NewsWhore
12-14-2007, 02:50 PM
Indiana University (IU) researchers announced the discovery of an pirate ship, the Quedagh Merchant, confiscated earlier by pirate Captain William Kidd. The wreckage was found by a local scuba diver off Catalina Island on the southeast coast of Hispaniola. IU researchers say that the find is valuable because of its potential for revealing important information about piracy in the Caribbean.
The ship was abandoned by the 17th century pirate as he raced to New York in an ill-fated attempt to clear his name. Captain Kidd had been entrusted with fighting pirates and instead turned to pirating himself and had confiscated the Quedagh Merchant in a raid. The investigators marveled at the fact that the ship was found resting in less than 10 feet of Caribbean seawater.
IU marine protection expert Charles Beeker said that his team was licensed to study the wreckage and to convert the site, which is in the National Park of the East in the modern day Dominican Republic, into an underwater reserve, where it will be accessible to the public.
Beeker, director of Academic Diving and Underwater Science Programs at IU Bloomington's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, said that it was remarkable that the wreck has remained undiscovered all these years considering its location, just 70 feet off the coast of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic, and because it has been actively sought by treasure hunters. Catalina Island is a popular scuba diving site.
"I've been on literally thousands of shipwrecks in my career," said Beeker. "This is one of the first sites I've been on where I haven't seen any looting. We've got a shipwreck in crystal clear, pristine water that's amazingly untouched. We want to keep it that way, so we made the announcement now to ensure the site's protection from looters."
The Quedah Merchant was a huge 400-ton ship. When Captain Kidd took it over in a pirate raid it contained one of the greatest pirate treasures ever.
http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6997.html
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)
The ship was abandoned by the 17th century pirate as he raced to New York in an ill-fated attempt to clear his name. Captain Kidd had been entrusted with fighting pirates and instead turned to pirating himself and had confiscated the Quedagh Merchant in a raid. The investigators marveled at the fact that the ship was found resting in less than 10 feet of Caribbean seawater.
IU marine protection expert Charles Beeker said that his team was licensed to study the wreckage and to convert the site, which is in the National Park of the East in the modern day Dominican Republic, into an underwater reserve, where it will be accessible to the public.
Beeker, director of Academic Diving and Underwater Science Programs at IU Bloomington's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, said that it was remarkable that the wreck has remained undiscovered all these years considering its location, just 70 feet off the coast of Catalina Island in the Dominican Republic, and because it has been actively sought by treasure hunters. Catalina Island is a popular scuba diving site.
"I've been on literally thousands of shipwrecks in my career," said Beeker. "This is one of the first sites I've been on where I haven't seen any looting. We've got a shipwreck in crystal clear, pristine water that's amazingly untouched. We want to keep it that way, so we made the announcement now to ensure the site's protection from looters."
The Quedah Merchant was a huge 400-ton ship. When Captain Kidd took it over in a pirate raid it contained one of the greatest pirate treasures ever.
http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/6997.html
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#9)