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Legends of Blackbeard and sunken treasures echo through North Carolina’s shores, where historic shipwrecks, maritime museums and pirate lore bring the state’s seafaring past to life.
Ocracoke Island
A pirate's life
Ocracoke Inlet was one of Blackbeard’s hideouts, and it was here that two small sloops hired by Virginia governor Alexander Spotswood found and cornered Blackbeard on the inner side of the island.
Points of Interest
Coastal Lighthouses
Seven Beacons, Countless Stories
North Carolina’s seven coastal lighthouses do more than mark the shoreline — they anchor stories of shipwrecks, survival and centuries of maritime tradition. From the Northern Outer Banks to Bald Head Island, each tower has its own personality, history and reason for standing watch where land meets sea.
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