BEAUFORT — An anchor from a shipwreck thought to be Blackbeard’s flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, was so unstable that divers in North Carolina retrieved it Wednesday rather than waiting until next year.
Divers raised the 4.5-foot, 160-pound grapnel, or anchor, from the wreck in the Atlantic Ocean near Beaufort on Wednesday and will display it today at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort. The anchor originally had four prongs, but now has 1 1/2.
Two divers put straps on the anchor, then small lift bags that they filled with air, said Mark Wilde-Ramsing, the director of the Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck project. When the grapnel reached the surface, a crane brought it on the boat.
“It went great,” he said. “It went as smooth as it could be.”
The grapnel probably was an anchor for a smaller boat that would have been used to transport items between ships or from land to ship, Wilde-Ramsing said.
Archaeologists and conservators with the state Department of Cultural Resources say the grapnel was at risk of washing away after nearly 300 years in the sea and might not weather possible storms until next year, when a full-scale expedition is planned.
The rest of the shipwreck looks very stable, Wilde-Ramsing said.
Queen Anne’s Revenge was a French slave ship that measured about 100 feet long with three masts and a crew of 150 to 200. Blackbeard captured the ship, then known as La Concorde, in 1717 and renamed it before it ran aground off Atlantic Beach a year later. The shipwreck, discovered in late 1996, is within sight of Fort Macon State Park.
State News
October 22, 2009
Divers recover anchor from the reputed Blackbeard ship
- State News
-
- Medicaid starts up preferred drug list
- ‘STILL IN LOVE’
- N.C. announced as a ‘Race to the Top’ finalist
- Complaint against Realtors dues dismissed
- Ex-Marine’s past fuels run for Congress
- Group says SBI reports not acceptable
- Perdue seeking more information on liquor privatizing
- State retrenches in school diversity
- State says expect delays on income tax refunds
- Lawmakers prepare for new changes changes
- More State News Headlines
HP to Cut 27,000 Jobs, Save Up to $3.5B
Inquiry Hears Wider Secret Service Misbehavior
Parents Skeptical of FAMU Hazing Probe Statement
Md. 911 Dispatcher Caught Sleeping on Job
Raw Video: Toddler Trapped in Washing Machine
Iowa Man With Zebra, Parrot in Truck Gets DUI
Egyptians Pick New President in Free Election
Secret Service Boss: 'I Apologize'
Giant Bull Head Draws Drivers to South Dakota
Astrodome Fades As Houston Decides Fate
Franciscan Files Tell Stories of Priest Abuse
Wildfire Destroys 2 Homes
Flight Diverted After Suspicious Note
Joplin Remembers Deadly Tornado, 1 Year Later
Panel Recommends Against Routine Prostate Test
Fired Lingerie Employee Claims Discrimination
Facebook Shares Continue Negative Slide
Cuba Waiting for Cyber Age to Come
8 Hurt in Oklahoma Shooting After NBA Playoff
Sheriff: DNA Links Suspect to Missing CA Teen
