Page 8 - 208872_June19T_FLIP2

Great Getaways:
Beaufort, North Carolina by Grant Boyd
PHOTOS COURTESY OF RICHARD SHAPERO & ROBERT COLES
Located in the southern Outer Banks region of North Carolina, Beaufort is a quaint coastal town with around 4,000 residents and storied 310-year history. Originally called “Fishtown,” the town is the third oldest in the state, established
in 1709 and incorporated in 1723.
Today, visitors enjoy historical sites, fishing and quiet beaches. Southern Living
recently named Beaufort the 2019 “South’s Best Small Town” and Travel + Leisure called it “America’s Favorite Town” in 2017.
Activities and Amenities
An integral aspect of Beaufort is its history. During its first settlement in the 1600s, the town’s visitors built a variety of Bahamian and West-Indian styled homes and buildings, many of which still stand today. The local Beaufort Historic Site exists to teach visitors and residents alike about the town’s rich history and offers several tours.
One of which is the “Historic Buildings” tour, which encompasses a variety of build- ing styles from a circa 1778 cottage to a mid-1800s doctor’s office, to a mansion built in 1825. The Historic Site also offers a tour from atop a double-decker bus, one that “tells tales of Beaufort’s rich past of pirates, star-crossed lovers and Confederate spies.”
With its prime location on the Atlantic Ocean, the town is an important port that played an integral role during many of America’s conflicts including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War and even World War II. The waters near Beaufort house one of the few German U-Boats sunk in the American Theater of the Second World War. The Nazi submarine’s identifier, U-352, was sunk in 1942 by the United States Coast Guard’s cutter, Icarus, and was ultimately discovered by a scuba diver in 1975.
This shipwreck, along with several others (including one of legendary pirate Blackbeard’s), can be found off the coast and make the waters an extremely popular destination for scuba divers. The various dive centers in and around Beaufort take advantage of these aground naval supplements in addition to the already-appealing dive conditions.
As during its origins, Beaufort’s fishing industry remains an important compo- nent of its local economy, with excellent inshore and offshore angling opportunities. Offshore fishing is especially popular, with many charter operations based along the town’s boardwalk. These companies offer trips that take anglers miles from shore where they have the highest likelihood of catching some of the trophy fish such as
6 • TWIN & TURBINE / June 2019