4 ms·

Blackbeard's Ship Confirmed Off North Carolina (2011)

68 points by Vigier 11y ago

a3n 11y ago
[2011]
smoyer 11y ago
I tried sailing my (small) yacht in Pamlico sound a few years ago. It's really shallow (in some parts due to the deposit of dredged material. I can't imagine a naval battle with any serious ships occurring there ... I ran aground repeatedly while almost five nautical miles from Hatteras Village. I'd love to find a history of that battle!
- scrapcode 11y ago
  I took it as they hit a sandbar really hard. That's why they had to bail. Am I wrong?
  - Maultasche 11y ago
    You're correct. There was no battle. The ship had to be abandoned only because it ran aground in some shallows and then sank.
  - smoyer 11y ago
    I believe the battle in the Pamlico sound is where Blackbeard was finally defeated ... the sinking of his other ship occurred on the Atlantic side of the barrier islands.
- wtallis 11y ago
  For context, here's two charts covering most of Pamlico Sound: http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11548.shtml http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11548.shtml http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11555.shtml http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11555.shtml The shaded regions are less than 12 feet deep at low tide, and only a few inches deeper at high tide. There's another contour drawn in the shaded areas for 6 foot depth. A modern sailing yacht that's not specifically designed for shallow water operation will usually require between 4.5' and 7' of depth until you're looking at boats in the neighborhood of 50' long, and then the ones designed for ocean voyaging or racing can sometimes draw more like 9-10'. While large swaths of the sound are plenty deep, you can't go far without passing through a shallow area. Many of the shoals on the charts are marked with disclaimers saying that the soundings are unreliable because the sand shifts too often. The inlets are a nightmare: the buoys have to be moved so often they're not worth plotting at all. Around Beaufort, it's even worse: http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11545.shtml http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11545.shtml, and I can't imagine maneuvering a 100' sailboat through the inlet or anywhere sound-side. I've unexpectedly run aground near there while in a kayak.
hownottowrite 11y ago
There's still ongoing debate about the identity of the ship claimed to be the Queen Anne's Revenge. In fact, some researchers have called into question the entire methodology used to identify the majority of wrecks, indicating it falls under the idea of "Ruling Theory".[0] As regards the Queen Anne's Revenge: [1] Ruling theory is when a hypothesis is so aRrac&ve that researches may consciously or unconsciously record data in favor of the hypothesis. “Ruling Theory can be applied in many fields, including archaeology” (Railsback, 1990). An example of an archaeological site applying the Ruling Theory is the Beaufort Inlet Shipwreck. On November 21, 1996 a team of inves&gators from Intersal Inc. discovered an 18th century shipwreck about a mile and a half off of the coast of Beaufort Inlet. Shortly aMer discovering this ship the ques&on of this ship being the Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s flagship, started to arise. Today many communi&es on the Outer Banks, like Ocracoke Island, use the Queen Anne’s Revenge to aRract tourist. Is the Beaufort Inlet Shipwreck really the Queen’s Anne’s Revenge? Or have researches been too hasty when gathering their informa&on about the Beaufort Inlet Shipwreck? [0] Harpster, Matthew. "Shipwreck Identity, Methodology, and Nautical Archaeology." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 20.4 (2013): 588-622. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10816-012-9131-x#page-1 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10816-012-9131-x#p... [1] Collier, Carson. "Ruling Theory Applied at the Beaufort Inlet Shipwreck." (2014). http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=uresposters http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1...
bengali3 11y ago
i love the scientific explanation for maintaining the label 'thought to be', which indicates the scientific scrutiny required to be certain. However, ultimately they didn't remove the disclaimer because they had more data or a new find. Merely that label is deemed not necessary for monetary reasons: >There were two reasons for dropping the official doubt about the identity of the shipwreck ... >First, the museum recently opened "Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge," a greatly expanded exhibit >Also, removing the official caveat could help the museum secure private funding I guess I wasn't expecting that after the defense of the scrutiny in the first part.

68 points by Vigier 11y ago

a3n 11y ago

[2011]

I tried sailing my (small) yacht in Pamlico sound a few years ago. It's really shallow (in some parts due to the deposit of dredged material. I can't imagine a naval battle with any serious ships occurring there ... I ran aground repeatedly while almost five nautical miles from Hatteras Village. I'd love to find a history of that battle!

scrapcode 11y ago
I took it as they hit a sandbar really hard. That's why they had to bail. Am I wrong?
- Maultasche 11y ago
  You're correct. There was no battle. The ship had to be abandoned only because it ran aground in some shallows and then sank.
- smoyer 11y ago
  I believe the battle in the Pamlico sound is where Blackbeard was finally defeated ... the sinking of his other ship occurred on the Atlantic side of the barrier islands.
wtallis 11y ago
For context, here's two charts covering most of Pamlico Sound: http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11548.shtml http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11548.shtml http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11555.shtml http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11555.shtml The shaded regions are less than 12 feet deep at low tide, and only a few inches deeper at high tide. There's another contour drawn in the shaded areas for 6 foot depth. A modern sailing yacht that's not specifically designed for shallow water operation will usually require between 4.5' and 7' of depth until you're looking at boats in the neighborhood of 50' long, and then the ones designed for ocean voyaging or racing can sometimes draw more like 9-10'. While large swaths of the sound are plenty deep, you can't go far without passing through a shallow area. Many of the shoals on the charts are marked with disclaimers saying that the soundings are unreliable because the sand shifts too often. The inlets are a nightmare: the buoys have to be moved so often they're not worth plotting at all. Around Beaufort, it's even worse: http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11545.shtml http://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/11545.shtml, and I can't imagine maneuvering a 100' sailboat through the inlet or anywhere sound-side. I've unexpectedly run aground near there while in a kayak.

hownottowrite 11y ago

There's still ongoing debate about the identity of the ship claimed to be the Queen Anne's Revenge. In fact, some researchers have called into question the entire methodology used to identify the majority of wrecks, indicating it falls under the idea of "Ruling Theory".[0] As regards the Queen Anne's Revenge: [1] Ruling theory is when a hypothesis is so aRrac&ve that researches may consciously or unconsciously record data in favor of the hypothesis. “Ruling Theory can be applied in many fields, including archaeology” (Railsback, 1990). An example of an archaeological site applying the Ruling Theory is the Beaufort Inlet Shipwreck. On November 21, 1996 a team of inves&gators from Intersal Inc. discovered an 18th century shipwreck about a mile and a half off of the coast of Beaufort Inlet. Shortly aMer discovering this ship the ques&on of this ship being the Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s flagship, started to arise. Today many communi&es on the Outer Banks, like Ocracoke Island, use the Queen Anne’s Revenge to aRract tourist. Is the Beaufort Inlet Shipwreck really the Queen’s Anne’s Revenge? Or have researches been too hasty when gathering their informa&on about the Beaufort Inlet Shipwreck? [0] Harpster, Matthew. "Shipwreck Identity, Methodology, and Nautical Archaeology." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 20.4 (2013): 588-622. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10816-012-9131-x#page-1 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10816-012-9131-x#p... [1] Collier, Carson. "Ruling Theory Applied at the Beaufort Inlet Shipwreck." (2014). http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=uresposters http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1...

bengali3 11y ago

i love the scientific explanation for maintaining the label 'thought to be', which indicates the scientific scrutiny required to be certain. However, ultimately they didn't remove the disclaimer because they had more data or a new find. Merely that label is deemed not necessary for monetary reasons: >There were two reasons for dropping the official doubt about the identity of the shipwreck ... >First, the museum recently opened "Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge," a greatly expanded exhibit >Also, removing the official caveat could help the museum secure private funding I guess I wasn't expecting that after the defense of the scrutiny in the first part.