Show Date: June 1, 2005  
Pam Eastlick for the Marianas Variety

BLACKBEARD’S REVENGE
AND
A LOCAL HERO

Greetings and welcome to The Deep column and the deepest radio show on Earth. The Deep is the science talk radio program that takes you from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of the universe. This week on The Deep, aired at 6:00 this evening on K-57, we’ll talk about a famous pirate. Then we’ll have some expedition calls. Maybe we’ll discover if Christine Boskoff and her party have reached the summit of Mt. Everest. Or perhaps we’ll talk to Bob Silver about searching the Mediterranean for underwater treasure. We’ll definitely be talking to a local hero. Then we’ll have some science news updates and we’ll be taking your phone calls. Tune in tonight and join host Jim Sullivan, Pam Eastlick and our expedition coordinator Peter Melyan for the latest in scientific news! Then log on to www.thedeepradioshow.com for more information on all the latest and deepest news!

A PIRATE’S REVENGE

Although Guam was visited by pirates and privateers in search of Spanish galleons, one of the most notorious pirates never left the Atlantic. The name Blackbeard still sends a shiver up the spines of people along the Carolina coast of the United States. Blackbeard was born, probably before 1690 in England and his name was originally Edward Drummond. He first served on a British privateer based in Jamaica. The word ‘privateer’ refers to both the ship and the crew that sailed it and privateers were weapons of war, just like cannon. They were privately-owned ships that engaged in piracy against the ships of other countries.

The ship Edward Drummond served aboard was hired by Queen Anne of Britain to plunder French and Spanish ships and keep stolen goods. By the time the war was over, Edward Drummond had become an expert pirate. He stole a ship and became its captain. His ship was fast, easy to handle and carried a crew of 250. And Edward Drummond assumed the name Edward Teach and the nickname Blackbeard.

In the latter part of 1717, Edward Teach met a large ship flying the French flag in the Caribbean. He gave the treasure it contained to his partner and assumed command of the ship. He renamed it the Queen Anne’s Revenge and with it, he became the scourge of the Carolina coast. In May 1718, he blockaded the port of Charleston, South Carolina. He commanded several ships by then and he demanded that the town give him money, supplies and medicine. After several weeks, the people of Charleston gave him what he came for.

In June, he grounded the Queen Anne’s Revenge and stole the treasure it contained from his pirate allies. He received a pardon from the Royal Governor and settled down to a life of ease.

But the lure of piracy proved too much for him and he began his former career anew. In the fall of 1718, Lieutenant Maynard of the Royal Navy found Blackbeard anchored on Ockracoke Island near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. A fierce battle broke out between them and both sides took heavy casualties. Blackbeard was killed in the battle. His head was cut off and his body thrown overboard, where according to legend, it swam around the ship several times before sinking.

So why all the interest in this famous pirate? A Florida-based research team believes they’ve located the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge just where Blackbeard willfully ran it aground almost 300 years ago.
Project director Mark Wilde-Ramsing said his team has found strong clues that the Queen's Anne Revenge sank at the site at Beaufort Inlet in 1718. He acknowledges, however, that his researchers haven't confirmed that the wreckage they're working on is that of the legendary Blackbeard's ship.

"We feel very, very comfortable that this is Queen Anne's Revenge. Until such time as we find that absolute one artifact that has initials on it, we'll continue to leave the door open, but I can tell you that door's just about closed," Wilde-Ramsing said. Thus far, the team has recovered more than 20 cannons from the site and more than 16,000 artifacts have been retrieved from the wreck.

A LOCAL HERO

What is a hero? Well, we usually think of someone who shows courage in the face of great danger. A hero is someone who rushes into a burning building to save the live of a child, or a soldier who drags her injured companion to safety while the bullets fly around them. A hero can be someone who faces great adversity and keeps right on slogging. We call people heroes who climb mountains, walk to the North Pole, or sail solo around the world in a boat. Several weeks ago on The Deep, we interviewed a woman who competed this year in one of the world’s most difficult races, the Iditarod dog sled race in Alaska. She is blind and I certainly consider her a hero.

But great adversity doesn’t have to be physical and tonight we are going to interview a young man who has every right to the name hero. His name is Enrique Mesngon and he just received his Master’s degree from the University of Guam. Those of us who have college degrees, or even have graduated from high school know how hard the rigors of study can be. But we usually don’t consider ourselves heroes. But I think Enrique deserves the title because Enrique has been deaf from birth. He is also a high school teacher and a good one too. Join us tonight on The Deep as we talk to this amazing young man through his interpreter. Meet a local hero!

Whether we’re learning about the relics of a notorious pirate or meeting a local hero, The Deep, hosted by Jim Sullivan with Pam Eastlick and Peter Melyan is the place to be on K-57 tonight at 6:00 p.m. Don’t miss it!