Teach had learned while at Charleston that…

Teach had learned while at Charleston that Woodes Rogers had left England with several men-of-war under orders to purge the West Indies of pirates.

Teach's flotilla sails northward along the Atlantic coast and into Topsail Inlet (commonly known as Beaufort Inlet), off the coast of North Carolina.

Here they intend to careen their ships to scrape their hulls, but Queen Anne's Revenge runs aground on a sandbar, cracking her mainmast and severely damaging many of her timbers.

Teach orders several sloops to throw ropes across the flagship in an attempt to free her.

A sloop commanded by Israel Hands also runs aground, and both vessels appear to be damaged beyond repair, leaving only Revenge and the captured Spanish sloop.

Teach had at some stage learned of the offer of a royal pardon and probably confided in Bonnet his willingness to accept it.

The pardon is open to all pirates who surrendered on or before September 5, 1718, but contains a caveat stipulating that immunity is offered only against crimes committed before January 5.

Although, in theory, this leaves Bonnet and Teach at risk of being hanged for their actions at Charleston Bar, most authorities can waive such conditions.

Teach thinks that Governor Charles Eden is a man he can trust, but to make sure, he waits to see what would happen to another captain.

Bonnet leaves immediately on a small sailing boat for Bath Town, where he surrenders to Governor Eden, and receives his pardon.

He then travels back to Beaufort Inlet to collect Revenge and the remainder of his crew, intending to sail to Denmark's Caribbean colony of St. Thomas, where he plans to buy a letter of marque and go privateering against Spanish shipping.

Eden has granted Bonnet this clearance.

Bonnet returns to Topsail Inlet to find that Teach had beached the majority of their former crew on a small sandy island about a league from the mainland, robbed the Revenge and two other vessels of the squadron of most of their supplies, and sailed away two days earlier for parts unknown aboard the smaller sloop, carrying all the loot with him.

Bonnet now (probably late June or early July 1718) resumes command of the Revenge.

Few, if any, of his original crew from Barbados are still aboard.

Bonnet reinforces the Revenge by rescuing a number of men whom Teach had marooned.