Down East?

This is Down East?

I figured I knew where Down East was, but traveling through North Carolina I kept seeing references to it while far from home. I first saw the phrase on a porta potty and couldn't figure out how it got so far from Maine. Did they run short and have to import some? Then I noticed a marina sign on Harker's Island read "Down East Marine". They specialized in selling garveys. Slowly, ever so slowly as we passed through the countryside it began to dawn on me that there are at least two Down Easts.


I was taken aback at first, but I got used to it. Lots of businesses use Down East in their name (apparently on the east side of North Carolina which is pretty much were the salt water is). I am impressed with how much coast there is and how many boats there are. On the way down to Beaufort we passed the Grady-White factory in Greenville (not the one on Moosehead Lake, by the way) and the brand is all over down here, but I can't help but notice how many of the homes we go by have a garvey on trailer all ready to go. Carolina Skiffs are the most popular, but other models are around, and not one of them is covered with a blue tarp or shrink wrap. I am many miles from home.

Lots of garveys everywhere

No wonder I feel like I'm seeing a lot of boats, there are over 300,000 of them registered in the state and one person I spoke to at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort told me there are Down East towns with three times as many boats as there are year round residents. I spent an I had a great time touring the museum and learning about the traditional boats of North Carolina. The museum has a couple of sharpies in the water and recently completed building a surf boat identical to those that were stationed along the banks as part of the Life Saving Service.