Raising of Queen Anne's Revenge's Anchor

On Friday May, 27th, I was honored with the opportunity to represent the Governor's Eastern Office for a special moment in history.  This is this blog post I wrote for the Governor's webpage...

In 1718, the Queen Anne’s Revenge, ship of Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, ran aground on a sandbar near Beaufort Inlet.  On Friday, May 27, 2011, the anchor of that same ship was raised from the sea floor, entering the North Carolina sun for the first time in nearly 300 years. 

The anchor broke the surface of the Atlantic Ocean a little after eleven o’clock on Friday morning.  On the scene were two ships from the Queen Anne’s Revenge Project.   One of these boats had onboard a team of divers that were responsible for first moving the anchor out of the ship wreckage, and then raising  the one ton object twenty feet to the surface with the aid of inflatables.  Having done so, divers ran a line connected from the anchor to a larger ship which was then able to hoist the anchor onto its deck.  Looking on from two boats were invited guests from pertinent North Carolina museums and agencies, as well media personnel.

The raising of the Queen Anne’s anchor is one of the high points in the midst of the larger Queen Anne’s Revenge (QAR) project.  The QAR Project is a coordinated undertaking involving a number of individuals, organizations and institutions under the overall management of the Division of Archives and History's Office of State Archaeology.  The wreck was first discovered in 1996, and state planners hope to have the whole wreck brought to the surface by 2013.

For more information regarding the Queen Anne’s Revenge Project, please visit its website at http://www.qaronline.org/. 

Introductions first

I reckon to start a blog, I ought to first introduce myself.  My name is Will.  I was born William Edward Wooten III on June 16, 1990 at the Rex Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina to parents William (Eddie) Edward Wooten II originally of Farmville, North Carolina and Valerie Laverne Layell Wooten of Elkin, North Carolina.  19 months after I was born, my brother, Joseph (Joe) Ray Wooten, came along.  My mom and dad both graduated from the University of North Carolina.  Dad is the sports editor at the Greensboro News & Record and Mom is a school teacher with Guilford County Public Schools.  Joe has recently completed his first year of study at UNC's School of the Arts playing classical guitar.

My grandparents on my dad's side are William (Bud) Edward Wooten and Barbara Paramore Wooten, both of Farmville, North Carolina.  On the maternal side I come from Joe Cleveland Layell and Edith Ray Layell, both of Pleasant Ridge, North Carolina.  Also within the family is my aunt Cynthia Layell Hartis of Elkin, NC, and her daughter, Anna Elizabeth Hartis; as well as my uncle Alan Wooten of Farmville, NC.

I myself have lived in several North Carolina locales, including Apex, Cary, Greensboro, and Chapel Hill.  Growing up, I bounced around elementary schools, attending three each for two years (Cary Academy in Cary, Claxton and Sternberger in Greensboro).  I went to middle school at Kiser (Greensboro) and earned my diploma from Greensboro Grimsley Senior High School in 2009.  I have just finished my second year of study at the University of North Carolina.  I am double-majoring in Peace, War, and Defense and Political Science, with a minor in History.

I've been born and raised in a great Baptist family.  I've attended FBC-Cary, Greenwood Forest (Cary), FBC-Greensboro, and University Baptist (Chapel Hill).  I have worked as a ministry intern at the latter two.  On a humid August day in 2007, I was saved and baptized in the muddy water of a lake in Brown's Summit, North Carolina.

Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to get some stuff said about who I am.  I promise that the posts will be more interesting after this initial one.  Happy Memorial Day!  From the lyrics of James Otto, only "God knows where we'd be without soldiers and Jesus."  Ain't it the truth?

Take care,
Will