Wednesday, June 1 (7:30 PM) thru Saturday, June 4 (5 PM)
Headquartered in Chesapeake, VA and Beaufort, NC
Led by John V. Quarstein
Registration Fee: $619.00 (double occupancy) – $645.00 (single occupancy)
Unquestionably, Edward Teach, better known as “Blackbeard” was one of the most notorious pirates who ever sailed the Seven Seas. Myriad legends surround the Blackbeard mystique, but the real story of this 18th century scoundrel is even more riveting. Teach and others roamed the Atlantic coast during the “Golden Age of Piracy” from 1680 to 1720. Our Blackbeard and the Pirates of the Chesapeake tour will explore the adventures of Teach and many of his other bloodthirsty comrades in crime.
Our first day will take us from the Hampton Roads area to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The ride along the Outer Banks will provide a great venue for our historian, John Quarstein to regale us with salty pirate yarns as well fill us in on the area’s little known Civil War history. He’ll also develop the background of colonial piracy from its inception near Jamestown, Virginia to the Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars of the mid-17th century and then to the 18th century swashbuckling activities of Blackbeard and his partner in crime, Major Stede Bonnet. We’ll cross on a ferry to Ocracoke Island where we’ll have lunch. While on the island we’ll visit Teach’s Hole’s, Blackbeard’s favorite anchorage where his pirates hid awaiting their water-borne prey. It was off Teach’s Hole that British Lt. Robert Maynard attacked and defeated the infamous pirate, bringing Blackbeard’s head back to Hampton. We’ll also visit Springer’s Point, also known as “Blackbeard’s Plantation” and reputed to be the pirate’s favorite haunt. Also of interest is the British Cemetery on the island which holds the graves of sailors killed when a German submarine attacked the HMS Bedford off the Carolina coast in 1942. We’ll leave the island taking another ferry to Cedar Point, NC. We’ll have dinner and spend the night near Beaufort, NC. Lodging and dinner for Thursday night is included in your tour package.
On our second day we’ll see Blackbeard’s house in Beaufort, another legendary tale. Then we’ll visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum to see its pirate exhibit. Nearby is the site of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, an important archeological project for pirate enthusiasts near Fort Macon. After leaving Beaufort, we’ll have lunch in New Bern, passing by the site of Union General Ambrose Burnside’s 1862 battle to capture the town. From New Bern we’ll drive to Bath, NC, a quaint little village filled with Blackbeard stories and lore, including the Tobias Knight House. From Bath we travel back to our headquarters hotel in Chesapeake, having dinner along the way. Lodging and dinner for Friday night is included in your tour package.
Our third day will be spent in the Hampton Roads area where we’ll visit Lynnhaven Inlet, Cape Henry and Old Point Comfort, all sites brimming with pirate lore. Fort Monroe is located on Old Point Comfort. In the afternoon we’ll return to the city of Hampton where Blackbeard’s head was displayed on a pole at Blackbeard’s Point. We’ll also have access to Hampton’s Blackbeard Festival complete with costumed re-enactors and replica pirate ships which will be staging mock battles near the wharf. Beware! They may be looking for a few brave fellows and some comely wenches to sign on for the next voyage.
It may be important for you to know that our bus will be taking about a 45 minute ferry ride to Ocracoke Island. The return trip from the island to Cedar Point, NC will be about a two hour ferry ride depending on the current. Some lodging and evening meals are included with your registration fee.
Registration Fee: $619.00 (double occupancy) – $645.00 (single occupancy)
What’s included: Two nights lodging, two dinners, three lunches, motor coach transportation, a ferry to and from Ocracoke Island, beverage and snack breaks, a map and materials package, all admissions and gratuities, and the services of an experienced tour leader/historian. Our hotels will provide a complimentary breakfast each day. Tour participants are responsible for transportation to the headquarters hotel, and securing a room reservation, if necessary, on June 1 and 4. Dinner is on your own except on June 2 and 3. Tour goes out rain or shine. Please see our policy page for information about cancellations.
Hotel: We have arranged with the Wingate Hotel, 817 Greenbrier Circle, Chesapeake, VA 23320 as our Virginia headquarters hotel at a group room rate of $85 per night plus tax. Please call the Wingate at 757-531-7777 and ask to reserve your room at the America’s History group rate for June 1 and 4, if necessary. This rate will be guaranteed up to 30 days prior to the tour, so please make your reservations early.
Our Tour Guide/Historian:
Dr. John V. Quarstein, an award-winning author and preservationist, is currently historian for the City of Hampton. He is an experienced tour leader and a much sought after speaker on all periods of American history. He is the author of nine books including A History of Ironclads: the Power of Iron Over Wood. He is a consultant to the Mariners’ Museum and serves of the boards of the Virginia Civil War Trails, Fort Monroe Area Authority and the Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission Advisory Board. His most recent project is as screen writer for a four hour PBS special entitled “Pyrates of the Chesapeake” to be aired this spring.
Dr. Bruce M. Venter, CEO of America’s History, LLC will accompany this tour.
Great tour; John Quarstein is very knowledgable and highly entertaining. Look forward to other tours with him. Bruce ain’t to shabby either. LOL! Always a class act with History LLC, plus, their tours always happen as described or better.