Queen Anne's Revenge
Discovery of the Pirate Blackbeard's Flagship
In 1996 Intersal contracted Mike Daniel of Jupiter, Florida (who had extensive marine recovery experience) as director of operations and captain of the company’s salvage vessel, Pelican III. On November 11, 1996, a magnetometer search led by survey operator Jim Whitaker and follow-up diving operations began at Beaufort Inlet. Ten days later, Mr. Daniel and the Intersal crew discovered the QAR site just over a mile off Bogue Banks, at a depth of twenty-two feet. The site lies almost due south of Ft. Macon, well within Intersal’s permit area. The identity of the site was confirmed by the number and size of the cannon and anchors exposed on the sand bottom, and by examination and dating of the various artifacts recovered.
The initial collection included a bronze bell inscribed with the date of 1705, the brass barrel of a blunderbuss (circa 1690-1710), a lead cannon apron, a lead sounding weight, and two iron cannonballs. Subsequent excavations have resulted in the recovery of thousands of artifacts, all supporting the conclusion that the wreck is QAR. They include: at least 24 iron cannon (one dated 1713) and some cannonballs; a small “signal” cannon (very likely fired at some point by Blackbeard himself); a coin weight with the likeness of Queen Anne on it; numerous pewter platters and plates, and one pewter medical syringe (which still contained traces of Mercury); some of the brass parts and accessories of a then-sophisticated surveying instrument; three intact onion-shaped wine bottles; tens of thousands lead musket-balls and mini-balls; a number of ceramic shards; hundreds of so-far unidentified conglomerations of material known as “encrusted objects” (“EOs”) or “concretions”; several surviving sections of the ship’s hull including its massive sternpost; trade beads, and a small quantity of gold fragments.
The Company’s research indicates that when QAR and Adventure became stranded in June 1718, the pirates had sufficient opportunity to unload most, if not all, of the valuables aboard before abandoning the two vessels. The Company therefore concluded that there was little, if any, possibility of making sufficient profit to justify the expenditure - estimated at over five million dollars - that would be required to fully excavate and conserve all the artifacts recovered from the QAR site. After discussions with the DCR, the Company agreed to relinquish its rights to any QAR artifacts, thus absolving the Company of the financial responsibility associated with the discovery.
On March 3, 1997 the Company, Maritime Research Institute (a non-profit set up by QAR co-discoverer Mike Daniel), and the DCR held a joint news conference in Raleigh at which then Governor Jim Hunt made the announcement of QAR’s discovery. The response was remarkable. Company representatives were interviewed by electronic and print media from across America, and from Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, South America and Australia. Pieces were seen and/or heard on Good Morning America, Today, CNN, Discovery, NPR, the BBC and many others. Stories were featured in People Magazine and in hundreds of newspapers across America, most prompted by articles appearing on the AP wire, in the New York Times, and in USA Today. There was considerable coverage in Great Britain, prompted by an article in the London Times.
In August 1998, 20 months after the initial discovery of QAR, the Company signed a Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA”) with the DCR. The MOA grants the Company the commercial rights to:
- 1) Partner in all aspects of QAR Project, including oversight and exhibition activities.
- 2) Produce high quality exact or miniature replicas of any Blackbeard artifacts of the Company’s choosing. Each of these replicas must be numbered as part of a limited edition
- 3) Exclusive right to all commercial narrative of the Project, including all operational and exhibition activities; and right to produce, co-produce or commission a documentary film (or series of films) detailing the story of the research, search for, discovery, and salvage of QAR.