Customer Reviews

Expedition Whydah: The Story of the World's First Excavation of a Pirate Treasure Ship and the Man Who Found Her

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A captivating account of the demise of infamous pirate Black Sam Bellamy and his treasure-laden ship, the Whydah and . . . an equally compelling story of one man's obsessive quest to recover the wreck and its riches more than 250 years later.

Barry Clifford with the help of co-author Paul Perry tells of Clifford's dogged hunt for the sunken ship overcoming bureaucratic, financial and legal obstacles along the way.

Repeated flashbacks to the early 1700s and the escapades of the legendary pirates provides a fascinating counterpoint to the author's modern-day battles.

While meticulously researched, providing a fascinating and informative glimpse of the pirate's life (I learned so many new facts) the book is also eminently easy to read. Illustrations and photographs make it a complete work.

A "must-buy" for anyone either interested in the exploits of rogue buccaneers of the early 18th century or the adventures of a late 20th century swashbuckling entrepreneur.

In my next life, I want to be Paul Perry.

Look at everything he has done: he has written a biography of Hunter Thompson, wrote "Saved by the Light" (one of the greatest stories ever told), and did all of those other books about near death experiences. And now this, a book about the only excavation of a pirate ship.

This is a great book for a lot of reasons. For one, Barry Clifford is such a colorful character, kind of a real world Indiana Jones. Born on Cape Cod, he was raised with the story of Black Sam Bellamy, a pirate who feel in love with a local girl named Maria Hallett and went off the find booty in the Caribbean. He found plenty of it, and loaded it onto a captured slave ship (the Whydah) before sailing home to marry Maria. He died in a storm that also took most of his crew and tons of gold and silver to the bottom of the ocean.

This story haunted Clifford through the years, until he finally decided to search for the sunken treasure ship. He found way more than he bargained for, including trouble on land as well as sea. He also made discoveries that made the entire treasure hunting foray worthwhile: gold, silver, cannons, human bones, a piece of the hull and a textbook full of valuable information about the identity and nature of pirates.

This is a beautifully presented book, one that is written well and contains a wealth of photos and illustrations that are a feast for the eyes and mind of hungry readers.

My question now is this: What are you going to do next, Paul?

This book is a must for any fan of pirate lore!Barry Clifford and Paul Perry did a great jobof making you feel like you were on the sandyshores of the cape, looking out at the poundingwaves and staring at this long gone ship through the myst. A great tale of Barry Clifford's devotion of life and soul to finding the wreck of the Whydah. The book covers everything from thehaunting legends and myths of past pirates, to Barry's dealings with the archealogical boards to obtain permission to excavate the site in which he believed to cover the ship. A great story of oneman's determination against all odds to findin himself the limits of how far one will go to achieve that which is considered unattainable. Enough said, the book is totally enjoyable andnever lets up!

Like pirates? Like pirate history? Run right out and buy this book ASAP! I *loved* this book, and read it straight through in two sittings. It follows the trials of Barry Clifford in his decades long search for the Whydah Galley shipwreck off the coast of his Cape Cod home, and final outstanding success in his quest. The book offers *so* much engrossing information about both modern privately-funded marine archaeology (sometimes dismissively referred to as "treasure hunting" by academics) and the life of Black Sam Bellamy, Captain of the Whydah. The book is peppered with maps, photographs from the search and excavation, and careful line-drawings of the artifacts exhumed with accompanying descriptive text.

This is not to say the book is without fault. At times it is painfully obvious that Clifford's skills lie in other realms than the writing world and the guiding hand of co-writer Perry is either absent or inebriated--at times the prose can be a bit amateur and elementary. I question the quality of editing that went into the work as well, since in places a topic will be "introduced" as if it were new to the reader, when in fact it had already been mentioned in an earlier chapter. And, Clifford's private-archaeology cheerleading can at times seem a bit shrill in his repeated justifications of his work in the face of extreme criticism by the academic realm [1]. And,... the book is a bit dated in its claims of "the only pirate ship ever recovered", since the discoveries (largely by teams led by Clifford) of a number of other pirate shipwrecks have happened since its publication.

Despite these flaws, the book remains an engrossing read. Clifford and Perry have imbued the text with Clifford's infectious enthusiasm and passion for the life of Bellamy and the search for the Whydah. The story of the search, discovery, and excavation of the wreckage (as well as the financial and legal woes that plagued them from the beginning) is interwoven with legends and factual details about Bellamy and the Whydah crew from the exhaustive research of the Whydah team's staff historian. The book offers an interesting interpretation of the pirate crews of the era as renegade democracies, pioneering a 'rule by the people' culture in revolutionary dispute of crown rule several decades before the American Revolution (at times this verges on a sort of fannish apologist tone, which didn't bother me too much as a reader, being a fannish pirate-apologist at times myself). The book becomes a bit sensationalist toward the end when it delves into a few 'pirate ghost' encounters that Clifford and his crew experienced, but by that point I believe his dedication in relating the story and I think his dedication to the importance of legend and myth as being as integral a part of the appeal of the golden age of piracy as the cold-facts history, that it doesn't come off as corny or insincere.

After reading Barry Cliffords first book about The Whyday Shipwreck Project, "The Pirate Prince" readers were informed all about his wonderful efforts in finding the Pirate Shipwreck. However when reading a book by author Stephen Kiesling "Walking the plank, A true adventure among pirates," readers were well informed about the real truth about Barry Clifford and his so called efforts in finding the Whydah shipwreck. Now after reading Barry Cliffords new book,"Expedition Whydah" which should be classed as a fictional comic,after learning the truth in Stephen Kiesling book "Walking the Plank" Never believe everything you read, especially when Barry Clifford is involved. Purchase Walking the plank first, then purchase Expedition Whydah You'll think two different Pirate ships have been recovered

I bought this after seeing the Whydah treasure in-person in Provincetown, MA. It was a very informative book, just what I was looking for!

Barry Clifford discovered the only wrecked pirate ship ever found, then recovered much of the gold, jewels, and silver aboard the vessel as well as important historical artifacts. As a small boy, Clifford had listened to tales of the pirate ship WHYDAH and its master Black Sam Bellamy told to him by his uncle. Although he grew into adulthood and became a successful marine salvager, thoughts of the WHYDAH and her ill-fated crew, as well as all the treasure rumored to have gone down aboard her, wouldn't leave Clifford's mind at rest. For years he assembled information and research regarding the ship's activities, the sailors and captain aboard her, and the loot WHYDAH had seized. Gradually, as he exhausted all the knowledge that was to be gleaned from histories, journals, and survey maps, Clifford eliminated conflicting data and re-interpreted facts and figures until he was certain he knew where the ship had gone down, taking the captain and most of the crew with her. Armed with his facts and figures, Clifford journeyed to Denver and sold shares in the venture to raise a quarter million dollars investment capital to start searching for the wreck. Within months, he had located the first of the treasure, and the real fighting began with the state agency that tried to take a lion's share of the recovered assets.

Barry Clifford was a marine salvager by trade and became an expert in piracy by interest. In addition to two non-fiction novels, EXPEDITION WHYDAH and THE LOST FLEET: THE DISCOVERY OF A SUNKEN ARMADA FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF PIRACY, Clifford also established the Whydah Learning Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He's gleaned a lot of support from historical preservation societies and boards.

Although Clifford's narration of his own book in audio form comes across as less polished than probably could have been done by a professional voice, the dramatic tension involved in the story keeps the listener intent on the tale. In fact, the laconic, laidback way Clifford narrates his story sounds like a guy sitting across the table spinning his story over a cup of coffee. The choice Clifford made to overlap his own findings with the history of the pirates aboard WHYDAH drives the dramatic tension of both stories. Separating those events by putting them in different sections of the book would have diluted both, and made them too episodic. Clifford was making history as he was uncovering it. Even in the abridged form offered in the audiobook, Clifford conveys tons of material relating to the work involved in claiming, finding, and bringing up a significant historical find-especially one laden with gold, silver, and jewels. The history of piracy and the pirates on board WHYDAH when it went down are spooned into the narrative in just the right amounts to keep revealing new details while still leaving the listener for more.

EXPEDITION WHYDAH is an excellent audiobook to listen to in the car. The bits and pieces that are presented episodically lend themselves to the start and stop of a workday drive. In addition, Clifford's details on the expedition and piracy in general bring a lot of intensity to armchair explorers.

Clifford's book is great reading for the beach or wherever you might be. A fantastic adventure book that tells the story of Barry Clifford's discovery and excavation of the Whydah off the coast of Welfleet, MA(Cape Cod). A story of pirates, treasure, and Cape Cod that will remain in your mind for days after you have read it.

Barry Clifford and Paul Perry have written an absorbing account of the world's first excavation of a pirate ship -- the 'Whydah', wrecked off the tip of Cape Cod in a gale in 1717. Clifford's efforts to first locate and then recover her treasures from a sandy grave is an engrossing tale seamlessly combining mystery, adventure and even history. Indeed, "Expedition Whydah" is filled with fascinating historic background details of piracy as a career and a way of life in the late 17th and early 18th century. I had no idea, for instance, that privateers such as Edward Teach (the infamous 'Blackbeard') and others were given financial backing by none other than the likes of Queen Elizabeth I as an investment opportunity. At one point early in the account, Clifford says that if he'd known at the outset what was going to happen in terms of legal battles, financial wrangling, disloyalty of friends during his quest to unearth the wreck....he would have marked the site of the Whydah on his chart and called it a day. We can only be glad he persevered. The treasures and artifacts that Clifford and his crew recovered are priceless. The book is, in its own way, another kind of treasure as the authors not only recount the discovery of the wreck of the Whydah, but also recreate what it must have been like to stand on the pitching deck of the pirate vessel that stormy April night nearly three centuries ago.

I picked up Expedition Whydah with the intention of simply skimming it, looking at photos and drawings and the index, the way I generally approach a new book. The first chapter title caught my attention: "The Stuff of Daydreams"; and further on, the names of pirate Sam Bellamy and his lover Maria Hallett. I knew I was hooked. Five hours later that Saturday I finished the last chapter. During that time, I had travelled with salvor Barry Clifford through childhood on Cape Cod where his Uncle Bill first told him the legend of Bellamy and the wreck of the Whydah. I had gained an understanding of Clifford's ability to conceptualize and create an expedition that would require fund raising, crisis management, and crew handling before the legend became a reality. I had gained insight into the lives of Bellamy and his crew, brave, democratic yet impoverished seamen who had turned to piracy as a means of survival in the 1700's.The story will appeal to a wide reading audience, especially those who appreciate the uniqueness of the days when pirates robbed from the rich and gave back to the poor! It is painstakingly researched and gives a realistic perspective to romantics and would-be salvors who glamorize the life of treasure hunting. The photography, including underwater shots and many careful renderings of actual bounty...pieces of eight, gold jewelry, weapons, nautical instruments -add to the drama of the find.