Issue #0

Expedition Whydah

The Story of the World's First Excavation of a Pirate Treasure Ship and the Man Who Found Her

Plot

The true saga of a doomed pirate ship and the author's lifelong quest to recover it 280 years later -- soon to be a National Geographic television special airing in spring 1999 and museum exhibit.Captain "Black Sam" Bellamy and his band of pirates terrorized the high seas, looting gold from more than 50 ships and loading it onto the WHYDAH, a captured slave ship, before running aground and sinking in the Great Storm of 1717. Cut to the 1950s. Young Barry Clifford, mesmerized by his uncle's tales office WHYDAH and its priceless cargo, which lay off the shores of Cape Cod, determines to find the sunken treasure and bring it up. He spends 15 years chasing leads and financing halfway around the globe. Illustrated with photos and illustrations, Expedition WHYDAH is his incredible success story; at the same time, it's the unearthing of a long-gone era of unimaginable adventure -- and brutality.