eyebrows. "In the daytime, it's simple… it's a piece of cake," he continues for one final effort.

When all is said and done, the pirates cast their ballots. By a unanimous vote, the captain gladly cuts John adrift as his fellow pirates watch him float out to sea!

John's final words: "Nobody really cared about the compasses. That may or may not be a mistake. You know, it was my last ditch effort. I thought it was a pretty strong move, but it really didn't end up swaying anybody. I can't really be bitter about that. You know, I like to play big and play hard, and, you know, just going for it all."