June Expedition Updates

Tuesday June 5th
Weather continues to plague efforts to recover cannon C-16. Crews that were hoping to get out Tuesday afternoon to set the moorings and reference lines and check the condition of the site, instead spent their time loading R/V Capricorn.

Wednesday June 6th
Crews met at 7 am in order to get an early start and catch up for lost time. A partial crew went out to check conditions at the site since winds were still gusting. Conditions at the site were marginal at best with wind and waves making operations difficult. Visibility was only about one foot despite being on site at high slack tide when it is normally at its best.

With the weather delay and the current marine forecast calling for conditions to degenerate again Thursday night and Friday our working window will be too short to allow the uncovering, rigging, and recovery of cannon C16. Unfortunately it will have to wait again. We will probably begin our fall expedition in late August, early September, with a bang … or rather with a cannon recovery to get things started.

As always we are watching the weather and if conditions and plans change we will provide updates as quickly as possible.

Thursday June 7th

Winds were lighter today and both research vessels were on station at the QAR shipwreck site, enabling archaeologists the opportunity to gather sand level data, make a close assessment of the site and test new equipment scheduled to be put work during the major recovery planned for this fall. Sand measurements and visual inspection revealed that sand is currently filling in around the exposed remains thus providing some measure of protection from undersea currents and critters.

Also along with the expedition was Canadian film crew Arcadia filming a series "Go Deep" featuring seven of the most renowned water-related sites in the world. In the coming months keep your eyes out for documentary coverage of the QAR project and certainly stay tuned to this website as events unfold in our quest to explore and document North Carolina's earliest known shipwreck.

With Friday's forecast for stronger offshore breezes, the crew retrieved reference lines, retrieved the moorings, and quit the site for now, all the while wondering if the spirit of Blackbeard was making it especially difficult to recover cannon C-16. Perhaps it was his favorite weapon since it was located nearest to the captain's cabin! Our special thanks to Comfort Inn of Morehead City, the UNC-Institute of Marine Sciences, and Intersal, Inc. for their support during this expedition.