Last Days In Beaufort

Beaufort has been such a nice place to stay. The town is fairly small but it invests in making the sailing community comfortable. The people here are completely hospitable and so kind. Planters full of flowers bring the boardwalk to life with color and beauty and every night you can find some place that has live music.

Wednesday was spent working on the boat for most of the day.  Matt made delicious shrimp tacos for lunch along with fresh fish sandwiches that he made with the trout he had caught while I was stranded on Carrot Island. That night we went to our new friend, Antonio’s, where we met a guy named George. George has circumnavigated the globe a couple times and done surfing charters in the South Pacific but the craziest thing about him was that he had graduated from the same high school that I went to!  It’s amazing how small the world really is!

Blackened Shrimp Tacos

Sunset on the Boardwalk

Matt and I went out fishing with Tyler and Antonio on Thursday. We went out in Tyler’s flatboat and made our way around the waterways and headed to some local fishing spots. Near the port, I kept seeing a large yellow object going up and down in the water. I finally realized that it was a giant sea turtle just popping his head up to get some air! I tried in vain to get a picture of him but he went back under the water right as I zoomed in to get his picture.  He must have been shy about getting his picture taken!

My disappointment in not getting the sea turtle’s picture was soon forgotten when I threw my bait out and started feeling a bite. It didn’t take long before I caught the first fish of the day! A black sea bass…he was too small to keep but I was proud to beat the boys at getting the first catch of the day!

Bait

Catch of the Day: Black Sea Bass

Later on that afternoon, we headed into town to see if Jeb, the dockmaster at the city marina, was working. We had met Jeb in January 2011 in Eleuthera, Bahamas and we remembered that he spent his winters in Eleuthera and his summers working as the dockmaster in Beaufort. Sure enough, Jeb was in the office and we spent almost an hour catching up with him on what was happening in Eleuthera and hearing more about things to do around Beaufort.

On Friday, Matt and I ventured to the Maritime Museum. We had a great time looking at all the remnants and treasures from the Queen Anne’s Revenge shipwreck, a ship that was was recovered in the Outer Banks but is also said to be the pirate, Blackbeard’s old ship. Along with the exhibition on Queen Anne’s Revenge,  the museum also had a maritime library full of rows upon rows of books on sea life and boats, fossils of different sea animals and pictures of the old lighthouse keepers. It’s always interesting to learn some history about a place because it helps you to understand a place better.

The Beaufort Maritime Museum

After visiting the Maritime Museum, we walked around town one last time and enjoyed the blue skies and sunshine of the afternoon. We dinghied back to the boat and started getting the boat ready for an early departure on Saturday morning. Beaufort’s been fun but it’s time to move on!

Last Days In Beaufort