Why did the first English explorers sent by Queen Elizabeth to America abandon the first colony in 1587? This book reveals clues to the mystery surrounding the ships and the settlements along the shores of the Outer Banks, North Carolina, during the birth of our nation. Sir Walter Ralegh organized explorations using his own ships and sent famous, skilled men like Ralph Lane, Thomas Harriot, and John White, who sailed the Inner Banks of North Carolina looking for the best ports and resources. They mapped and searched for an inner coastal path to Chesapeake Bay and a trail to the Pacific, recording exchanges of information and goods with the Native Americans. Join author and historian Don Upchurch as he shares 20 years of research that began with the original narratives written by the first English colonists and captains who sailed our sounds and rivers. History abounds on these shores and may hide the decaying remains of the only ship left from the abandoned colony. Dorothie.