WEST YARMOUTH – A new attraction in West Yarmouth is expected to open just in time for the summer tourist season.
The old ZooQuarium is being renovated to become the new Whydah Pirate Museum.
“It’s a major undertaking,” said Barry Clifford, the explorer who discovered the sunken ship off the coast of Wellfleet in 1984. “We’re renovating the entire building and we are progressing.”
The Whydah sank in April of 1717 after robbing 54 other ships.
Clifford said the museum is expected to open sometime in June.
“Anybody who has ever dreamt of finding pirate treasure or seeing pirate the only place in the world you can actually see pirate treasure will be here in Yarmouth,” he said.
Clifford said the ship was originally a slave ship and was manned by a crew of outlaws, including former slaves and Native Americans.
The exhibit, which now has a permanent home, has been traveling across the country over the last seven or eight years.
“It’s a major attraction and it has been at a lot of most important science centers and museums across the country.”
Some of the institutions that have shown the exhibit include the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Clifford purchased the Yarmouth property for $890,000.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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