Category Archives: pirates

A stretch called Down East

Tearing ourselves away from the beauty of Ocracoke was no small task. It did, however, involve one of our favourite activities of this coastline trip: a ferry ride.

It’s a two-hour ($15 USD) ferry ride across the waters of the Pamlico Sound to Cedar Island on the mainland of North Carolina. The area is better known to locals as Down East – a collection of 13 different maritime communities holding dear to the traditions of the seafaring life. Their past is a colourful history of whaling, fishing, hunting, quilting and the craft of decoy carving.

It’s the decoys that drew us to the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center (right next to the ferry that crosses to the uninhabited shores of Cape Lookout National Seashore). Craig tried his hand at chopping away at a piece of juniper (a wood called white cedar in the north) under the tutelage of an amused Walter “Brother” Gaskill, one of the country’s best decoy carvers.

downeastblog2 downeastblog4

Brother instructed Craig to just chop away anything that “doesn’t look like a duck.” Afterwards Brother pulls out cutting knives and files to try to repair the damage, all the while smiling as he tells us – in a thick Down East brogue – about a local group of carvers who work with the museum to revive the art of carving decoys.

downeastblog8 downeastblog10

The second level of the museum – a building designed to resemble a cross between a large hunting lodge and a coastal life saving station – is like rummaging through your grandmother’s attic. Displays for each Down East community are filled with duck decoys, handmade quilts, black and white photos and household items.

From the top level there is a viewing platform with a great view of the Cape Lookout lighthouse, the only light station in North Carolina that stays lit night and day.

We found more maritime history (and, of course, more on Blackbeard) in the beautiful village of Beaufort (population: 4,000) at the North Carolina Maritime Museum. The region’s proud history of life saving stations, fishing, boatbuilding and piracy (okay, maybe proud is not the right word on that last one) is explained in detail.

But it was on two wheels that we really discovered the beauty of Beaufort (and it is very beautiful). We pedalled beach bikes from Hungry Town Bike Tours, a local bike tour company run by Betsy and David Cartier, two transplants from the northeast.

downeastblog9 downeastblog5

David gave us a snapshot of Beaufort: “OPALs. Older people, active lifestyle.”

Think a garden club with 160 active members. Wide, quiet streets that are perfect for biking or walking. Gorgeous homes that range from cottages to mansions. A stone’s throw across the harbour is the Rachel Carson Reserve and the historic Fort Macon, a well-preserved Civil War era fort. There are no chain stores in sight.

David has a theory on this. “Beaufort has stayed isolated, so it’s kept its charm. These houses were built by shipbuilders, so they can withstand the storms. You’ll see a lot of homes with two porches – one up and one down – it’s a West Indian style imported by the sailors.”

downeastblog1

Indeed, Beaufort is made for those with a curiosity about history, food and culture and enough zip to pedal around town (easy pedalling along a very flat landscape and very light traffic on the side streets).

And about that “food” part … After pedalling and sightseeing all day we were primed for finding another seafood meal and, as it turns out, we ate dockside at the Front Street Grill at Stillwater, enjoying meals that were among the best of our trip to date.

The amazing Shrimp & Grits were made with stone ground cheese grits (flavoured with heavy cream and a sharp Vermont cheddar), sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and tasso (a gravy made from a base of ham drippings). Craig opted for the same-day catch of yellowfin tuna (cooked rare) in soft wheat tortillas and served with sides of black beans, rice and fried plantains. The restaurant has indoor seating, outdoor seating on the deck (dog-friendly) and a great view of the sunset.

downeastblog7

It was a perfect way to end a perfect day!

More Ocracoke: Blackbeard has a bad day

Almost anywhere you go on the Atlantic coast of South Carolina, the spectre of Blackbeard looms. Just the name evokes mystery, danger and terror — much more than does “Edward Teach,” his real name. Who could be terrified of Edward? Though only active for a couple of years, he cut a swath down this seashore that resonates in story and legend to this day.

What’s the big deal? You have to see the coastline and contemplate the enormous number of wrecks to understand why piracy was so appealing to those who engaged in it. The larger ships lay lower in the water – their captains did not know the perilous shoals as thoroughly as the lighter, higher riding, pirates. So it was easy pickings for those willing to risk an encounter with the British Navy.

In one consequential encounter of November 22, 1718, Blackbeard tricked a British Navy lieutenant named Robert Maynard into chasing him across shallow water with sixty men in two boats, which Maynard promptly ran aground. That gave Blackbeard, with only 18 men on his sloop, the opportunity to train his guns on Maynard and, in one broadside, kill or wound half of Maynard’s crew. As far as the locals on Ocracoke know, Blackbeard had never killed anyone before that encounter, though he captured something like 40 ships in less than two years of piracy.

But that November day did not end happily, as it turns out, for Edward “Blackbeard” Teach because Maynard – though outgunned and out-foxed in the shallow waters of the Outer Banks – managed to lure Blackbeard’s crew onto one of his disabled sloops where he had secreted 20 men below decks with muskets and swords. Blackbeard’s boarding party was overwhelmed and Blackbeard himself suffered no less than five bullet and 20 sword wounds according to the official report of his death. To seal the deal, Maynard beheaded Blackbeard.

Legend has it that the headless body of Blackbeard – dead in his late 30s – swam seven times around lieutenant Maynard’s ship. But the locals doubt he could have managed more than two. In any event, Maynard carried the head back to the mouth of the Hampton River where he posted it as a warning to others contemplating a life of piracy.

Local schooner captain Rob Temple is an expert on Blackbeard and has been part of a History channel series as well as contributed to a National Geographic series on pirates.

Ocracoke7

Words on the page

Our stories and articles appear in Canadian magazines and online.

Spring and fall, we load the van – with everything from guitars to laptops – toss in a thick bundle of maps, several notebooks and roll down the road. We meet great people, gather wonderful story material and then write, write, write. Browse the links to some of our pieces in print:

BIG TRIP #1: ROOTS OF AMERICAN MUSIC: 9,000 km through the Southeast U.S.

Music Trails of the American Southeast1

BIG TRIP #2: TUNES, RUINS & STARS: 13,000 km across the American Southwest

American Southwest

BIG TRIP #3: HUGGING THE ATLANTIC COASTLINE; MUSIC INLAND: 7,064 km

Google Maps Big Trip #3 PDF-page-001

BIG TRIP #4: ROCK & ROLL: 10,950 km exploring western U.S. National Parks

 MISCELLANEOUS