WaterTribe^TM BlackBeard Challenge (BBC)

Start and Finish - Cedar Island, North Carolina

Both the BlackBeard Challenge (BBC) and the NC Challenge (NCC) start and finish at Cedar Island.

Please Note: Although these events start and finish at the same location, the start dates are different. The finish dates are the same.

Inspection day for the BBC is Friday.

Inspection day for the NCC is on the following Thursday.

There is a Captains meeting at 15:00 on Inspection Day for both events. Attendance is mandatory. This will be held at the House on Ditch Path Drive near the Island Choice general store.

NOTE: If you arrive late and give us notice of your late arrival, you may still participate. As long as you complete gear inspection and check in with a race official before you launch you can still enter. Your time however, will not be adjusted for a late start.

You have four starting options that are outlined in the Overview. Choose wisely according to the weather and your boat.

Although you have four options for the start, the finish is the beach or the boat landing in the campground.

CP1 - Alligator River Marina, North Carolina

CP1 is a virtual checkpoint. You must hit your OK or Custom button within about 1 mile of the lat/lon for this CP. You do not have to enter the marina in order to checkin. Of course, you may enter the marina if you wish and pay their normal docking or ramp fees. They do have a very good short order grill there that could make a stop very enjoyable. Also, note that you do not have to go under the bridge either. Your OK or Custom button will be recognized within 1 mile of the checkpoint. I do recommend that you hang out within that 1 mile until your OK or Custom light stops flashing.

CP1 is located at the immediate North West corner of the Alligator River bridge off highway 64 at the mouth of the Alligator River and the Albemarle Sound. Depending on your route, you will have reached this either by:

1. Crossing The Pamlico River into the Pungo River, ICW connector ditch (20 mi with cypress marsh on both sides) and into the Alligator River
2. Taking Pamlico Sound into Roanoke Sound then Albemarle Sound and into the mouth of the Alligator River.

Your next leg to CP3 can also take any of the above routes.

CP1 is a refueling port for yachts on the ICW heading to or from wintering in Florida. The CP contains a small boat ramp, docks, Shell gas station, convenience store, and a short order grill. The boat ramp and parking area must be kept clear at all times so clear the ramp as fast as possible. Larger boats may need to be assigned dock space. The Boat Captain (you) will work this out with the marina.

The Alligator River Bridge is a 2.8 mile long swing bridge with closed vertical clearance of 14 ft at the center. This bridge will not open in high winds (35+ kts) or reduced visibility (they are afraid cars won’t see the stop lights), there are no set standards it is up to the bridge tenders discretion. The bridge opens on demand VHF channel 13.

There is a large grassy field to camp, but you must get permission from the managers. If you are given permission to camp, we ask all to be considerate of the owner Ms Wanda (who lives on the property) and her other clients by being quiet at night.

CP1 is located along the Alligator National Wildlife Refuge, composed of 152,00 acres, 28 miles from north to south and 15 miles east to west and lying in North Carolina’s Coastal Plane. It is bordered on the West by the Alligator River and the Intracoastal Waterway, which is crossed by the 2.8 mile bridge on the North by Albemarle Sound, on the coast by Croatan and Pamlico Sounds, and on the South by Long Shoal River and incorporated farmland.

The refuge is one of the premier strongholds for American Black Bear on the Eastern Seaboard. It also has concentrations of ducks, geese and swans. The wildlife diversity includes wading ducks, shorebirds, American Woodcock, raptors, American Alligators, White-tailed Deer, Raccoons, Cottontail rabbits, Bobwhite Quail, Northern river Otters, Red Wolves, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers and neotropical migrants.

The refuge was established to preserve and protect the unique wetland habitat type – the pocosin – and it’s associated wildlife species. Pocosin is a Native-American word meaning "swamp-on-a-hill" and is characterized by poorly drained soils high in organic materials.

Diversity of habitat types including high and low pocosin, bogs, fresh and brackish water marshes, hardwood swamps, and Atlantic white cedar swamps. Plant species include pitcher plants and sun dews, low bush cranberries, bays, Atlantic white cedar, pond pine, gums, red maple, and a wide variety of herbaceous and shrub species common to the East Coast.

Nyssa Aquatica Tree in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

Pamlico Sound, is the largest lagoon along the U.S. East Coast, 80 mi long and 15 to 30 miles wide. It is a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a row of low, sandy barrier islands, including Cape Hatteras. The Neuse and Pamlico rivers (the latter is the estuary of the Tar River) flow in from the west. Pamlico Sound is linked on the north with Albemarle Sound through Roanoke Sound and Croatan Sound. Core Sound is the narrow southern end.

Explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano mistook the sound for the Pacific Ocean. The sound and its ocean inlets are noted for wide expanses of shallow water and occasional shoaling, making the area hazardous for larger vessels. In addition, the shallow waters are susceptible to wind and barometric pressure-driven tidal fluctuations. This effect is amplified on the tributary rivers, where water levels can change by as much as two feet in three hours when winds are aligned with the rivers' axes and are blowing strongly.

Pamlico Sound is part of a large, interconnected network of lagoon estuaries. As a whole it is the second largest estuary in the United States; (Chesapeake Bay is the largest). Seven sounds making up the whole: Albemarle Sound, Currituck Sound, Croatan Sound, Pamlico Sound, Bogue Sound, Core Sound, and Roanoke Sound.

CP2 - Hobucken, North Carolina

Upon leaving CP1 you’ll travel back to CP2 using either the inside route or the outside route. The choice is yours.

CP2 is a virtual CP so you can either send and OK or Custom Message at the entrance canal or you can go into the marina located at  Pate Boatyard in Hobucken on Goose Creek Island.

CP2 can be reached by entering the Bay River and finding the ICW, or by entering Jones Bay. There are a number of little cuts one can take in and out of Goose Creek Island; beware, some of these are private and gated, most derive from an old and abandoned Corps of Engineers project for mosquito control in the 1960’s. Yes, there are lots of BIG mosquitoes on Goose Creek Island; there are also lots of black bears.

At Pate’s Boatyard, there is a small boat ramp and docks at the end of the canal on the right. Challengers will be able to tent camp and refill water. There is also a small convenience store next door.

A bit of history of Pate Boatyard can be found in this blog posting  http://sandybottomkayaker.blogspot.com/search?q=Hobucken.

In more recent history, Goose Creek Island was devastated by Hurricane Irene in 2011 with 90% of all homes flooded. There are markers inside the Boathouse indicating the flood’s high water mark.

Click the pictures for a larger view.

Pate Boatyard

Pate Boatyard (photo credit: Steve Earley)

Pate Marina Backside (bear right to docks and boat ramp) (photo credit: Steve Earley)

The canal in and out of Pate Boatyard (photo credit: Steve Early)

CP1 for the NCC and CP3 for the BBC - Beaufort, North Carolina

This CP is located on Taylor Creek in the center of the historic Beaufort waterfront. This checkpoint is used for both the BBC and the NCC.

Beaufort, pronounced ''Bo-furt'' by locals, is the third oldest town in the state with a rich maritime history. This quaint town was originally established in 1709 for its close proximity to the excellent deep-water inlet now called Beaufort Inlet. Throughout history, Beaufort has always been an important seaport for whalers, fisherman, merchants and even pirates. In fact, the notorious pirate Blackbeard and his crew spent quite a bit of time in Beaufort, and their legacy still remains in the form of the many legends and ghost stories that are still told.

In 1997, Beaufort was highlighted in national and international news as the wreckage of what is presumed to be Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, was discovered in 20 feet of water, two miles from Beaufort Inlet. Artifact recovery operations were immediately able to identify—and in some cases retrieve—many pieces, including the ship's bronze bell, cannons and deck guns. Some of these artifacts are already touring the country or are on exhibit in Beaufort at the NC Maritime Museum.

The Harlowe canal is the required route and is entered thru Clubfoot Creek off the Neuse River, and is the old original Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), located west of the current ICW, connecting the Neuse River with the Morehead City and Beaufort waterfronts. Known locally as the Slave Canal because it was deepened to five or six feet by slave labor, the Harlowe is one of the oldest canals in the United Sates, originally created untold centuries ago by Indians who dragged their canoes across the lowlands to the Neuse.

The canal is narrow but deep enough for most boats (but take care with the shallow twists and turns entering and exiting the canal), with three bridges that will require the sailboats to step their masts. Beautiful and tree-lined, the Western side of the canal is part of the Croatan National Forest. There is some tidal influence on the southern side and from wind effects on the Neuse.

Upon leaving the Harlow Canal into the Newport River towards Beaufort, you will be entering an area of very busy boat traffic and possibly strong tidal currents. Morehead City and Beaufort are sound side seaports situated on opposite banks of the Newport River. Both are very busy commercial, recreational and fishing ports.

You’ll need to go under a car bridge exiting the Newport River and entering Beaufort. The NCC checkpoint (just a few hundred yards down the street from the NC Maritime Museum) is located on the historic waterfront of Beaufort’s Taylors Creek at Graden Paul Park, WP3. The park contains a small public canoe and kayak beach landing and a small public dock for the larger boats. Sailboats coming into the dock must come in on the starboard side as entering. There are no public facilities at the park, however there are water spigots and hoses all around the nearby docks (walk to your left up Front St), and a public restroom a few hundred yards left up Front St (at the end of the marina), not to mention some nice (yet expensive) seafood restaurants and tourist shops, if you’ve got the time :)

Physical Check-In Station

An ORANGE LOCKBOX will be located in the gazebo. In the ORANGE LOCKBOX you will find a logbook for each challenge. You must sign the logbook and fill out each section adjacent to your name in the.

Opposite the checkpoint across from Taylor’s Creek, the string of small islands (pictured below)—Carrot Island, Town Marsh, Bird Shoal and Horse Island—more than three miles long and less than a mile wide—include the Rachel Carson Reserve, part of the North Carolina Coastal Reserve & National Estuarine Research Reserve. Accessible by boat only, visitors are allowed and there are even walking trails. But, NO CAMPING is allowed and this is strictly enforced. As you pass by these islands, you are likely to see the small herd of feral horses which roam the island, and many of the 200 bird species which have been recorded there.