The Mermaid Times

Some ships vanish quietly into history. The SS Valencia did not. She entered legend through wind, rain, and black Pacific surf, earning her place among the most haunting stories from the stretch of water known as the Graveyard of the Pacific.

In the spring of 1717, the Atlantic swallowed one of the richest pirate ships ever to sail its waters.

The reef appeared first as a pale scar beneath the moonlit water. The Batavia tore herself open against the coral in the dark.

Nuestra Señora de Atocha left Havana carrying so much gold and silver that it took three days to load. The fleet was already behind schedule — hurricane season was well underway, and the captains knew it.

Last time, we told the story of Edward Teach — the fearsome pirate known as Blackbeard. But every legend needs a stage, and Blackbeard had one of the most dramatic of all: a 40-gun warship called the Queen Anne's Revenge. This is her story...

There are accounts of her firing into the hold at the men hiding below, saying: “Get up here and fight, or I’ll kill you myself.” 

"I am sorry to see you here, but if you had fought like a man, you need not have been hang'd like a dog."

As historian Anne Chambers wrote: "She commanded loyalty because she was braver than the men."

The Spanish were so terrified of her, they named her after their worst nightmare.