BOOK 



MARKET 



• CRUISING GUIDE TO COASTAL 

 NORTH CAROLINA, FIFTH 

 EDITION, by Claiborne S. Young, John 

 F. Blair, Publisher, Winston-Salem, NC 

 27103. 380 pages. Paperback, $24.95. 

 ISBN 0-89587-199-8. 



"What a treat it is to anchor for the 

 first time in a cove miles from civilization 

 and to see the incredible array of stars in 

 the clear coastal sky," the author writes in 

 his introduction. "Such anchorages give 

 mariners an opportunity to feel something 

 akin to what the early settlers must have 

 felt when they first explored this storied 

 coastline." 



In this updated edition of his popular 

 sailing guide, Young attempts to guide 

 cruising captains "to marinas hidden behind 

 a bend in a creek or in the middle of 

 nowhere." 



Along with providing navigational 

 details, Young reviews a number of 

 dockside dining spots. "Unless you happen 

 to dislike all forms of seafood, coastal 

 dining will never be an unpleasant 

 experience," he writes. 



He throws in lessons in history and 

 geography, mixed with a lot of sociology. 

 He reminds the reader that for many years 

 in the state's early history, coastal commu- 

 nities were isolated — the sea lanes the 

 main communication with the outside 

 world. There grew from this isolation a 

 tradition of storytelling, folk tales and 

 legends. "Through these tales, the unique 

 character of the coastal native can be 

 understood and appreciated." 



He cautions that from mid-March to 

 mid-May, cruising conditions range from 

 good to "simply awful" and that inlets 

 along the coast should be considered 

 hazardous. "Aids to navigation at most 

 North Carolina inlets are seldom charted 

 because they are frequently shifted to mark 

 the ever-changing sands." 



So, be well warned before hoisting the 

 sail and following the course he describes 

 in his book. On the first leg of the cruise, he 

 takes you through the Dismal Swamp, all 

 the way to Elizabeth City — and all the 



historical bases between those points. And 

 so it goes until the cruise concludes in 

 Southport on the historic Cape Fear. 



In short, in this one book, the boater 

 has a complete guide to the coastal waters 

 of North Carolina. With more than 3,000 

 miles of coastal, sound and estuarine 

 shorelines and the largest area of inland 

 waters on the East Coast, there is a lot to 

 discover. 



The guide includes navigational data, 

 information on anchorages on and off the 

 Intracoastal Waterway, warnings about 

 specific danger areas, detailed information 

 on marinas and facilities, and colorful 

 historical sketches. 



Young is an experienced boater who 

 spent months researching this book so that 

 all the recommendations and navigational 

 data could be based on personal and recent 

 experience. 



North Carolina Sea Grant has a 

 number of publications on boating safety. 

 For a complete listing, log on to our Web 

 site at www.ncsu.edu/seagrant. 



• PIRATES, PRIVATEERS, 

 AND REBEL RAIDERS OF THE 

 CAROLINA COAST by Lindley S. 

 Butler, The University of North Carolina 

 Press, Chapel Hill, NC 27515. 296 pages. 

 Paperback, $15.95, ISBN 0-8078-4863-8; 

 hardcover $29.95, ISBN 0-8078-2553-0. 



North Carolina's maritime history — 

 at times unsavory — is illuminated in this 

 book by historian Lindley S. Butler. The 

 author covers 150 years from the "golden 

 age of piracy" in the 1700s to naval warfare 

 ushered in by the Civil War. The stories of 

 eight larger-than-life figures — including 

 the infamous Blackbeard, privateer Otway 

 Burns, and Confederate raiders James 

 Cooke and John Maffitt — are presented in 

 the context of their historical times. Butler 

 goes beyond the myths surrounding these 

 legendary figures to tell the true stories of 

 their lives and adventures. 



"These North Carolina heroes and 

 rogues shared similar personalities and 

 experiences. They were all skilled seamen 



and decisive, imaginative leaders who 

 possessed a deep thirst for adventure, at 

 times pursuing danger with a reckless 

 abandon," Butler writes of his subjects. 



To explain how colonial North 

 Carolina became a haven for the likes of 

 Blackbeard, he suggests, "Carolina's 

 isolated backwaters provided a perfect 

 haven for the vagabond pirates, and equally 

 appealing were the weak authority of 

 proprietary officials, the sparse settlement 

 and the relative poverty of the colony." 



The author sheds light on the remark- 

 able fact that in spite of the nature of their 

 "business," a pirate community saw the 

 need for rules to curb antisocial behavior, 

 to address health and safety concerns, or to 

 compensate sailors for injury. Rules 

 devised by Captain John Phillips in 1723 

 for the Revenge warn sailors that stealing 

 from the company would result in being 

 marooned with one bottle of powder, one 

 bottle of water and "one small shot." 

 Instant death would come to any sailor who 

 dared to "meddle" with a woman without 

 her consent. 



He also explains that a privateer was a 

 privately owned, armed ship licensed by 

 the government in time of war to seize 

 enemy ships or prizes. "In effect," he says, 

 "it was legalized, limited piracy." 



Butler, professor emeritus of history at 

 Rockingham Community College, is a 

 specialist in the colonial era. He has 

 assisted in the excavation of the recently 

 discovered shipwreck thought to be 

 Blackbeard' s flagship, the Queen Anne's 

 Revenge. He says the work on the project 

 has made the history of the Carolina coast 

 more exciting to him than ever. 



The book is a must for history buffs 

 with a taste for adventure. It is a fun, well- 

 documented and -illustrated work of 

 nonfiction. 



For a close look at North Carolina's 

 historical ties to the sea, visit the N.C. 

 Maritime Museum in Beaufort. You '11 see 

 artifacts from Queen Anne's Revenge and 

 much more. For more about Blackbeard, 

 click on: blackbeard.eastnet.ecu.edu. □ 



COASTWATCH 25 



