Pirate remains from the Whydah!!

M ELEY · 14th February 2021, 08:47 AM

Wow! This is incredible! The wreck was found many years ago, but these are the first substantial remains discovered...

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/black...101726435.html

Rick · 21st February 2021, 06:58 PM

This always comes to mind when I think about Bellamy and his fate.

' Oh were it mine with sacred Maro's art To wake to sympathy the feeling heart, Then might I, with unrivaled strains deplore Th' impervious horrors of a leeward shore.'

Falconer

M ELEY · 22nd February 2021, 12:37 AM

Incredible quote, Will! I am unfamiliar with that particular verse and will definitely have to look that one up!

The thing about Sam Bellamy is that although he was a pirate, there are no records indicating that he ever actually KILLED anyone! Yes, he was a pirate and the thief, but this distinction remains. In Massachusetts, he was known to have a young wife (or perhaps lover, I'm not sure the records were clear about that), the locals loved him and he was reported to be (by both friend and foe) well-spoken, gentlemanly and fair. Often, when he took a ship, he either befriended the captain (who didn't own the ship but worked for whatever private firm hired them) or gave that captain and his crew a 'lesser' ship to sail home in. Among the pirates, he was one of the kindest to offer slaves their freedom to join his crew (Bartholomew Roberts did this too, but besmirched his own record when he watched as two slave ships full of captives burned). He was said to be so charming that he even talked a young lad of 10 or 11 in joining his crew, much to the consternation of his wailing mother! (this was unfortunate, for several weeks later was when the Whydah went down off of Wellfleet).

Again, not pardoning the pirate behavior, but when the world back then was such a horrible and unfair place (the navy often flailed sailors to death for slight infractions, pursers stole the best food for himself and officers, feeding the sailors slop, nobility feasted on Cornish game hens and hunted at their pleasure while the vast majority of people either starved or barely got by), they saw their actions as justified. They were no better or worse than many of their kinsmen, be they violent drunkards serving in the military or crooked barristers convicting old women for stealing an apple from a cart. When the Whydah was lost, it was said that the infamous Blackbeard was so struck with grief (Bellamy was his best friend and past ally) that he let all know about the unfairness of life, not something one would expect from a supposedly cold and devilish man!

So...candidates for the basis of Jack Sparrow's gentlemanly pirate type? Bellamy most certainly. Louis-Michel Aury's dashing looks! Throw in Grammont's kindliness, Ben Hornigold's compassion and moral code, Calico Jack Racham's posh dress, love for the ladies and total besotted nature. Still, the overall winner for me had to be Howell Davis, a beloved pirate captain, lady's man and 'fancy' dresser whose audacity rivaled Johnny Depp's own in the movie series!

BTW, to throw shade on those that love to say that piracy died after "The Golden Age" ended, I give you this little list of characters to say otherwise-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pirates

Rick · 22nd February 2021, 05:00 AM

Rick not Will, Mark.

That is the character William Mowett's couplet lifted from the poet William Falconer; it was used in the first novel Master and Commander of O'Brian's brilliant Aubrey/Maturin series of 20 books.
When I'm up in Wellfleet I often go to the Marconi site where right offshore lies the wreck of Whidah Galley. Standing there during a Winter gale one really appreciates the terror of being driven upon the unforgiving sandbars while being pounded by the immense North Atlantic seas.

You should come north sometime to view the patch of ocean where she lies and then visit Barry's museum.

M ELEY · 22nd February 2021, 06:33 AM

OPPS! Sorry, Rick! My sleep-weary eyes are playing tricks! Just got off pulling 4 twelve hour night shifts and I'm seeing leprechauns right now! I'll keep your invite in mind if I can ever make my way north again. Flew into Boston years ago, but that's about the closest I came to visiting-

14th February 2021, 08:47 AM	#1
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,089	Pirate remains from the Whydah!! Wow! This is incredible! The wreck was found many years ago, but these are the first substantial remains discovered... https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/black...101726435.html

22nd February 2021, 12:37 AM	#3
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,089	Incredible quote, Will! I am unfamiliar with that particular verse and will definitely have to look that one up! The thing about Sam Bellamy is that although he was a pirate, there are no records indicating that he ever actually KILLED anyone! Yes, he was a pirate and the thief, but this distinction remains. In Massachusetts, he was known to have a young wife (or perhaps lover, I'm not sure the records were clear about that), the locals loved him and he was reported to be (by both friend and foe) well-spoken, gentlemanly and fair. Often, when he took a ship, he either befriended the captain (who didn't own the ship but worked for whatever private firm hired them) or gave that captain and his crew a 'lesser' ship to sail home in. Among the pirates, he was one of the kindest to offer slaves their freedom to join his crew (Bartholomew Roberts did this too, but besmirched his own record when he watched as two slave ships full of captives burned). He was said to be so charming that he even talked a young lad of 10 or 11 in joining his crew, much to the consternation of his wailing mother! (this was unfortunate, for several weeks later was when the Whydah went down off of Wellfleet). Again, not pardoning the pirate behavior, but when the world back then was such a horrible and unfair place (the navy often flailed sailors to death for slight infractions, pursers stole the best food for himself and officers, feeding the sailors slop, nobility feasted on Cornish game hens and hunted at their pleasure while the vast majority of people either starved or barely got by), they saw their actions as justified. They were no better or worse than many of their kinsmen, be they violent drunkards serving in the military or crooked barristers convicting old women for stealing an apple from a cart. When the Whydah was lost, it was said that the infamous Blackbeard was so struck with grief (Bellamy was his best friend and past ally) that he let all know about the unfairness of life, not something one would expect from a supposedly cold and devilish man! So...candidates for the basis of Jack Sparrow's gentlemanly pirate type? Bellamy most certainly. Louis-Michel Aury's dashing looks! Throw in Grammont's kindliness, Ben Hornigold's compassion and moral code, Calico Jack Racham's posh dress, love for the ladies and total besotted nature. Still, the overall winner for me had to be Howell Davis, a beloved pirate captain, lady's man and 'fancy' dresser whose audacity rivaled Johnny Depp's own in the movie series! BTW, to throw shade on those that love to say that piracy died after "The Golden Age" ended, I give you this little list of characters to say otherwise- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pirates Last edited by M ELEY; 22nd February 2021 at 12:56 AM.

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21st February 2021, 06:58 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,290	This always comes to mind when I think about Bellamy and his fate. ' Oh were it mine with sacred Maro's art To wake to sympathy the feeling heart, Then might I, with unrivaled strains deplore Th' impervious horrors of a leeward shore.' Falconer

22nd February 2021, 05:00 AM	#4
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,290	Rick not Will, Mark. That is the character William Mowett's couplet lifted from the poet William Falconer; it was used in the first novel Master and Commander of O'Brian's brilliant Aubrey/Maturin series of 20 books. When I'm up in Wellfleet I often go to the Marconi site where right offshore lies the wreck of Whidah Galley. Standing there during a Winter gale one really appreciates the terror of being driven upon the unforgiving sandbars while being pounded by the immense North Atlantic seas. You should come north sometime to view the patch of ocean where she lies and then visit Barry's museum.

22nd February 2021, 06:33 AM	#5
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,089	OPPS! Sorry, Rick! My sleep-weary eyes are playing tricks! Just got off pulling 4 twelve hour night shifts and I'm seeing leprechauns right now! I'll keep your invite in mind if I can ever make my way north again. Flew into Boston years ago, but that's about the closest I came to visiting-