Tours can be taken to Fort Macon and the Outer Banks from the Front Street docks.
Friday, 14 April
In port in Beaufort , NC
Today is Good Friday. Jean decided to layover an extra day in this lovely Colonial town, delaying our cruise to Dowry Creek (a recommended alternative to Belhaven). High winds pushing the water in shallow Pamlico Sound was the deciding factor. We walked Front Street , taking in the shops and checking out menus posted outside each restaurant.
We had noticed pirate flags flown by many boats in the marina. The town celebrates its connection to Blackbeard with an annual spring festival. In a British crackdown on piracy, Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge , was sunk in 1718 and Blackbeard was captured off the shore of Beaufort . As a warning to other pirates, he was beheaded and his head was hung from the bowsprit of his captors' ship. Queen Anne's Revenge was discovered a decade ago in the shoals of Beaufort Inlet. We visited the North Carolina Maritime Museum where artifacts from the ship are exhibited.
We came upon another interesting feature of this town nestled to the north of Shackleford Banks, one of the barrier islands that comprise Cape Lookout National Seashore on the southern end of the Outer Banks: The Shackleford Banks Wild Horses. They are considered a unique historic and cultural legacy. Scientific research and blood typing has confirmed that these wild horses descended from a core group of Spanish horses from 400 years ago. One genetic variant, Q-ac, is a very old marker, easily lost through genetic drift. Q-ac has been passed to descendants of Spanish horses, and has been documented through blood typing in the Puerto Rican Paso Finos, in the isolated Prior Mountain Mustangs of the Montana high country, and in the Shackleford Banks wild horses.
The horses we could see from our slip on Front Street are on Carrot Island (Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve), a manmade island that blocks the view to Shackleford Banks. The horses on Carrot Island , unrelated to the Shackleford Banks wild horses, were released by farmers over 40 years ago and are now owned and cared for by the state.
Two notable bird sightings were a Black Crown Night Heron and Brown Thrasher.
Saturday, 15 April
In port in Beaufort , SC
Through the night the wind whistled and rocked the boat. Water slapped noisily against the hull. It was no surprise when we emerged from our berths at about 0600 that Jean had again decided to delay departure plans, confirming the decision after listening to Wx radio and calling the National Weather Service. It would still be too blustery and wind-whipped for crossing Pamlico Sound . That meant skipping Dowry Creek and making a 130-mile run to the Alligator River Marina, making up a day to arrive in Norfolk on 17 April. Weather was predicted to settle down later Saturday; we were counting on seas of one foot to favor us on Sunday.
We decided to take advantage of another beautiful day in the mid-70s and boarded an old English double-decker bus for a narrated tour through town. While we waited outside the Beaufort Historical Site, from the open topside deck we had a great view of the colorful children's Easter egg hunt on the green. The youngsters were adorable in their Easter outfits and carried all forms of bright baskets and buckets filled with the spoils of the hunt.
Underway, the gears ground and the old bus lurched its way around tight corners. It was close quarters for maneuvering. Skirting the Old Burying Ground, we heard the tale of a captain whose young daughter had died while on a voyage with her father. He could not bring himself to bury her at sea. He placed her body in a keg of rum. When the ship returned to port, she was not removed from the rum keg for burial. Seashells adorn her crypt.
Maharani also had been in port over the weekend. They were waiting for electrical parts to be delivered on Monday. John and Sharon Sarle invited us for happy hour aboard their 40-foot Mainship cruiser. They are the couple we met along the way from Brick, NJ who are members of the Barnegut Bay Sail & Power Squadron and who, it was discovered, Jean knew while at Prudential. It was a good time swapping cruising information and stories.
That night we finished watching the DVD Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey. It was our third installment because we either had a schedule to keep or would fall asleep. Savannah scenes and Bonaventure Cemetery took us back to our visit.
Before we leave Beaufort , NC we need to share with all of you a very funny dog-related story. The owner of the Marina has a Jack Russell Terrier named Katie. She's quite a feisty dog and full of energy and, of course, a little crazy. On command from her owner to ‘get a squirrel', she runs over to the nearest tree and starts to jump up and down. Then with just a little help from her owner, Katie gets into the tree and waits for her prey. She stays there for hours, never catching a squirrel, but giving her owner a much needed rest!!!!! 
Easter Sunday, 16 April
Beaufort , NC to Coinjock , NC
The temperature was 64° at 0530 and almost dead calm in Beaufort Inlet. We were underway at 0620 with a revised itinerary. We would bypass Dowry Creek in favor of Alligator Creek Marina. Winds were predicted for 5-10 out of the north with one-foot seas.
It was a good decision to layover. The water was glassy after windy days of 15-20 mph. The eastern sky was coloring up. Easter sunrise was brilliant; and a waning gibbous moon reflected on the water. |
