Real Pirate Treasure at Moody Gardens

On Wednesday, I had some great guest on the morning show from Moody Gardens. This season at Moody Gardens, the theme is Pirates and they are featuring actual treasure recovered from the pirate ship, the Whydah. One thing that the recovery of the Whydah so special is that it was the first authenticated pirate shipwreck ever to be discovered.

I had the opportunity to interview and later, just chat, with the man that helped recover that treasure. His name is Chris Macort and he's a fascinating person who knows his stuff when it comes to pirates and treasure.

Here's part of the story of the Whydah:

Chris Macourt shared some of the history of the Whydah, with me and here is part of that story:

The Whydah, like most pirate ships, was not built as a pirate ship. When the ship was captured by the pirate 'Black Sam' Bellamy, it was adapted into use as a pirate vessel.

On April 26, 1717, the good ship encountered a severe nor'easter and sank with it's load of 4 tons of gold and silver, just off the coast of Cape Cod and there it stayed for 260 years.

In 1984, the Whydah was found in about 15 feet of water near Cape Cod. While 15 feet of water is a very shallow dive, there was another problem to be encountered; the actual treasure was under about 20 feet of sand.

The treasure was recovered and part of that treasure is on display this season at Moody Gardens.

Here is Chris holding a small part of what was recovered. The coins are actual pieces of eight, shoe buckles and a few smaller objects that were used as gaming pieces.

You can see, not only much more of the treasure, but a life-sized replica of the Whydah at Moody Gardens.