FEATURED BIOGRAPHY
BARRY CLIFFORD
Barry Clifford is one of the world’s best-known underwater archaeological explorers.
“His deep love of the ocean, and his work to recover the past through undersea exploration, sparks the imagination of schoolchildren throughout the U.S. and reminds adults of the adventures to be found in underwater discovery. ..He brings history to life extending education well beyond the classroom.” (Carlo Bertozzi, President, Dacor Corporation)
Born on Cape Cod, the oldest of four children raised by Robert and Shirley Clifford, he has been involved in underwater surveys and recovery missions for virtually all of his adult life.
Clifford worked as a lifeguard, teacher, football coach and District Executive of the Boy Scouts of America before starting his own salvage-diving business in the mid-‘70s. Between 1974 and 1984, Clifford organized, directed and conducted dive-related work such as underwater construction, oil-spill control, contract sea-rescue and salvage operations, including the MV Islander ferry in 1980. During this period, he also utilized historical research, remote-sensing techniques, and underwater surveys to locate numerous shipwrecks around Cape Cod and the Islands.
In 1984, after several years of exhaustive research and exploration, Clifford made world headlines with his discovery of the legendary shipwreck Whydah wrecked in a storm off Cape Cod in 1717. The Whydah was the first pirate shipwreck ever discovered and authenticated, and her treasures are still being recovered today. With over 100,000 artifacts recovered and conserved to date, this project has completely revised the world’s understanding of pirates. The Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources, and other state and federal agencies, have lauded the Whydah Project as “a model for private archaeology”, and the project has been covered in National Geographic magazine and National Geographic television as part of a “National Geographic Special Event”. Recovery operations are conducted with his 65” vessel Vast Explorer.
With his background as a teacher, Barry Clifford has always sought to emphasize the educational aspects of his work. Clifford has kept the Whydah collection intact at Expedition Whydah Sea-Lab & Learning Center in Provincetown, MA. This facility has proved to be a unique showcase for what underwater exploration can accomplish through careful historical and scientific research. It was the only maritime museum featured by The New York Times in its 2002 special Museums Section.
Utilizing historical research, remote-sensing technologies, and high-tech underwater surveys, Clifford was involved in the discovery, survey and/or recovery of numerous other shipwrecks in the ‘70s and ‘80s. These include several dozen wrecks around Cape Cod and the Islands; various 17th and 18th century wrecks at Bassas de Indies atoll in the Indian Ocean; more than twenty wrecks in the treacherous black waters of New York’s East River; extensive underwater surveys in areas off Florida and the Bahamas; and, in association with Cornell University, the sunken Classical-Age city of Eliki in the Bay of Corinth, Greece.
In 1989, the Project Team located an un-dredged site in Boston’s Inner Harbor with several shipwrecks—and other historically significant submerged cultural material—associated with the Boston Tea Party and the evacuation of Boston during the American Revolution. In the winter of 1990-1991, the Project Team conducted extensive underwater surveys for shipwreck sites of potential historical significance, located in over 130-ft. depths in Boston’s Outer Harbor.
Barry Clifford was also involved in the discovery of numerous airplanes in the Solomon Islands, Lake Washington and Lake Michigan from 1990-1992. Between 1991 and 1994, several expeditions were mounted to Panama and Belize that likewise resulted in the discovery of a number of shipwrecks of historical and archaeological importance—including the possible resting-place of the Satisfaction, a shipwreck associated with the notorious pirate Henry Morgan and his invasion of Panama in 1669.
From 1993-1996, Clifford directed intensive underwater survey and ROV examinations—in conjunction with Bentech, British Gas, the British Royal Navy and HRM Prince Andrew—for The Blessing of Burnt Island that sank in 1633 with the Royal silver of King Charles I in Scotland’s Firth of Forth under the auspices of the BBC and the Discovery Channel. He then initiated survey operations off the coast of Virginia that resulted in the discovery of a wreck identified as the Spanish treasure galleon La Galga.
In 1998 and 1999 Barry Clifford led two expeditions, under Discovery Channel/BBC-One auspices, to the Isle of Aves off the north coast of Venezuela, where he discovered nine late-17th century shipwrecks, including two possible pirate shipwrecks, in 1998 and 1999. These vessels had been wrecked in a little-known 1678 catastrophe that permanently shattered French naval power in the Caribbean, thereby altering the course of world history.
In 1999 and 2000, Barry Clifford and his Project Team completed three major expeditions to Ile Ste. Marie off the coast of Madagascar, as a Discovery Channel “Quest” initiative, where five shipwreck sites were discovered; including the Adventure Galley (flagship of the infamous William Kidd) and the Fiery Dragon, commanded by the pirate William “Billy One-Hand” Condon. The other three shipwreck sites have been tentatively identified as the Ruparrel, The Mocha Frigate, and The New Soldado.
After discovering and decoding cryptic rock carvings, he then used ground-penetrating radar to explore an apparent tunnel-complex, similar to the Oak Island “Money Pit”, which may have been constructed by late 17th-century pirates.
In an ongoing project, Mr. Clifford is currently working to identify suspected remains of the Santa Maria—the flagship of Christopher Columbus. His work to locate this site was the subject of a May 2004 Discovery Channel Quest documentary “Quest for Columbus”. Also ongoing off the Haitian coast is an archaeological survey project that has initially identified four shipwrecks associated with the pirate Henry Morgan, including Morgan’s flagship The Oxford.
He has published in magazines and professional journals, and is the author of four books: The Pirate Prince, (Prentice Hall/Simon & Schuster, New York, 1993), Expedition Whydah (Harper Collins, New York, 1999), The Lost Fleet (Harper Collins, New York, 2000), and Return to Treasure Island (Harper Collins, New York, 2003). He has also written a column for Sport-Diver magazine. He is currently writing a book on his search for the Santa Maria and his experiences in Haiti.
His archaeological explorations have covered in numerous feature articles in The New York Times (including three cover articles of the Science Section), Variety, The Daily Telegraph, Time, Newsweek, USA Today, People, The Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, Parade, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Men’s Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Sun-Times, Forbes, Fortune, The London Times, The Scotsman, The Sunday Times, Reader's Digest, and National Geographic magazine (May 1999).
He has also been featured on such national and international programs as Dateline, National Public Radio, Walter Cronkite at Large, Good Morning America, The Voice of America, Sixty Minutes, David Letterman, a variety of BBC programs (including Tomorrow's World, Beyond 2000 and Quest), and is a frequent guest on The Today Show.
His work has been the subject of television documentaries and features as well; including Black Bellamy’s Treasure (PBS), Search for Pirate Gold (Nova). Sea-Raiders (Turner Broadcasting), The Hunt For Amazing Treasures (NBC), Lost Treasure of King Charles I (Discovery Channel), Sea Tales (A&E), Pirates of The Whydah (National Geographic), The Lost Fleet (Discovery Channel/BBC-One), Quest For Captain Kidd (Discovery Channel) and Quest for Columbus (Discovery Channel)
Currently airing in syndication is Adventure Inc. a television series produced by Gale Anne Hurd (Aliens, Terminator, The Abyss), and inspired by Clifford’s work. A major feature film on the lost treasure of Genghis Khan, written by Barry Clifford, is currently in development with Ms. Hurd.
He is a spokesperson for Dacor/Mares, the world’s largest scuba diving manufacturer.
He received a bachelor’s degree in History and Sociology from Western State College in Gunnison Colorado, and is an inductee in its “Portraits of Excellence” Hall of Fame. He received graduate training at Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
He is Fellow of the Explorers’ Club, a 2005 recipient of the Rolex-Lowell Thomas Award for his achievements in underwater archaeology, and is a Discovery Quest Scholar. In 2006, he was named Explorer-in-Residence by the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
An accomplished photographer, mountaineer, and jungle explorer, Clifford has also lectured at such organizations/institutions as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Explorers’ Clubs of New York and Boston, the Congress of the Azores, and Harvard Business School.
He has conducted extensive fund-raising work on behalf of numerous public libraries, historical societies, schools, conservation groups and children’s diseases.
He is married, and has three children.
Whydah Store | Email Us | Whydah.com | Real Pirates Exhibit
©2008 Center for Historic Shipwreck Preservation, Inc.
