| Porthole 11 June 15

YARRR, tis be Blackbeard!

State officials in North Carolina

have confirmed the authenticity

of a shipwreck found off the

coast as belonging to famous

18th century pirate Blackbeard.

After 20 years of uncertainty,

the Queen Anne’s Revenge was

discovered in 1995, more than

275 years after it disappeared.

According to National

Geographic, it is understood the

ship was grounded on a sandbar

near the town of Beaufort which

was home to the pirate.

North Carolina Maritime

Museums said the state was not

too surprised to discover the

ship belonged to the pirate, as

they already had a collection of

Blackbeard artefacts.

That, the fact there were no

other ships as big in the area, plus

it was very well armed, they said.