Cape Cod - Index

Cape Cod - travel_guide_2008 - Index

BUDDING BUCCANEERS
If your kids are raring for adventure on the high seas,
take them on a swashbuckling excursion with Pirate
Adventures on the Sea Gypsy in Hyannis (508-430-
0202) or Orleans (508-255-8811). Your little scalawags
will don sailor sashes, have their faces painted and use
a secret map to search for sunken treasure. They will
hoist flags, shoot water cannons and haul up booty
from the deep. The Sea Gypsy sails six times daily mid-
June through Labor Day. The trip is geared to ages 3 to
10, but all are welcomed. Cost: $20. Reservations
required.
Right: The Sea Gypsy II out of Hyannis offers
pirate adventures for children. TOM CROKE
necks, much like a modern-day American would drape a
scarf over their shoulders in the winter in order to ward off
the cold. They did this because the muskets they carried
were single-shot guns, so in order to have multiple shots
when boarding another vessel at sea, the pirates would tie
three or four of these guns over their shoulders and let them
dangle, allowing them to get four quick shots off before
having to stop to reload.”
Not only are academics interested in the Whydah
discoveries, but Hollywood has been knocking on Clifford’s
door, as well.
“Because of all the artifacts I am finding, apart from the
gold, I have had many movie production companies contact
me over the years, including Disney,” Clifford says. “With
all the new ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movies being released,
they want to be as historically accurate as they can, and these
discoveries are helping to fill those voids.”
The story of the Whydah, Clifford says, will carry on
“well past my lifetime and probably well into my son’s.” (His
son has worked closely with him on these expeditions.) The
story remained dormant for nearly 300 years, kept alive only
as local legend, until the right person came along to tell it. ■
NEW ENGLAND PIRATES
Sailing on a surge of pirate popularity, Heritage
Museums and Gardens in Sandwich offers the
exhibit, “A Short Life and Merry: Pirates of New
England.” Opened last year, the exhibit will
continue through October 2008.
Funded in part by a grant from Rockland Trust
Co., the exhibit explores how pirates were
transformed from welcomed mariners (bringing
rare goods and hard currency) to criminals,
vilified in Puritan sermons. The reality of New
England’s real pirates is explored through
paintings and artifacts, such as a swivel gun and
a genuine “piece of eight” coin.
The museum is open April through October.
Admission: $12 for adults; $10 for age 65 and over;
$6 for ages 6 to 16; free for children under 6. For
more information, call 508-888-3300 or visit
www.heritagemuseumsandgardens.org/pirates
www.capecodtravelguide.com
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