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 After the Whydah's wreck, the governor of Massachusetts sent Captain Cyprian Southack to recover what he could find, and claim it for the crown. Southack arrived a week later, but by then the local people had stripped the shoreline clean.
All that was to be found on the beach were pieces of the ship that had washed ashore, along with the remains of over a hundred dead pirates.
Mapping the Whydah's Wreck
Southack found that the wreck itself was in water too rough, too deep, and too cold to make salvage possible. He concluded that anything of value had been trapped inside the Whydah as she sank into the sands, so he sailed back to Boston with "two anchors, two great guns, and some junk."
Although he didn't find the treasure, Southack made detailed notes and precise charts of his adventure. Almost 300 years later, underwater explorer Barry Clifford pieced these clues together and used them to determine the location of the wreck of the Whydah.
 Barry Clifford's Search Begins
With years of experience running a business conducting salvage dives, underwater construction, oil-spill control, and contract sea-rescue, Barry Clifford knew quite a bit about conducting underwater surveys and excavations. And having grown up in Cape Cod, he knew all about the legend of the Whydah and tale of pirate Sam Bellamy.
So in 1984, Barry Clifford and his team of underwater recovery experts and archaeologists set out to search for the Whydah. Their first stop? The library. Research led to a number of historical documents, including Southack's maps. Slowly a picture developed of how the geography of the region had changed over time.
Combined with his own knowledge of the local waters, weather, and tides, Barry Clifford became convinced that he could locate the site of the Whydah.
Continue through Discovering the Whydah: Expedition Whydah. >>
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