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. [Read more…]