Prepare the 2 Merchant Ships and the Ports:

• Place the 2 Ports onto Map Cards at opposite corners of the Sea.

• Place 1 Merchant Ship onto each of the 2 Map Cards with Ports (it doesn’t matter which color ship). Make sure the front of each ship is pointing diagonally toward the opposite Port.

• Place 1 randomly drawn Booty Crate into each Merchant Ship.