"On April 26, 1717, the Whydah Gally went down off the coast of Cape Cod — taking her crew, her treasure, and her secrets to the bottom. She lay undiscovered for 267 years." -https://www.discoverpirates.com/expedition-whydah/
The Whydah Gally was crafted in London in 1715 with the intended purpose of transporting slaves. While on her maiden voyage south of the Bahamas, the ship was captured by pirates. "Black" Sam Bellamy, whose circle of friends included the likes of Edward Teach, AKA Black Beard, recognized the ships potential. Because of its size, speed, and capacity for gunpower, he bestowed upon her the title of flagship.
Bellamy amassed great wealth from seizing ships all across the Atlantic. Unfortunately for him, he never got to enjoy it. The conditions off of Cape Cod are notoriously unforgiving. During one severe storm, the Whydah became hopelessly entrenched in a sandbank. All, but two crew members drowned. The rest of his fleet didn't fare much better. Those who survived the wreck, were ultimately taken into custody by New England authorities and sentenced to hang.
Fortunately, the Whydah's location was documented by the Bay Colony's Captain Cyprian Southack, who was also a reputable cartographer. Unfortunately, sandbanks tend to shift, making discovery of objects even the size of ships, lost to history. At least having its latitude and longitude at the time of the wreck was a clue that could potentially be used for future discovery.
Explorer Barry Clifford and his team re-discovered the Whydah during an excursion in 1984. It is the first truly authenticated pirate shipwreck ever discovered. (They can make this statement because they found both the Whydah's bell and a brass placard with the Whydah's name and maiden voyage date on it which serves to verify the ships identity. Other wreck sites, such as Black Beard's Queen Anne's Revenge off the coast of the Carolina's, can't boast of having that kind of verification.)
Note: Real treasure and artifacts from the Whydah wreck can be viewed by the public at Real Pirates Salem, a museum in Salem, MA. Clifford Barry and his team continue to bring up artifacts; the excavation of the shipwreck is ongoing.
https://realpiratessalem.com/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Though, Bellamy saved the ship from its original dreadful purpose, it didn't save her from a gloomy fate among the shoals.
