AH-WR-1451

Adventure

Sloop · Unknown (pirate-operated) · Lost 1718 · The Outer Banks

The sloop that tried to rescue Blackbeard's grounded flagship and ran aground herself at Beaufort Inlet in June 1718.

Captain of Record

Harry Craig Holland

AHR-1862

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Adventure was one of the small sloops in Blackbeard's flotilla when the pirates attempted to enter Topsail (now Beaufort) Inlet, North Carolina, in early June 1718. When the larger Queen Anne's Revenge struck the bar and stuck fast, Adventure turned back to help her and grounded in turn a short distance away. Both vessels were abandoned to the surf, and Beaufort residents salvaged what they could over the following months. Blackbeard escaped in a smaller, previously captured Spanish sloop, later meeting his end that November at Ocracoke.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail, single mast, sloop rig
Owners: Commanded under Edward Thatch (Blackbeard); captain at loss reportedly Israel Hands or another of Blackbeard's officers

Loss

Date: June 10, 1718
Cause: Grounding
Location: Beaufort Inlet (then Topsail Inlet), near Beaufort, North Carolina
Water: Beaufort Inlet / Atlantic Ocean approach
Voyage: Charles Town, South Carolina (following Blackbeard's blockade there) → Topsail (Beaufort) Inlet, North Carolina, to careen the fleet
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: No deaths are documented in the grounding itself; crew and supplies were evacuated before the vessel broke up
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not definitively located; believed broken up and dispersed close to the Queen Anne's Revenge site
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Within the general area of the state-managed Queen Anne's Revenge shipwreck site off Beaufort Inlet

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Beaufort Inlet, Carteret County, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

Grounded near the Queen Anne's Revenge site (roughly 1.5 miles offshore) but no separately confirmed wreck position for Adventure has been published

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (62/100)

The wreck's precise remains have not been separately identified from the well-documented Queen Anne's Revenge site, and Adventure's own dimensions, origin, and final position are not established in the sources reviewed.

Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project (North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources)
Narrative of the grounding of Queen Anne's Revenge and Adventure at Topsail (Beaufort) Inlet in June 1718
North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, historical marker C-86
Confirmation that Adventure was one of the sloops accompanying Blackbeard's flotilla and grounded assisting the flagship
Ancient North Carolinians exhibit, University of North Carolina
Summary account of both vessels' loss and the discovery of the Queen Anne's Revenge site