Today we have been tourists, starting with the North Carolina Maritime Museum. It had an excellent exhibition of the coastal habitats of North Carolina and  we saw the phrase ‘Ecosystem Services’ used for the first time - and explained!

My favourite exhibit was the skeleton of another 15 year old sperm whale named Echo. This one had beached and died on a nearby shore in 2004. The necropsy did not confirm a cause of death but the local community recognised the potential of the event and started the ‘Bonehenge Project’. This volunteer organisation has achieved:

- Removal of one flipper for X-ray and MRI imaging.  It showed the unfused epiphyses of a ‘teenager’

- Removal of one ear for investigation by the US Navy. Apparently they inform all marine mammal rescue services when they undertake certain activities (unspecified) and the time frame, requesting the ears of any animals that die during or immediately after said activity. Sadly they froze the ear for transport and it was too damaged to investigate. The assumption however is  that Echo was deaf, a likely contribution to his death.

- The carcass was buried on the beach where it died and exhumed 3 years later so the skeleton could be cleaned, repaired

- All the teeth were removed from the lower jaw and replaced with replicas. One was used to assess age – they have annual growth rings that can be counted much like trees. Teeth are removed from museum exhibits because the public remove them as souvenirs.

- The heart was used for several years and used in a veterinary school anatomy class. When the Professor retired he paid for it to be plastinated and returned to its ‘owner’.

Nick’s favourite exhibit was that of Blackbeard, the infamous pirate whose ship The Queen Anne’s Revenge was found near Beaufort in 1996.  Archaeologists are still finding artefacts from the wreck site, many of which end up in the museum. Not much is known about Blackbeards early life but it is thought that her was called Edward Teach, born in Bristol around 1680 and probably a privateer during Queen Anne’s war before becoming a pirate.  He created and promoted his fearsome image in order to intimidate his victims though in reality he was admired and respected by his crew and never harmed or killed those he held captive. He was killed by the British in 1728 at Ocracoke Island about 40 miles north of Beaufort.

We also like the dolphin skeleton, the only one we have ever seen. Sadly it was high up in the roof for some reason so difficult to investigate properly.

Photo

After the museum we went to see ‘The Old Burying Ground’. This is a really pretty cemetery where Revolutionary and Civil war soldiers are buried, crew from the many ships wrecked off this coastline and some of the early settlers. Only a few contemporary graves though, despite space for them. No explanation as to why this might be.

We also looked at the many old properties here – over 100 that are 100 years old or more! The one without the fence is the oldest, built in 1709 and reputedly visited by Blackbeard himself. Many still have picket fences, apparently to contain your pigs. Any pig found wandering could be taken and slaughtered, although half had to then be donated to the poor people of the town.

In the evening we went visiting – to the catamaran that has been anchored behind us all week. They are an American couple who live in Rhode Island but enroute to see family in St Augustine, Florida. They are long term cruisers that have spent many years in the Western Caribbean, so it was interesting to hear their stories and advice. They also had a cat, called ‘Mr Gray’, after her favourite maths teacher at school. Excellent name and a lovely evening, hopefully we will see them again when we get to St Augustine.