The Whydah (pronounced wid'-a), a former slave ship-turned-pirate ship, was on its last voyage, when it ran aground in a storm within sight of Marconi Beach at Wellfleet, Cape Cod, in 1717. The ship was a 100-foot, three-masted galley, able to be rowed as well as sailed. She was commandeered by pirate "Black Sam" Bellamy near Cuba as she returned to England with African and Caribbean products, including silver and gold payment for the unloaded slave cargo. Legend suggests that Bellamy traveled closer to the treacherous Atlantic shore than originally planned to rendezvous with his waiting sweetheart, the local Maria Hallet. The small vessel and its accompanying flotilla of four ships were overpowered by a fierce nor'easter with its screaming winds and punishing seas. Only two of the 146 sailors of the Whydah survived, and the broken ship was committed to the shifting sands, joining the thousands of wrecks strewn along the Cape shores before the construction of the Cape Cod Canal in 1914.

Enter Barry Clifford, Cape resident and treasure hunter, boy dreamer, and adult entrepreneur. After the obligatory homework among the archives, local anecdotes, and dealings with the State of Massachusetts, Clifford raised funding for the expedition and brought up the first cannon in 1984. From his research boat the Vast Explorer II subsequent artifacts such as weapons, personal items and almost twelve thousand coins followed, and finally, the ships bell which clinched the identity of the wreck. The wreck lies in approximately 25 to 30 feet of cold water, fair to poor visibility and moderate current. The artifacts are buried below a layer of sand ranging between ten to twenty feet deep. Although scuba has its uses in the dive operation, surface-supplied air and Dacor dry suits are the norm. At its height, the expedition was a high-profile venture, with Walter Cronkite narrating a CBS special, a summer of JFK Jr. diving under a curious public eye, and articles in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and other major newspapers.

Officially billed as "Home of the World’s Only Pirate Shipwreck Treasure," the Whydah Museum  houses the "Expedition Whydah SeaLab and Learning Center." The exhibit is located on the ground floor of a two-story wooden structure located midway on the wharf in P'town. The estimated value of the wreck was bandied about, at various times by various sources, as between 4 and 400 million dollars. For all the hullabaloo this is probably no Atocha – relatively few gold and silver coins are displayed -- the majority of the artifacts consisting of brass, iron, wood and amorphous concretions. The site continues to be excavated and undoubtedly further revelations will surface of both historic and tangible value. This expedition has at least one distinction that gives it value beyond the monetary -- it is the only sunken pirate ship ever found and authenticated.

Modern archeological methods present quite a different approach to the old raise-it-and-chip-it that TV documentaries used to bring us. We recall that objects brought up from the sea begin to deteriorate rapidly when exposed to air; thus, the Whydah bell is presented in a vat of preservative liquid, portions still showing original encrustations. X-rays explain, with nary a chunk being chipped, that a large, brown conglomerate showcased in a continual wash of sea water, contains cannonballs, hand grenades, muskets, bones, and coins. Such revelations are important in determining how best to remove the artifacts from the encrustation surrounding them. Many cannons were raised; these are typically restored in tanks with a light electrical current introduced to reverse electrolysis over a period of years. This process is alluded to in the SeaLab aspect, although the actual cannons are at a working lab in Brewster, not yet opened to the public.

The museum collection chronicling the Whydah expedition is small but well executed. The subject matter flows easily from one panel area to the next using photos, text, charts, videos, and artifact displays supporting topside and diving activities, pirate society and slave conditions. The artifacts are still works in process, with the best pieces yet to be unveiled to the public. Small kids will enjoy the life-size picture of Sam Bellamy, and cannon and cannonballs to touch.

Cape Cod is famous for its number of shipwrecks, estimated at over 3,000, and many divers annually visit the more accessible sites. Many wrecks have deteriorated, having initially been covered and uncovered by sand, exposed to surf and sun, and subsequently broken up to the point where the location and identification are now as good as a guess. The east coast of the Cape can be wild and unpredictable as it juts itself to the Atlantic. Locating the Whydah defied the odds, and whatever its monetary value, it is like all wrecks, a silent testament to the sailors, slaves, and salvors inextricably tied to its history.

Check out the Whydah website, www.whydah.com, for hours of operation and other good stuff, or phone 508-487-8899. Admission is an affordable $5 (in 2000) for adults. Cape Cod is a popular tourist area with a summer peak, as well as a weekend get-a-way for people from Boston, so plan accordingly. Provincetown is accessible by air, sea (summer shuttles from Boston), bus, or by a long but enjoyable car ride out to the tip of the Cape. Look for more in documentaries from Barry Clifford and his crew as they excavate in Madagascar looking for Captain Kidd's pirate ship, the Adventure Gally -- slated to be the subject of a Discovery Channel special in 2001 (www.discovery.com).

Recommended Reading
Available from the Museum:

Clifford, Barry and Perry, Paul. 1999. Expedition Whydah. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
A good read by the discoverer of the Whydah, discusses the operation and finds of the expedition.

Coutts, Herbert, ed., for City of Edinburgh Museums and Galleries. 1996. Quest for a Pirate. Edinburgh: Pillans & Wilson Greenaway.
A nice little booklet with woodcuts, photos and text, which summarizes of the history of the Whydah and the people associated with it. Expedition archaeologist Ken Kinkor is among the contributors.

Additional Reading

Cottman, Michael H. 2000. Spirit Dive: An African-American's Journey to Uncover a Sunken Slave Ship's Past. Three Rivers Press.
A powerful book by a leading journalist participating in the Henrietta Marie expedition off Key West.

Donovan, Webster. 1999. Pirates of the Whydah. National Geographic, May: 64-77.
Underwater and topside photos by Brian Skerry and Bill Curtsinger, and animated text by Donovan as they join a dive with Barry Clifford and crew on the Vast Explorer II.

Keatts, Henry and Skerry, Brian. 1995. Complete Wreck Diving. Watersport Publishers.
Two highly respected and credentialed leaders in their field join forces to safely guide the diver in this exciting specialty.

Konstam, Angus. 1999. The History of Shipwrecks. New York: The Lyons Press. A great coffee table book covering the major slavors and their wrecks, arranged in time periods and ship activity, such as ancient, medieval Spanish, sailing ships, and warships; good salvage / underwater pictures with almost every ship 

Marx, Robert and Marx, Jenifer. 1996. The Search for Sunken Treasure: Exploring the World's Great Shipwrecks. Key Porter Books.
Well-known treasure hunter discusses location techniques, specific wreck histories, and archaeological finds. A readable treatment of first hand experiences by a master.

Quinn, William P. 1973. Shipwrecks Around Cape Cod. Lower Cape Publishing Company.
This is an older version of later rehashes, so don't be fooled by the publication date. This book has endured. Great black and white photos including many aerials of wrecks which are now underwater wreck sites.

Additional Armchair Adventures

The Deep, video, directed by Peter Yates, 1977, with Jacqueline Bisset, Nick Nolte, Robert Shaw, and Lou Gossett, Jr. Thriller and pure escapism in Bermuda, plenty of scuba and wreck diving, beautifully photographed. Suspend belief and just enjoy.

Pirate Links --
Biographies of "Pirates of the Whydah" : www.nationalgeographic.com/whydah/main.html

Queen Anne's Revenge : current excavation of the 18th century wreck, supposedly Blackbeard's flagship; more or less up to date dive logs with occasional live cam. www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/qar

Pirates! : interactive site suitable for kids and adults; gives the lingo, famous pirates, life and times, fun graphics. www.piratesinfo.com/main.html

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