The Great Storm
This artist's rendering depicts the storm that destroyed the Whydah on April 26, 1717. The crew members were swept overboard or crushed by falling rigging, cannon, and cargo as the ship was torn apart and sunk.
Gregory Manchess National Geographic
No one is sure where the Whydah was bound during its last weeks afloat. A course was set for Maine but the ship suddenly headed for Cape Cod. Some say Bellamy was heading for Cape Cod to be reunited with his love, Maria Hallet. Possibly to show her he had succeeded in finding the riches he originally set out to find as a legitimate treasure hunter. Other say it was navigator error that drove them aground while others conjecture it was sabotage by a disgruntled crew member. Whatever the case, on April 26, 1717 around ten at night the weather turned ugly. Heavy rain squalls began to fall and bolts of lightning streaked across the pitch black sky. The 70 mile an hour wind switched and was now coming from the East and Southeast driving the Whydah inexorably towards the cliffs of Eastham. Bellamy knew where he was and if they wrecked here, there would be few survivors.
Bellamy dropped the half-ton anchors to slow the ship but the surf was relentless and they continued to be driven closer and closer to shore. He knew if there was to be a chance for survival, they needed to run aground bow first so at least some of the crew might be able to swim to land. Bellamy ordered the anchor lines cut so they could swing the ship around but the ship didn't turn. They watched in horror as the ship slid backwards, stern first, over 30 foot breakers towards the cliffs. At midnight, the Whydah violently ran aground, tossing crew and cannon into the churning sea. Within 15 minutes, the violent waves snapped the main mast and capsized the Whydah. Cannon broke free from their holds, crashed across the decks crushing anyone in their paths. One man was hurled so violently across deck, his leg bone became impaled in the handle of a pewter teapot. At dawn, the Whydah's hull broke apart casting their cargo and the living and dead into the sea.
John King's Remains
This fibula, shoe and stocking were located inside of a concretion. It is believed to be the remains of John King, the young boy who demanded that Bellamy allow him to join his crew as a pirate.
Kenneth Garrett National Geographic
As the storm continued to rage through the morning hours, more and more pirate corpses were washed up on the shore. 146 men were on the Whydah that night, only two survived, Thomas Davis, a carpenter and John Julian, the pilot. John King, the young boy who demanded Bellamy take him into his crew was crushed between the decks, still wearing the stockings and leather shoes his mother had dressed him in months earlier.
~~ The Trial ~~
