One of our favorite folks from maritime history is Sir Francis Beaufort. While serving in the Royal Navy, he developed a scale to determine the wind speed based only on the way the surface of the sea looks (and later expanded to how common land features, like trees, behave in windy conditions). Standardized in the early 1800s, it’s still used today.
That history is part of the reason we’re happy that we decided to visit Beaufort, North Carolina. The other part is that it’s a great place for people like us who travel by boat. The town has installed public docks right in front of the downtown area, and the docks are only for transient visitors (like us).
And if the docks are full (as of course they are, given that it’s Memorial Day weekend), there’s an anchorage with good holding just across the channel, and a public dinghy dock at the waterfront park.
We’re not the only ones who like Beaufort. There’s a constant stream of boats moving through town, from the smallest fishing boats to superyachts. If you are easily amused by watching boat traffic (here’s looking at you, Mike), this is a perfect place to spend a few days.
