The year 1717 began very well for a pirate named Sam Bellamy. He and his men had been prowling the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Their prey was ships traveling between the Caribbean islands and England—ships laden with gold and silver and silk and spices. Bellamy had 145 men in his crew and a fleet of five stolen ships. Their best ship was the Whydah, which Bellamy and the crew had recently taken from English slave traders. The ship was big, fast, and sturdy. Terrified ship captains surrendered quickly when they saw the Whydah on their tails, its black flag raised, its huge cannons ready to fire. They expected Bellamy and his men to steal their ships and kill them all.
But Bellamy wasn’t a murderer. He was a thief, and a very successful one. In just one year, Bellamy and his men had looted more than 50 ships. By April 1717, the Whydah was filled with plundered treasures, including 180 bags of gold and silver coins. It was time to head to their hideaway: an island off the coast of Maine. There, they would divide up their booty and head their separate ways.
As the fleet sailed north, Bellamy ordered the Whydah to make a stop on the shores of Cape Cod. He had a girlfriend there, a farmer’s daughter named Maria Hallett. Some say the blue-eyed Maria and the black-haired pirate planned to marry, and Bellamy wanted to delight his future bride with a glimpse of his new treasures.
Whatever lured Bellamy to the Cape, he never made it. On April 26, when the ship was just 500 feet from the shores of the Cape town of Wellfleet, a vicious storm swept in. Thirty-foot waves crashed over the Whydah’s decks. Howling, 70-mile-per-hour winds tore apart sails and toppled men like toy soldiers. The pirate crew struggled to keep the ship under control and away from the rocky shore. But suddenly, a monstrous gust of wind took hold of the Whydah and sent it slamming into a sandbar. The ship broke apart. Hammering waves finished the job. Men tumbled into the sea as massive cannons and wooden masts came crashing down over them. One hundred and forty-four men drowned, including Sam Bellamy. Within days, the ship’s wreckage had slipped off the sandbar and settled at the bottom of the ocean.
The year 1717 began very well for a pirate named Sam Bellamy. He and his men had been prowling the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. They were searching for ships traveling between the Caribbean islands and England. The
ships were carrying gold and silver and silk and spices. Bellamy had 145 men in his crew and a fleet of five stolen ships. Their best ship was the Whydah. They had recently taken it from English slave traders. The ship was big, fast, and sturdy.
The Whydah terrified ship captains. The captains gave in quickly when they saw the Whydah’s black flag and huge cannons. They expected Bellamy and his men to steal their ships and kill them all.
But Bellamy wasn’t a murderer. He was a thief. Bellamy and his men had looted more than 50 ships in just one year. By April 1717, the Whydah was filled with plundered treasures. It was carrying 180 bags of gold and silver coins. It was time for Bellamy’s crew to head north. They would go to their hideaway on an island near Maine. There, they would divide their booty and go their separate ways.
The fleet set sail. Bellamy ordered the Whydah to stop on the shores of Cape Cod. He had a girlfriend there. She was a farmer’s daughter named Maria Hallett. Some say Bellamy wanted to impress Maria with his treasures.
But Bellamy never made it to Cape Cod. A violent storm swept in on April 26. The ship was just 500 feet from the shores of the Cape town of Wellfleet. Thirty-foot waves crashed over the Whydah’s decks. Seventy-mile-per-hour winds howled. They tore apart sails. They toppled men like toy soldiers. The pirates struggled to keep the ship under control. But a huge gust of wind took hold of the Whydah. It sent the ship slamming into a sandbar. The ship broke apart. Pounding waves finished the job. Massive cannons and wooden masts came crashing down. Men tumbled into the sea. Sam Bellamy and 143 of his men drowned. Within days, the ship’s wreckage had slipped off the sandbar. It settled at the bottom of the ocean.