A portrait of Captain Sam Bellamy of the Whydah.
A Pirate Tale Proved True
At a Real Treasure - The Whydah Museum
By Kahrin Deines
June 7th, 2009
One pirate by the name of Captain “Black Sam” Bellamy, has a name that will forever be associated with the area of Cape Cod. Bellamy’s fame in this area was secured by a neat double-act story of demise and resurrection. While the tale of his demise reads like any great pirate yarn, with thwarted love, treasure, and of course, loss, the story of his resurrection is fittingly more miraculous and follows a truly unusual path.
 | The treasure that Clifford found was actually two-fold. There was gold, it is true, but there was also a record of how pirates actually lived. |
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Act One, Bellamy’s Demise: After a very successful raiding voyage, during which Bellamy plundered more than fifty ships, he and his flagship, the Whydah, along with most of the crew, were taken under during a violent storm off the coast of Marconi Beach in 1717. As legend has it, Bellamy was trying to make his way back to his sweetheart, a Miss Maria Hallett of Wellfleet, who was just a few short miles away when he met his demise.
Just like the famous pirate captain Teach in the Pirates of the Caribbean, however, it was not Bellamy’s last appearance.
|  Pirate grenades, money and a record of a way of life are displayed at the Whydah Museum. |
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Act Two, Bellamy’s Resurrection: Over a century and half later, Bellamy resurfaced, or to be more precise, was recovered by the underwater explorer Barry Clifford. Clifford had grown up hearing tales about Bellamy and the Whydah from his uncle and as an adult he began to search for the sunken ship. And – this is where the tale takes a wide swerve from any normal plot line – he actually found it in 1984 and it was laden with treasure.
The treasure that Clifford found was actually two-fold. There was gold, it is true, but there was also a record of how pirates actually lived, as told through numerous artifacts. Today, these items, which include everything from “pieces of eight” to tableware, contracts and cannons, are housed at the Whydah Museum in Provincetown, which Clifford opened to showcase his amazing find.
In addition to these, there are also displays about how Clifford found the Whydah and the difficult process of recovering items from the shipwreck, which is still underway.
To find out more about the Whydah Museum, go to www.whydah.com. The museum is open until the end of October and is located on MacMillan Pier.
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