A 26 mile barrier island off the coast of North Carolina, its name is thought to have derived from local merchants watching out for the topsails of concealed pirate ships that hid out near the island. It is rumoured that Blackbeard and his crew would wait for merchant ships to pass by Topsail Island on the colonial trade route in order to plunder them. Queen Anne’s Revenge ran aground and sank near Beaufort Inlet, not far north along the coast.