AH-WR-1424

Fancy

Pirate Frigate · Unknown (pirate-operated) · Lost Traditionally said to have been stripped and scuttled or abandoned in Nassau harbor after 1696. · The Bahamas

A burned, treenail-fastened 18th-century wreck found in Nassau Harbour in 2025 that researchers believe may be Henry Avery's pirate frigate Fancy.

Captain of Record

Robert J. Murphy

AHR-1932

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents.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

The Fancy was the ship captained by Henry Every (Avery), the self-styled 'King of Pirates,' after his crew mutinied and seized her from the Spanish Expedition Shipping venture. In 1695 Fancy took part in the plunder of Mughal treasure ships in the Indian Ocean, one of the most lucrative pirate raids in history. Tradition holds that Avery's crew later stripped and abandoned the ship in Nassau harbor. In late 2025, a joint Bahamian-British archaeological expedition surveying Nassau Harbour located a burned, 18th-century wooden wreck of the right age, size, and construction, which they consider a strong but unconfirmed candidate for Fancy.

Vessel

Built: Not established
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Captain Henry Every (Avery) and crew

Loss

Date: Traditionally said to have been stripped and scuttled or abandoned in Nassau harbor after 1696.
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Nassau Harbour, New Providence, The Bahamas
Water: Nassau Harbour
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Henry Every (Avery)

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Candidate wreck site with burned, treenail-fastened hull remains consistent with an 18th-century vessel of the right age and construction
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Late 2025
Protection: Investigated under permit within Nassau Harbour; formal protective status not established in sources reviewed.

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position withheld to protect the site
Nearest: Nassau Harbour, New Providence, The Bahamas
Region: The Bahamas

Precise location has not been published by the research team.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Sparsely documented (35/100)

This identification is tentative; researchers have not definitively confirmed that the wreck is the Fancy, and its precise location has not been published.

National Geographic
Discovery narrative and tentative identification.
Smithsonian Magazine
Details on construction, condition, and the unconfirmed nature of the identification.
The Guardian
Expedition background and discovery context.