Divers successfully recover cannons from Queen Anne's Revenge (Blackbeard's ship)

ATLANTIC BEACH, NC (WECT) – Divers trying to recover cannons from Blackbeard's flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge wreck site off the coast of North Carolina were successful in their efforts Thursday.

Bad weather forced the team to scrub the previous two trips, but the conditions were just right the third time around.

A group from Cape Fear Community College used inflation bags to float two cannons to the surface.

This is the first time the cannons have been out of the water in almost 300 years. According to David Hardin with CFCC, the cannons are estimated to weigh 2,000 pounds each.

He said it took six hours to complete the operation and required close coordination between underwater divers and students, captain and crew on board CFCC's research vessel.

Divers discovered the wreck in 1996 and a dozen other cannons have been retrieved since then, in addition to thousands of other artifacts.

The North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources owns the artifacts, and the largest display is at the Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

As more artifacts are being recovered and go through the conservation effort at the QAR lab in Greenville, the state is making it possible for more people to see them.

A statewide touring exhibit is now in western North Carolina, and more traveling exhibits are in the works as more artifacts are recovered and interest in one of North Carolina's most feared pirates grows.

All of the artifacts should be recovered from the wreck site by the end of next year, but because of their fragile condition, it may take up to 15 years before all of the items will be conserved enough to be put on public display.

Hatteras Island can be a great place for that, you can see the effects of the two currents, the cold Labrador Current to the north and the warm Gulf Stream to the south as you drive down the island. You see it in vegetation and birds. The southern tip of the island gets the full effect of the Gulf Stream, very warm water. Old Hatteras Village has the Spanish Moss draped live oak and palmetto of the southern coast. Summer water temps are in the eighties. The two currents clash just above, you can see it from Hatteras Light at Diamond Shoals, ocean almost boiling, rough seas under the best of conditions. I assume you're going out into the Gulf Stream in a boat, prepare yourself. I think it's fun, others find it alarming. Dramamine if anyone’s prone to motion or seasickness.

Water temps drop as you go up, in summer rarely reaching the mid-seventies north of Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo. Further north toward Currituck, Corolla and Carova, summer water temps in the sixties are not uncommon. Makes for a lot of variety. Certain times of year it's even like the marine layer rolling in and out, that you see on the central and northern coast of CA. Always loved that.

If you're going to be renting a house for more than a few days, you'll want to stop into the Food Lion in Avon. Prices are normal there, not island prices. Gas up before you cross the bridge over the Alligator River if you're driving in via that route, or before the ferry if that route. Island prices are expensive.

It's a beautiful, wild place, outside the few towns and tourist areas. Nature is on full display, wind, water and blowing sand. I love it. If you're into shore birds at all, Pea Island has a reputation of being good for that sort of birding.

Have a great trip.

It’s on British Cemetery Road, Ocracoke Village on Ocracoke Island. A free regularly scheduled state-run ferry runs right there out of Hatteras. A little over 45 minutes all said. Watch the pedestrians, cyclists and golf carts on Ocracoke. It’s much more a walking and cycling place than a car place. Go slow driving through the village, especially high tourist season. They rent the bikes, are a little excited and not paying nearly enough attention to other vehicular traffic. Very pleasant place though, that aside.

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