I recently spent one of the best weeks of my life in the sleepy coastal town of Beaufort North Carolina. My wife and I discovered Beaufort a few years ago when we stayed at the Pecan Tree Inn Bed and Breakfast for a weekend getaway. We quickly fell in love with the historic town. There is quite a bit to like here and a lot of fun to be had.

Restaurants and shops line front street which overlooks barrier islands protecting it from the fury of the Atlantic Ocean. There is as a boardwalk with multiple public and private docks and there are always gorgeous yachts and sailboats to drool over.



We took along 16 foot canoe with us on this trip and paddled from front street over to Carrot Island which is only about a 100-200 yard paddle. We even got lucky enough to see wild horses on the island no more than 75 yards away.

Black Beard the pirate was killed a little over a mile off the shores of Fort Macon which is strategically located just outside of the inlet to Beaufort. On this trip we found Hammock House which is the house Black Beard stayed at and is the oldest house in Beaufort dating all the way back to 1709!

Hammock House



The remnants of the Queen Anne’s Revenge lies a little over a mile offshore from where this pic was taken at Fort Macon.


If you are looking for a beautiful place to explore with your significant other that is steeped in history and incredibly beautiful I highly recommend Beaufort North Carolina.

Is it "bow fort or bee you fort". Always get the two mixed up. Great pictures.

It’s pronounced Bo-fort. Think “Bo” like Bojangles plus “fort”.

NO, it’s not. It’s a terrible place to visit.
Trust me, please and double please. There is nothing to see here, uhhh, I mean in Beaufort.

Beaufort, SC is supposed to be pretty spectacular too. I plan to find out soon.

Oh, that Bojangles breakfast biscuit is a thing to behold. Never visited the Carolinas. Would like to fix that someday.

NC's best kept secret has been revealed!

There are lots of sleepy little towns on the NC coast. New Bern is a beautiful place too.

Thanks for that, stickman!

I got a couple of days at Indian Beach earlier this summer. Wish I'd known about Beaufort then.

Stickman, there used to be a fishing pier on that little road to Ft. Macon that my grandfather and I would fish from many years ago. He said it was his favorite one. I wonder if it's still there or did one of the hurricanes destroy it.

quote:

Originally posted by fiasconva:
Stickman, there used to be a fishing pier on that little road to Ft. Macon that my grandfather and I would fish from many years ago. He said it was his favorite one. I wonder if it's still there or did one of the hurricanes destroy it.

fiasconva, I think you just might be in luck! I didn’t see a pier while at the public beach access near the fort but I do see a pier on satellite view of the area!

Is this the pier?




Some more pics.

Me & the boys paddling over to carrot island.





View of front street via carrot island.





I kept seeing a tiki hut motor along front street. It appears to be a mobile bar that goes around carrot island and up and down front street.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Black Beard the pirate was killed a little over a mile off the shores of Fort Macon which is strategically located just outside of the inlet to Beaufort.

I don't disagree with anything else you said, but this is historically incorrect. Blackbeard (it is one word) was killed off Ocracoke Island, which is not close to Fort Macon.

So the battle occurred off Ocracoke Island but the ship lies off Beaufort.

I remember the story of QAR running aground and that leading to Black Beards demise.

Did the ship run aground there after he was already dead from the battle of Ocracoke? Clearly I have some details incorrect and I don’t like to be factually incorrect.

quote:

Originally posted by rat2306:
NC's best kept secret has been revealed!

The Great Santini takes place in Beaufort.

The movie of the same name was filmed in the area, as was the movie The Big Chill

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
So the battle occurred off Ocracoke Island but the ship lies off Beaufort.

He used many ships, and is thought by some historians to have intentionally run aground near Beaufort Inlet for logistical reasons. That was not a battle, and he did not die there. That came later near Ocracoke in what today is know as Teach's Hole (from his real name).

Interesting!!! Thanks for setting me straight factually.

Have historians found any of Edward Teach’s other ships? (I am fascinated by history)

One of the best moments on this trip was when my son’s friend thanked us for taking him to Fort Macon and then said “this is the first fort I’ve ever been to…I have always wanted to see one in person”. He is a great kid and like me he LOVES to learn about history.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Have historians found any of Edward Teach’s other ships? (I am fascinated by history)

Not that I am aware of. He is believed to have served as a seaman on my Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Uncle William Barrow's ship the "Adventure" as a young man, and later he used that same name repeatedly for other ships that he seized. There is extensive folklore surrounding him, much of which may not be true.

quote:

Originally posted by nosticks:
Is it "bow fort or bee you fort". Always get the two mixed up.

I have been to both within the last year, and the SC version is also a beautiful place, well worth the visit.

I used to stationed at Ft. Macon (the Coast Guard base is right next door) then they changed the name to Sector NC, I retired in 2011 and was only back there this year for a wedding.

There’s a lot of nice little towns in NC.

Beaufort is also handy for diving (what’s left of) the German U-352.