JoanandtheBoys: North Carolina

The coast of North Carolina is interesting, both its history and its geography. The history of course ranges from indigenous times to pre Revolutionary war, Revolutionary War, the Civil war, WW1 and even as late as WWII. The geography very much influenced that history and still influences development today.

North Carolina's low islands, marshes, shoals and sounds proved conducive to privateering, pirating and later bootlegging. Before foreign countries and the US had adequate navies, authorization would be given to privateers (mercenaries) to capture enemy ships and take cargo, which would then be divided between the authorizing country and the privateers. It was not hard for that to transition to pirating, where no sharing of the seizure was required. During the early 1700's Blackbeard, among many others, used the geography and local knowledge to terrorize commercial shipping off the coast and at entrances to towns such as New Bern and Beaufort. After evading capture for years, when he was finally caught, his head was severed and hung triumphantly from the naval vessel's bowsprit. No lengthy death penalty appeals for that one. While the NC governor was complicit in his activities, the blame for allowing such plunder and sharing in it was easily shifted to a subordinate. Nothing changes.

Blackbeard gets his due

It is interesting that while NC was the biggest bootlegging operation in the US, NC banned alcohol 12 years before prohibition and waited to lift the ban for 3 years after its repeal.

The coastline is lined with long, narrow and low barrier islands which are known as the Outer Banks (OBX) in the northern part of the state. On the eastern side of the islands is the Atlantic Ocean, to the west are wetlands and sound. I think everyone within 100 miles of the coast has a boat and many have devices on the front of their trucks to hold poles and ice chests. Some fish are caught in the tranquil sounds and others require going out to the Atlantic. In all of the Carolinas we never had their famous BBQ but took advantage of seafood at every opportunity.

Outer Banks of North Carolina

On southern end of the coast we stayed close to the wonderful old town of Beaufort, which is pronounced bowfort, unlike its SC cousin which is pronounced buufort. They are different in feel but share the wonderful old homes and commercial buildings. Some homes date to the early 1700's and many are from the 1800's. They are generally well maintained and feature plaques displaying the name of the original owner and date.

This house was restored by the lady in the next picture

She restored the lovely house that is now for sale as it is too large for her and her dog

Across from Beaufort is a barrier island, mostly housing development but a gem we almost missed is the best preserved fort yet, Fort Macon. The fort was taken from the Union and briefly held by Confederates but recovered and held by the Union for the duration of the war.

Much to our delight our visit coincided with a wooden boat show in Beaufort. The area has a wonderful Maritime museum as well as a shop for making/restoring wooden boats. Not as extensive as Fort Townsend in WA but fun nevertheless.

This man is making and demonstrating building the model below

A classic wooden boat

Beaufort Wooden Boat Building Center

Inland from Beaufort is the town of New Bern with endless lovely homes, churches and commercial buildings. New Bern was a major boat building area until modern boat building techniques moved production elsewhere though they are still making Hatteras boats. It is also known as the home of Pepsi.

Original "Pepsi" Pharmacy

Max and the Big Dog looking across at New Bern

Having heard about the Outer Banks (OBX) for years, I was eager to visit. The OBX run about 100 miles from north to south and the islands are linked by bridges and ferries. The northern area, close to Virginia has become a vacation tourist mecca with the usual endless tee shirt and surf shops, restaurants and pretty much unbridled development. I made the mistake of booking our campground in that part of the OBX but it was handy when we had a "Check Engine" light and had to make a 150 mile round trip to the Subaru dealer in VA. It also afforded a chance to see the Wright Brothers Memorial and Museum. What an amazing pair those two were. From studying aerodynamics to literally building their own engine, they succeeded in the first flight.

Orville and Wilbur Wright

Wright Brothers Memorial on the hill where they initially flew gliders

Life size stainless steel replica of the first plane flown by the Wright Brothers

Reproduction of the actual Wright Brothers Plane

A favorite thing to do on the OBX is kite flying and I could not resist buying Maddie and Eleanor "starter kites."

We decided to head to the Southern part of the OBX and found a beautiful, primitive campground and explored all the way south to Cape Hatteras. This area is much less populated with miles of preserves. There we saw the iconic light houses, a historic life saving museum and happened upon a once a year ceremony honoring the 4 English sailors who perished when their vessel sank in WWll.

One of Several Iconic Lighthouses on the OBX

Going Out to Save Lives

The Lifesaving Service was founded in 1871 and originally part of the Treasury Department but later part of the Coast Guard. The saying that you have to go out but you do not have to return remains a tenet of the Coast Guard to this day. One of the many stories of life saving valor was featured at the Chicamacomico Station we visited.

"The Mirlo rescue, conducted by the Chicamacomico Coast Guard Station (originally part of the U.S. Lifesaving Service) on 16 Aug. 1918, is considered one of the most dramatic operations in U.S. Coast Guard history. The British tanker Mirlo, a 6,679-ton vessel with a crew of 52, was transporting a full load of gasoline from New Orleans to Norfolk when it struck a German mine off of Wimble Shoals early in the afternoon. The initial explosion rendered its engine room and wireless inoperative, and a second blast set the cargo of gasoline ablaze. With no hope of saving the vessel, the captain and crew boarded the Mirlo's three lifeboats. The first capsized, throwing its 16 passengers into the sea. Only 6 of the men clinging to the overturned lifeboat survived a third explosion, which split the Mirlo in two and set the sea on fire with burning gasoline. The second lifeboat, with 19 men on board including the first mate, drifted aimlessly in the sea of fire. The third, carrying the captain and 16 crewmen, soon cleared the mass of flames and headed toward shore.

From the Chicamacomico Coast Guard Station, Capt. John Allen Midgett, with a handpicked crew of 6 surfmen, launched his power surfboat. The men passed the captain's lifeboat on its way to shore and proceeded toward the cloud of black smoke masking the scene of the disaster. Midgett and his crew, cutting the motor and relying on oars, were soon able to maneuver to the overturned lifeboat and haul the 6 seamen aboard the Coast Guard craft. Even as one of his own crewmen collapsed from exhaustion and exposure to the intense heat, Midgett, using motor power again, began searching for the mate's lifeboat, whose crew was both bailing water and beating at flames on the boat. Just before dusk the Coast Guardsmen sighted the lifeboat, put a line on board, and towed the boat and its 19 survivors toward Chicamacomico and safety. Releasing the mate's craft, Midgett left it and the captain's boat offshore while he off-loaded the 6 survivors he rescued first onto the beach. He then returned twice in the darkness until all 42 survivors were safely ashore.

For their exceptional bravery, each member of the Coast Guard crew was awarded a Gold Lifesaving Medal from the United States and a Victory Medal from the British government."

As we traveled the The Outer Banks (OBX) we saw the Midgett name on many streets and buildings.

The boat used for the Mirlo rescue of 42 Seamen in 1918

Original Lifesaving Equipment

Seeing a large influx of uniformed people at the maritime museum in Cape Hatteras, we learned that every year on May 12, the anniversary of the sinking of the HMS Bedfordshire, the US Coast Guard, the British Royal Navy and the National Park Service gather to honor the victims. The vessel was one of 23 trawlers loaned to the US with experienced British crews to help in submarine patrol off the NC coastline. The US was so ill prepared to protect the coastline that in March of 1942 experienced an average loss of one ship a day due to German U-Boats. German subs sunk so many ships in WWll that they called the coast Torpedo Alley. There were no survivors and the 4 bodies washed ashore are buried on the OBX on soil deeded to the British in perpetuity.