Inside the Outer Banks

From our stop at the Sea Gate Marina in an excavated basin off the Adams Creek canal that connects Beaufort/Morehead City to the south to Pamlico Sound in the north, we had a nice run until we got to the Sound. Then, the wind and waves picked up and our “sailor's luck” kicked in. The definition of "sailor's luck" is the weather comes directly from the direction you want to go. We saw many more boats along the way today - trawlers heading north, fishing boats heading to inlets to the Atlantic, and a few sailboats actually sailing in the brisk breeze - in the other direction!

Hatteras National Seashore - adding samples to our sand collection

Our destination was Ocracoke Island, a place we had visited a couple years earlier by car, with our friend Donna, via the NC ferry system. The seas built to about 3-5 and the wind was up to 20 knots from the east, on the nose. We were shipping waves over the bow and splashing the windshield. This slowed our pace from our usual 22 knots to 10. So, the 54-mile trip across Pamlico Sound took a bit longer than planned.

We were happy when we pulled into Silver Lake, a quiet, protected basin surrounded by docks, restaurants, boutique inns and shops. The dock hands at Anchorage Inn were about the best we have encountered so far. They seamlessly handled securing the boat to the pilings, adjusting for tidal range and getting our umbilical connection to power and water established.  

Ocracoke is a place to spend a more sedate beach vacation than the highly developed venues of more manicured and sanitized higher-end resorts. This small village is embedded in the Hatteras National Seashore and only accessible by plane, boat and ferry. The island is rich in history and a remnant seafaring waterman culture. 

A historic lighthouse, of about the vintage of the St. Marks Light (circa 1830), is within the community, along with a short nature trail. The lighthouse is one of the few still operated by the Coast Guard (and is not open to the public); most of the nation's lighthouses have been decommissioned in the wake of electronic navigation. There was a sweet, well-fed, gray kitty on the doorstep of the lighthouse that gave us a kitty-petting fix. 



After wandering the narrow streets and window shopping closed stores, we visited Gaffers Bar and Grill for dinner. Then, we walked down the main street to enjoy a very good reggae band at Dajio's where Lee tested another locally produced Kolsch-style brew and Marvin sipped Mt. Gay rum. There was quite a floor show staged by a one-woman dancing and stumbling act in sync with the music. It made me think of Jimmy Buffett's “woman going crazy on Caroline Street” song, but this nymph was celebrating her alcohol induced excitement rather than the sad loneliness of Buffett’s ballad. Her boyfriend rescued her like a knight and the entertainment shifted to a couple twenty-something guys jumping around to the driving beat - all is irie.

The next day (Saturday), we pulled out of our tight slip at about 7 am. We wanted to avoid the wind and seas that typically build up as the day goes on. The run to Manteo on Roanoke Island plotted out to be about 62 miles. We were watching a dark sky and thunderstorms to our south while heading north a little faster than our usual speed. Fortunately, the winds and seas were friendly for the entire trip. We could see the thunderstorms drift over Ocracoke as we moved north and away. 

Pamlico Sound is similar to an offshore passage, with the shoreline being out of sight most of the time, and markers spread ~10 miles apart. Thank goodness we had our assistant Helmsley, the autopilot, to handle the wheel. He steers a better course than either of us and never complains or wants snacks or has to pee.

Passing the infamous Oregon inlet, with a new bridge under construction, navigation was a little tricky at the south end of Roanoke Island. This part of our trip is not on the well-described ICW, but is our own course. In Manteo on Roanoke we want to see friends that we have known for a long time. We reminisced about how much work we’ve done in the OBX region for refuges, hatcheries, the NC Aquarium, and state and local parks. It's heartening to see much of it still in place. We are proud that some of the installations have weathered the severe conditions of sun, sand, and storm. We look forward to visiting the site of our “swan song” project at the Coastal NC Wildlife Refuges Visitor Center - a culmination of the lessons we learned throughout our career and the talents of the best staff team of co-workers at our company.



Navigating into Shallowbag Bay Marina was a little unnerving, but local knowledge guided us in, and we were refueled, pumped out, and tied up in short order. In 3 hours we covered the 62 miles, compared to the previous days travel taking twice as long and an order of magnitude less comfortable.

After a nasty job changing out a vacuum seal on the head, doing laundry at the marina, and washing the salt from the boat, we set out to re-explore Manteo. We took Uber to the car rental location in Kitty Hawk. The ride cost as much as a day's rental. Having wheels enabled us to visit the NC Aquarium. It’s been remodeled since we last visited and it has turned out very well. The new strategic use of video and media has enhanced the visitor experience and ancillary amenities, like an animated dinosaur outdoor trail, are an unexpected bonus!

Herb would love this convention!

A living fossil and animated replica
(T.Rex below)

Cool jellyfish exhibit!

The NC Aquarium's largest tank displays a replica of the Monitor wreck in the Graveyard of the Atlantic - the first  National Marine Sanctuary.

We also visited Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge which was hard hit by a 2011 storm. After the storm the old refuge office, once located 1/4 mile inland of the beach, was at the edge of a new deep channel cut from the ocean to the Sound. The foundation was undercut. A new bridge was needed to connect the communities that lie further south which had become a separate island! 

Now, after the new bridge has been completed, the shoreline has shifted again and the channel is filled in with new vegetated dunes rebuilding the coastline. But, clearly, the site of the blow out is a weak spot in the barrier island and the bridge is a prudent measure to be in place for the next storm.

During this cruise segment, in particular, we’ve met some interesting people - weekend sailors from Raleigh taking their first sail to Ocracoke from Havelock, owners keeping up spit and polish on their new luxury Sabre power yacht, former seafarers who have moved to shore-jobs after years of running fishing boats, as well as hard working immigrants from the Caribbean and Central America. For us, the people and places we get to meet along the waterside is a different perspective and a different vibe than travel by car. There’s a camaraderie of the boating community and waterfronts. Perhaps it is the shared experience of love, respect, joy and fear that life on the water imparts to its visitors.

We feel so fortunate to have this opportunity.

6.8-10.18