Beaufort ("Bow-fert") Homecoming

Part of our goal for taking off and cruising was to get back to places that have been important to us, to explore places that we've known in other contexts, and to reconnect with friends who we haven't seen in a long time.  These are exactly the things we've been doing since June, and the experience has exceeded our expectations.

On our way north in early summer, we stopped in on some of our old haunts, first and foremost was Beaufort, NC.  We lived there for 6 years, and moved away exactly 20 years ago.  Damon did his Ph.D. at the Duke University Marine Laboratory (DUML) and Janet taught math & science at the Tiller School, a fabulous school that was located less than a half-mile from our front door.  Beaufort was a small, sleepy town back then, and was the gateway to the southern Outer Banks and to "Downeast" North Carolina.  Locals jokingly described it as "A drinking village with a fishing habit."  We had just gotten married before moving to Beaufort and had lived previously on Cape Cod and in the Boston area (AKA, The Hub of the Universe).  To say that we weren't thrilled to be moving to rural eastern North Carolina is an understatement.  At the beginning, we looked at it as a temporary prison sentence.  Our mindset was that if we kept our noses to the grindstone, we'd be rewarded by an opportunity to move somewhere desirable.  As it turned out, we quickly fell in love with Beaufort and the people there.  The day that we moved away to pursue the next phase of our careers was one of the saddest in our lives.

Back in our day, DUML didn't have such fancy research vessels.

In Beaufort, we both had fantastic professional lives and lots of good friends, and it was boater's paradise.  It was the friendliest place we've ever lived, with a real sense of community.  Once, we had friends visiting from "away."  Janet took them for a walk along Front St., the main road along Beaufort's waterfront.  Because so many people on the street knew Janet and stopped to say hello, our friends jokingly asked her if she was the town mayor.  That's just the kind of place it was.  Even the hurricanes, which were more than an occasional nuisance, brought the community together.   

The North Carolina Maritime Museum is a gem of a place.

The other great thing about Beaufort was that it was mostly undiscovered by the outside world.  The type of place where a graduate student and first-year teacher could afford to buy a decent house.  For better or worse, Beaufort's secret has gotten out.  It had been about about a decade since our last visit and a lot has changed.  This summer, as we crossed Beaufort Inlet and pointed Fulmar's bow up Taylor's Creek, it was a bit disorienting to see highrise condominiums on Radio Island and the new bridge over Gallant's Channel.  And the boat traffic was insane!  But, as soon as we got to the dock, we started to see some familiar sights.  We recognized our friend, Keith's, small research vessel.  Embarrassingly, it took us a couple of minutes to realize that the guy on Keith's boat was Keith himself.  But we were soon exchanging hellos and talking about old times and all the changes that have happened around town.  A short while later, we were walking into town when we saw another friend, Tim, in his driveway.  He immediately invited us to have a beer (or two).  Over the next week we spent a lot of time with friends.  It felt so much like home, it was as if we had never moved away. 

The Beaufort Farmers' Market.

The week that we were in Beaufort was particularly busy in terms of tourism and boat traffic.  Our visit coincided with The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament, one of the richest fishing tournaments in the world.  This year marked the 65th annual edition of the tournament, which had 271 boats competing for $5.8 million in cash prizes.  The boat that landed this year's grand prize-prize-winning fish, a 484-lb blue marlin, took home $2.8 million.  That's a lot of money, but the rumors are that the informal side bets dwarf the official jackpot.  Many of the sportfishing yachts competing in this tournament are worth somewhere in the range of $5-10 million.  This is not a commoner's sport.  To give you some idea of the wealth involved here, one of the Big Rock's most famous entrants in recent years is basketball legend and billionaire Michael Jordan who fishes from his 84-foot Viking motor yacht, Catch 23.  

One of the newest institutions in Beaufort, the Bonehenge Whale Center, a working research museum.

Some of the specimens and lab space at Bonehenge.

A bottlenose dolphin skeleton in the loft at Bonehenge, the ultimate Halloween decoration. 

As a graduate student 25 years ago, Damon conducted research on the fish landed in this tournament (mahi mahi, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, and blue marlin), which resulted in a couple of peer-reviewed papers and a trip to the hospital.  (There was a joke among the grad students at the Duke Marine Lab that you were only eligible to defend your dissertation after having 3 work-related trips to the emergency room.  Being the serious student that he was, Damon took this literally.)  Having experienced The Big Rock before, we knew that all of the marinas and anchorages would be full.  But we also knew that the North Carolina Maritime Museum has a dock at their annex on Gallant's Channel that they sometimes make available to transient boaters.  We figured it was a longshot but Janet called to inquire about dockage, and was surprised to find out that they had space for us.  What luck!  And it was quite a bargain, in a cool location.  

No trip to Beaufort is complete without a stop at the Royal James.  The James Burger tastes as good as ever (served "all the way," of course).

We played many games of pool on these tables over the years.  Despite Tim's patient tutelage, we never became pool sharks.  Sadly the old jukebox is gone.

In addition, to spending time with friends and visiting many of the places where we used to spend a lot of our time (both on the water and around town), we were able to do some boat chores.  We changed engine fluids and filters and replaced our high-capacity alternator.  Our engine has 2 alternators, which charge separate banks of batteries.  Both alternators were about 20 years old and we replaced one in Florida after it failed spectacularly.  The second alternator is less critical, so when it showed signs of trouble, we simply disconnected it and were able to deal with it at our convenience.  

Besides Beaufort, we spent a couple of weeks in the area where Damon conducted his field research for his Ph.D., the Neuse River estuary. We visited South River, Oriental, and New Bern.  We also made stops in Hobucken, Bath, Washington, and Ocracoke.  The Rivers and Sounds of North Carolina offer some of the best cruising grounds on the East Coast, in our opinion.  Endless natural beauty, lots of sheltered anchorages, and quaint, picturesque, welcoming towns.  But while cruising North Carolina in summer, you always have to keep an eye on the weather.  While we were in Ocracoke, the National Hurricane Center issued advisories on three potential tropical cyclones.  As comfortable as it was to be back "home," we knew this was our cue to get moving north.    

The cemetary in the abandoned town of Lukens, NC, on the banks of the South River.

The town of Oriental obviously knows how to have a good time.  Sadly, we missed the Croaker Festival.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Atlantic croaker, it is the noblest of all fishes. 

Our favorite marine supply store on the entire East Coast.  They do a fantastic job of catering to the needs of long-distance cruisers.  Not only do they have all the spare parts that you may need, but they also have a fine selection of boxed wine!  Now that's knowing your clientele. 

The cool thing about the tiny harbor at Oriental is that you find local boats, transient cruisers, and commercial fishing boats right next to each other.  (Ken & Kathy, this one's for you.)

Fulmar at the city docks in Washington, NC (aka "Little Washington).  Fulmar is sandwiched between the large sport fishing boat and the catamaran. 

Loki basking in the evening sun at Silver Lake, Ocracoke Island.

Loki admiring Janet's birthday cake, at Belhaven, NC.

Now that it is mid-October, we are making our way back south, toward Beaufort for another visit.  After all, there's no place like home.