Cornwall Pirate Wreck Found!

[Thagarr]

I just ran across this story over at the Daily Mail online, they have had some rather great pirate articles over the past could of years, and this one is no exception! Appearently a treasure hunter and diver, Todd Stevens, believes he has found a 17'th century pirate ship that went down off the coast of Cornwall in the mid 1600's. This particular vessel was under the command of a pirate called John Mucknell, referred to in the article as Pirate King. I don't believe I have ever heard the name before myself. He was once a commander in the English East India Company, but later turned pirate and operated from the Isles of Scilly off the Cornwall coast during the English Civil War.

A ship found off the coast of Cornwall could be a pirate vessel that sank more than 350 years ago.
Shipwreck hunter Todd Stevens believes the 80ft craft belonged to legendary privateer John Mucknell, known as the Pirate King of Scilly.
The notorious outlaw, once a commander in the East India Company, terrorised the seas off the Cornish coast in the mid-1600s.

He ran aground his ship, The John, in 1645, after it was damaged in a battle with sailors sent by Charles I. Since then, its exact location has remained a mystery.

Mr Stevens, a diver from the Isles of Scilly, has explored the wreck extensively and found several artefacts linking it to the period. English Heritage is investigating to confirm whether the ship is The John.
Mr Stevens said the story of The John and its colourful captain read like the script of a Hollywood blockbuster.
‘It’s like a movie - John Mucknell wasn’t even 50 when he died, but he lived an amazing life, any part of which would make a great film, but looked at together is almost unreal,’ he said.

You can read the full Daily Mail story HERE! I wasn't able to find anything about him on Wikipedia, but I was able to track down a bit more information on this story over at TreasureWorks.

Born in 1608, he rose to the rank of ship's commander under the East India Tea Company, a powerful firm plying lucrative trade routes.

But by 1643, Capt. Mucknell was unhappy with the prevailing Puritan wind that was blowing through England – and after he had set sail on the John – the firm's prized new 44-gun frigate – he turned privateer.

After a series of high-profile skirmishes, Capt. Mucknell, a fierce Royalist during the civil war then raging, fled to the safety of the Isles of Scilly.

"There was already a rag tag bunch of pirates at Scilly, but Mucknell and his huge ship, the John, became the flagship, and all the pirates rallied under his banner," said Mr. Stevens.

You can read that informative post over on their forums HERE!