Ruins under perpetual recovery and conservation; private ownership and exclusive dive rights
Commander:
Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy
Wrecked:
late night of 26 April 1717, Billingsgate, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Bay Colony 41°53′31″N69°57′34″W / 41.892°N 69.9594°W / 41.892; -69.9594
Discovered:
1984, by Barry Clifford
Authenticated:
1985, by discovery of the ship's inscribed bell and a brass placard, both inscribed with ship's name
General characteristics
Type
Galley
Tons burthen
300 tons BM
Length
110 ft (34 m)
Propulsion
Sail & oar
Sail plan
fully rigged, 3 masts
Speed
13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement
150 men at launch; went down with 145 men & 1 boy (incl. 6 prisoners)
Armament
At launch: 18 active guns
Pirate upgrade: 28 active guns
Recovered: More than 65, recovery ongoing
Notes
Whydah was the flagship of a 5-ship fleet which included the Marianne, Mary Anne, Anne, and Fisher
Whydah Gally[1]/ˈhwɪdəˈɡæli,ˈhwɪdˌɔː/ (commonly known simply as the Whydah) was a fully rigged ship that was originally built as a passenger, cargo, and slave ship. On the return leg of her maiden voyage of the triangle trade, Whydah Gally was captured by the pirate Captain Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy, beginning a new role in the Golden Age of Piracy.
Bellamy sailed Whydah Gally up the coast of colonial America, capturing other ships as he went along. On 26 April 1717, Whydah Gally was caught in a violent storm and wrecked off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Only two of Whydah Gally's crew survived, along with seven others who were on a sloop captured by Bellamy earlier that day. Six of the nine survivors were hanged, two who had been forced into piracy were freed, and one Indian crewman was sold into slavery.
Whydah Gally and her treasure of captured pirate gold eluded discovery for over 260 years until 1984, when the wreck was found off the coast of Cape Cod, buried under 10–50 ft (3–15 m) of sand, in depths ranging from 16–30 ft (5–9 m) deep, spread for four miles, parallel to the Cape's easternmost coast. With the discovery of the ship's bell in 1985 and a small brass placard in 2013, both inscribed with the ship's name and maiden voyage date, Whydah Gally is the only fully authenticated Golden Age pirate shipwreck ever discovered.[2]
^Or Whidah, and rarely, written as Whidaw (Strong 1836), or Whido (Southack 1717).
^Cite error: The named reference MA-SC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
WhydahGally /ˈhwɪdə ˈɡæli, ˈhwɪdˌɔː/ (commonly known simply as the Whydah) was a fully rigged ship that was originally built as a passenger, cargo, and...
as his own, before capturing a state-of-the-art slave trade ship, the WhydahGally, in the early spring of 1717. Two months later, the vessel was caught...
traders lived and worked. The area gives its name to the native whydah bird, and to WhydahGally, a slave ship turned pirate ship owned by pirate captain "Black...
called indigobirds WhydahGally, a ship captained by pirate "Black Sam" Bellamy that was wrecked in 1717 and was discovered in 1984 Whydah (ship) Ouidah,...
Bahamas Islands on it return voyage to England in February 1717. With the WhydahGally as his command ship in a 5-ship fleet, Bellamy, rated the wealthiest...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
enshrined in infamy: Henry Jennings, Charles Vane, Samuel Bellamy of WhydahGally fame, Benjamin Hornigold, and Edward England. The attack was successful...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
two-hour documentary about the ongoing excavation of the wreck of the WhydahGally, featuring in-depth interviews with Clifford. It was subsequently released...
the following identifiable pirate shipwrecks have been discovered: WhydahGally (discovered in 1984), a former slave ship seized on its maiden voyage...
the Kingdom of Whydah had become the second largest slave port in the triangular trade, as noted by the crew of the slave ship WhydahGally when it arrived...
Archeological sites SS Commodore USS Monitor Queen Anne's Revenge WhydahGally Underwater art and artists The Diver Jason deCaires Taylor Engineers and...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Quedagh Merchant Marquis of Havana My Revenge Royal Fortune Saladin WhydahGally York Pirate battles and incidents 1582 Cagayan battles 1985 Lahad Datu...
Archeological sites SS Commodore USS Monitor Queen Anne's Revenge WhydahGally Underwater art and artists The Diver Jason deCaires Taylor Engineers and...