Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_2 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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''Old Beaufort by the Sea" A pinch of old, a dash of new Photo h\ Tabbie Nance
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Grayden Paul aboard double-decker tour bus The double-decker bus pulls away from the curb, and 85-year-old Grayden Paul begins his spiel. It's all about how Beaufort's name used to be Fishtown, changed to Hungry Town after the Tuscarora Massacre, then to Paradise, and finally settled on Beaufort, after the Duke of Beaufort in England. By this time, the English bus has reached the Old Cemetery. Soldiers from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars are buried there, he's proud to tell you. The tour continues. It's the same lecture Paul has given for nearly 50 years to one group or another. Sometimes his audiences are summer tourists. Other times, it's a chartered group that has called with a special re- quest for a tour. Paul is always glad to oblige. He is as much a part of Beaufort history as the centuries-old houses he describes. But as Paul winds his tour through the historic streets, the visitor notices a contrast. Across the road from Beaufort's historic district, a spanking-new building houses a collec- tion of specialty shops and blocks the view of Taylor's Creek and nearby Carrot Island. Tourists stroll down a freshly-planked boardwalk that stretches for several blocks along the city docks. Where they once would have seen the rusty steel hulls of menhaden vessels, tourists now gaze at 50-foot sailboats and yachts. For 276 years "Old Beaufort by the Sea" was a fishing village. When it was founded in 1709, it served as a haven for whale fishermen. Centuries later, the menhaden industry kept the town thriving. In 1985, this waterfront village is a mix of the quaint and the cosmopoli- tan. The old and the new stand side by side, integrated into what has become one of the biggest successes in water- front revitalization on the East Coast. The Beaufort that has emerged is at- tracting new businesses, new residents and an influx of tourists. Charles McNeill, curator of the N.C. Maritime Museum, has watched Beaufort's progress. He attributes the success of the revitalization to the town's geographic location. From here, it's a quick hop to the Virgin Islands, or sailors can go north through Pamlico Sound and avoid the infamous Graveyard of the Atlantic. That prime geographic location has replaced the 80-some menhaden boats that used to dock on the waterfront with the masts of 150 to 200 sailboats. They come in search of protected anchorage and quick access to the sea lanes. Within 10 minutes, a boat can be in the open sea, says McNeill. A logbook at the Maritime Museum is testimony to the popularity of Beaufort as a layover for boats. Sailors passing through sign their names, iden- tify their boats and state their destina- tions. The list reads like scenes from an exotic travelogue. Places like Quebec, Canada; Stockholm, Sweden; Sydney, Australia; Wimbledon, England. And if that's not enough to impress you, famous newsman Walter Cronkite once anchored here, and Jacques Continued on next page

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