Sunday, November 27, 2011

QAR's Biggest Cannon Raised

From the Winter 2012 East Magazine of East Carolina University.

The annual fall archaeological expedition to what is believed to be Pirate Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge (QAR), found that no damage was done to the ship by Hurricane Irene in August.

On October 25th, divers recovered cannon C23, one of the largest guns on the ship.

Project Director Mark Wilde-Ramsing led a class of ECU students on the four-week dive. Using new technology, aluminum rods called sacrificial anodes were attached to the remaining cannons to change the electrochemical process that corrodes iron in saltwater. The aluminum rod corrodes, the cannon no longer does. This will reduce the amount of time required in the laboratory once the cannon is raised.

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries research vessel Shell Point was used as the main recovery vessel along with ECU's seagoing barge for transport to the site of the QAR offshore of Fort Macon State Park in Beaufort Inlet.

Captain Jack Sparrow Would be So Proud. --Cooter

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