By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination. -Christopher Columbus
He is a modern day underwater archaeological explorer who has travelled the world researching, understanding, and unburying historically significant shipwrecks, including three of the most famous shipwrecks in the world; Captain Kidd’s Adventure Galley in Madagascar, the Santa Maria in Haiti, and Samuel Bellamy’s wrecked pirate ship, Whydah in his own backyard off of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Whydah was a pirate ship that had robbed as many as 54 other ships before sinking off the coast of Massachusetts on April 26, 1717 in a Northeaster. This explorer discovered Whydah in 1984 and, to this day, he and his team are still un-burying treasures from this wreck. To date, they have cataloged more than 190,000 artifacts, including tens of thousands of coins, more than 60 cannons, as well as everyday items the crew used like plates, utensils, jewelry, and ammunition. He has fought the government, cynics, and a variety of modern day archeological pirates to keep his collection together in order to preserve history. In 2016 he opened Whydah Pirate Museum in Yarmouth where he shares the story of the ship, the people who were on board, and the history of the buried treasures uncovered in the last thirty years.
His name is Barry Clifford. He loves exploring, is passionate about preserving history, and is zealous to tell the stories he is revealing under the sea. Although it appears that he has uncovered three of the most prestigious shipwrecks in the world, Clifford says there is a modern day band of pirates who ardently deny that he’s found anything. These pirates, guising as agencies like UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), and experts, like Dr. Paul Johnston, an archaeologist at the Smithsonian, are not robbing Clifford of verification of his historic finds, as he already has all the proof he needs to know with certainty that he found Captain Kidd's Adventure Galley, the Santa Maria, and the Whydah. Rather, Clifford says these kinds of pirates are robbing civilization of true history. While they continue to block attempts by Clifford to uncover and preserve history, giving looters the ability to dive and take what they want, he keeps sharing his story and the stories tied to these three famous ships, with anyone who will listen through his books, speaking engagements, documentaries, stories, and most recently, his Whydah Pirate Museum.
I recently spent an afternoon hanging out with Barry Clifford to find out what it takes to unbury the truth, expose history, and fight pirates. Here is Barry Clifford, our modern day Jacques Cousteau:
Teach Kids How to Dream: Barry relayed countless stories of obstacles he has encountered over the last thirty years. For example, when he first found the buried pirate ship, Whydah, he had maps, treasures, and historical documents to prove that this was in fact the Whydah. While he had hundreds of staunch supporters, there were a handful of key detractors who firmly renounced his findings. When he later unburied the ship’s bell which was branded “Whydah” he assumed the detractors would go away, but many, like Dr. Paul Johnston, dug their feet in further, continuing to reject the findings. This is just one example of many massive challenges Clifford has faced. Another big one is that despite proof that he’s found the Santa Maria off the coast of Haiti, UNESCO will not allow for the needed permits to go in and preserve the treasure, causing looters to go in and take what they want. Clifford says that he is used to the constant obstacles, and the way he deals with them is to focus on the parts of his mission he can control. For example, he has never sold any of the 190,000 cataloged treasures he has so far uncovered from Whydah because he wants to keep the collection together and exhibit it in his own museum as well as in travelling exhibits around the world. He is passionate about sharing history with the world, and he’s fanatical about teaching kids how to dream. This is why part of the Whydah Pirate Museum exhibit allows for kids to watch archaeologists chip away at treasures encrusted in rock and calcium, so they can see real treasures like weapons and ammunition as they are uncovered for the first time. Barry says that he grew up watching Jacques Cousteau with a sense of wonder, and since his youth he wanted to find treasures in the sea. Clifford says there are not enough opportunities today for kids to realize that they can be and do whatever they want with their life, even if the path is an untraditional one, and Clifford hopes that his museum and his story inspires younger generations to explore their passions and to find a way to make a life doing something that they love. He says that when he occasionally feels let down because of the obstacles, he remembers that there are kids out there who will go out and achieve big dreams because of the inspiration they gleaned while at the Whydah Pirate Museum.
Keep Exploring: The Santa Maria went down in a shipwreck off Haiti in 1492. Clifford and his team found the ship fifteen years ago, although they didn’t realize it at the time. In 2002 they took pictures of some of the buried artifacts from the Santa Maria, including massive cannons known as lombards that were typical on 15th century Spanish ships. A team from UNESCO never reviewed the photos of the lombards but rather went to the site themselves to see what was there. The team determined in less than 24 hours, and without conducting any scientific testing, that there were no 15th century artifacts, nor a shipwreck. It was later determined that UNESCO's Haitian guide went out to the site and confiscated the lombards after Clifford left the country, most likely to sell them for profit. Since the UNESCO team says there’s no buried ship nor correlated artifacts, Clifford and his team have been denied the ability to go in and preserve what is left of the Santa Maria. As Clifford notes, the Santa Maria is a ship that changed the course of human history, and not only is it not being preserved, it’s being looted for profit. Clifford says that it’s ironic that organizations like UNESCO want to block private archaeological exploring for fear that individuals may profit because it’s those same private explorers who are in it for one reason and one reason only, to preserve history. Clifford has never sold even one piece of the 190,000 cataloged treasures he found on the Whydah, as his only interest is in uncovering what is out there and sharing it through exhibitions thoughout the world. As Clifford points out, “We should all be on the same side, yet we are pitted against one another, while one of the most historically significant shipwrecks in the world is plundered.” Clifford says if there’s anything that keeps him up at night, it is the Santa Maria, but to relieve his anxiety and angst, he does what he does best, he keeps exploring. He says a pirate can take your heart, but never your soul… and Clifford’s soul is all about exploring.
Embrace Supporters and Small Wins: In the world of pirates, there are battles and there are wars. You win some, you lose, and some amount to a draw. Says Clifford, the best advice he can offer others going through massive obstacles is to embrace supporters and the small wins you have along the way. In Clifford’s world, he says he has gained massive support and traction from the likes of other explorers like Professor Charles Beeker from the University of Indiana, and from organizations like National Geographic. He says that it’s easy to find yourself paralyzed when bad stuff happens, like evidence of looters stealing from the Santa Maria, or being blocked from opening a massive museum in Boston, but that it’s important to use these struggles as the fuel to create small wins, because sometimes the small wins become huge ones. One example of this for Clifford has been the launch of his Whydah Pirate Museum. He says there were massive plans in place to open huge pirate museums in Tampa and Boston, and both were blocked by his detractors. So, he went and bought a building of his own in Yarmouth, not far from where Whydah was found, and he started his own museum where he is now educating thousands of kids who come from around the world to learn about pirates, history, and exploration. As well, he has now launched travelling exhibits to some of the largest museums in the world. Says Clifford, history is made by those who figure out a way to piece together small wins throughout their lifetime, which is exactly what he continues to keep doing.
They look different than the pirates we learned about in story books growing up, but pirates do exist in every industry and every part of the world. But there are also people who have no problem taking on pirates, thereby creating and preserving history along the way. Such is the case of archaeological explorer, Barry Clifford, our modern day Jacques Cousteau.