Nat Geo: What was your greatest challenge in this project and how did you overcome it?

Charles: The biggest challenge was working with the Dominican government to obtain a permit for protection of the site as a Marine Protected Area, rather than reissue of the treasure salvage permit that recently expired for the discovery of the site.

Nat Geo: Why do you want people to know about this expedition? What do you hope they will learn?

Charles: Captain Kidd is perhaps the best documented of all the "pirates" owing to his trial and subsequent hanging. However, he was really a privateer who was executed without proper legal representation. I hope this expedition will shed light on the Golden Age of Piracy while making us think about today's international issues and how our resolutions might be viewed 300 years later.

Nat Geo: What is your idea of high adventure?

Charles: The physical pursuit of archaeological information in remote areas, often in extreme environments that require constant attention to your personal safety and consideration for protection of the resource.

Nat Geo: Tell me what makes a great expedition.

Charles: A great expedition is driven by the potential for discovery of new information that sheds light on times and places little understood, or misinterpreted over the ages.

Nat Geo: What is your advice to young explorers?

Charles: My advice to young explorers is to pay attention to details for the safety of your team and protection of the resource. Whatever your quest, it has remained undiscovered for perhaps centuries and can always wait until another day. Think about what others are going to say about your work in contemporary times as well as a hundred years after your publications. Be sure what you are doing is the correct by today's and future standards.