In April 1717, the Whydah Gally – a former cargo and slave ship captured by the pirate Sam Bellamy – sank off of the coast of Wellfleet, where it would remain untouched for over 260 years. In 1984, Cape Cod native and underwater archaeological explorer Barry Clifford found the wreckage of the Whydah. It remains to this day the only fully authenticated Golden Age pirate shipwreck ever discovered. Join us as we welcome Clifford as he reviews his role in the Whydah’  s rediscovery  as well as Wellfleet’  s connection to  the historic pirate wreckage.

Barry Clifford is among the world’s best known underwater explorers, having been involved in the discovery, survey, and recovery of numerous shipwrecks in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. In 1984, Clifford made headlines with his discovery of the remains of the Whydah, a pirate ship wrecked in a storm off the coast of Wellfleet in 1717. The Whydah is the first fully-authenticated pirate ship discovered in American waters and her treasures are still being recovered today. The author of multiple books, Clifford is currently working on a book about his search for Christopher Columbus’s flagship the Santa Maria and his experiences in Haiti.

Face masks required. Space is limited.