The exciting true story of the captaincy, wreck, and discovery of the Whydah — the only pirate ship ever found — and the incredible mysteries it revealed. The 1650s to the 1730s marked the golden age of piracy, when fearsome pirates like Blackbeard ruled the waves, seeking not only treasure but also large and fast ships to carry it. The Whydah was just such a ship, built to ply the Triangular Trade route, which it did until one of the greediest pirates of all, Black Sam Bellamy, commandeered it. Filling the ship to capacity with treasure, Bellamy hoped to retire with his bounty — but in 1717 the ship sank in a storm off Cape Cod. For more than two hundred years, the wreck of the Whydah (and the riches that went down with it) eluded treasure seekers, until the ship was finally found in 1984 by marine archaeologists. The artifacts brought up from the ocean floor are priceless, both in value and in the picture they reveal of life in that much-mythologized era, changing much of what we know about pirates.

A Captivating Account of the Golden Age of Piracy, the Search for Sunken Treasure, and the Business of Underwater Exploration Bored by his successful life and obsessed with a boyhood dream of lost pirate treasure, Barry Clifford began a quest for legendary pirate Black Sam Bellamy's ship Whydah, which had supposedly wrecked off the coast of Cape Cod more than two centuries ago. Ignoring claims that he was a fool and a dreamer, Clifford pressed on, until he unbelievable found the Whydah...and then the real story begins in a spellbinding story that will capture your imagination.

Profiles the ship Whidah, including who sailed it, where it sailed, and why it sailed, and what happened to it.

Explore the exciting true story of the captaincy, wreck, and discovery of the Whydah the only pirate ship ever foundand the incredible mysteries it revealed.

It was the end for Black Sam Bellamy and his pirates... The sailors of the Whydah didn't know that the storm was among the worst ever, but they knew they were in a bad storm, For a few hopeful moments, they thought their hard work had turned them out to sea. Then, through the howl of the storm, someone heard the waves slapping the shoreline and the cry of "Breakers! Breakers!" went up again. Frenzy and fear became the order of the day. With a deep knowledge of the sea and the will to survive the pirates began to act on their own, as they had in so many other desperate situations deeply frightened but steadfastly professional. It was 10 P.M. on April 16, 1717, and the crew of the Whydah had only two hours to live. ...But two centuries later, it became a new beginning. Obsessed by a boyhood dream of lost pirate treasure, Barry Clifford launched a search for the pirate ship Whydah, which supposedly wrecked on the coast of Cape Cod. Very quickly he realized that he had taken on a daunting task. Others who had tried to find the ship before him had failed. Although locals came forward with gold coins and relics that could only have come from the lost pirate ship, skeptics claimed that the ship didn't really exist or had been picked over by Cape Cod's early settlers more than two hundred years ago when it sank. Ignoring claims that he was a fool and a dreamer, Clifford pressed on, until he found the Whydah...And then the story begins. Effortlessly weaving pirate Black Sam Bellamy's history with his own story, Clifford tells a tale of pursuit and perseverance, one that shows our inseparable link to the stories of our childhood as well as our connection to the historic past. As a child, Clifford's uncle would spend long afternoons telling him the story of Black Sam Bellamy, a pirate from England who captured the heart of Cape Cod's lovely Maria Hallert. Bellamy and his crew sailed to the Caribbean to make their fortune, and make it they did, becoming among the most successful pirates of the early eighteenth century. On their return to Cape Cod, where Bellamy planned to reunite with his lover, a powerful storm wrecked the ship at Maria's very doorstep, killing almost all on board. Mesmerized by the tales of the Whydah and the riches that sank with her, Clifford embarks on a lifelong quest to find the sunken pirate ship and tell the story of her mysterious crew and the age they lived in. Expedition Whydah tells two equally enthralling stories of obsession: Bellamy's tale of hard work and crafty piracy, and Clifford's own unbelievable quest to fulfill his dream of finding the sunken ship and building a museum to house her relics. What emerges is a fascinating portrait of a long-gone era of unimaginable adventure--and brutality--and a look at two determined men, one from the past, the other from the present, who let nothing get in the way of their goals. Spirited and colorful, filled with illustrations and photographs of the ship, its treasure, and the team that found her, Expedition Whydah is a spellbinding book that will grab your imagination, just as Clifford's imagination was forever captured as a young boy, when he heard the legend of Black Sam Bellamy for the first time.

Samuel Bellamy, Maria Hallett, and the Whdyah Sam Bellamy is a sailor and willing to work, but he'd like a return on his effort that isn't available to the people in his social class. He objects to living with laws he has no voice in making that favor the wealthy, and exact unjust punishments on the poor. To take a stand, he becomes an outlaw. He is a pirate, and the sweet trade of piracy is a capital crime. Mariah Hallett is a talented weaver with an unusual skill for healing animals that her neighbors both fear, and use when convenient. She is at the center of a controversy between two religious men, each determined to save her soul: One believes she is blessed, the other believes she is a witch. When she is accused murder, she is banished to live alone on the high moors overlooking the sea. The Whydah is a slave ship returning to England, her hold filled with the golden profits from trading in human beings. Captured by Sam and his crew, she is refitted as a pirate ship, heavily armed and loaded with plunder. Sam and Mariah are lovers and kindred spirits. He returns to her in the Whydah, and she's waiting for him. But gold doesn't float. Based in part on the little-known life Samuel Bellamy (1689-1717), Master of the Sweet Trade is set against portraits of pirate life on the high seas and the hardscrabble life on Cape Cod in the early 1700s. Elizabeth Moisan pulls together strands of history and legend, and with imagination, spins a tale of patience and trust between lovers; the struggle for liberty; and honor among thieves. _________________________________________________ "Master of the Sweet Trade is, at its heart, a very human drama, honestly and sensitively observed and imagined. We are drawn in as two gifted young people fall in love and suffer loss, yet hold on against all odds as they defy the powers of their society. Despite all the swashbuckling action, Elizabeth Moisan gets as close to the heart of darkness as any writer I have read - and she does so in an openhearted, open-minded, easy-to-read novel. What an amazing canvas she paints."

In this addition to the Scientists in the Field series, readers join scientists as they tackle something unusual in the world of ecosystems: colonization. Not a colonization by people, but one of cells, seeds, spores, and other life forms that blow in, fly in, float in, and struggle to survive on the beautiful but harsh new island of Surtsey.