The Plank
Day 1: Caribbean
Day 2: Charleston
Day 3: Carolina Coast
Day 4: Beaufort
Day 5: Bath
Day 6: Ocracoke

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The Essential Blackbeard

Courtesy N.C. Department of Cultural Resources The most commonly used illustration of Blackbeard, this 18th century rendering fits a description found in Captain Charles Johnson's 1724 book "A General History of the Pyrates."

AGE: 37

BIRTHPLACE: Jamaica

OCCUPATION: Privateer-turned-bucaneer

MEASUREMENTS: 6-feet, 5 inches, 220 pounds.

MARITAL STATUS: Married 14 times. Never divorced.

YOUR FIRST RAID: She was a fast and fiesty sloop, Dutch-built to last, with a line on her to die for. I took her off the tip of Tortuga. You always remember your first prize.

LIKES: Doubloons

DISLIKES: Leaky ships, Spaniards, Royal Navy men-of-war, uncharted sandbars

FAVORITE QUOTE: "Only the devil and I know the whereabouts of my treasure, and the one of us who lives the longest should take it all."

LAST BOOK READ: A.O. Esquemeling's "Bucaniers of America"

HOBBIES: It's more of game, you might say. Me and my mates close all the hatches in the hold, ignite some sulfur and black powder and see who can stand the smokey hell the longest.

FAVORITE DRINK: British Virgin rum. Laced with gunpowder and set ablaze when I'm feeling a little nutty.

FAVORITE FOOD: Salmagundi, a seafood stew made of lobster, shrimp, scallops and whatever fresh fish is available.

FAVORITE VACATION SPOT: New Providence (Nassau)

YOUR HERO: Capt. Benjamin Hornigold

MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY: Managing through fear may not be fashionable, but it works for me.

HOW YOU DEFINE SUCCESS: A calm sea, a clear sky, and a steady wind in my sail.

IF YOU COULD INVITE THREE PEOPLE TO DINNER, WHO WOULD IT BE: King George I, Queen Anne and Jimmy Buffett.

THE ESSENTIAL YOU: No we don't want a bucket a blood. Just a cup is all we could use.