North Beach Sun Spring 2017

WHERE

DRINK IT IN WITH THE BEACH’S NEW BREWERIES FOUND BEACH POTTERY OFFERS UP SHARDS OF HISTORY

ARTTAKES SHAPE LONGTIME SHAPER MIKE ROWE CREATES ART FROM RECYCLED RESIN

FREE!

SPRING 2017 VOLUME 1201

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2016 Fresh flavors. Fresh ingredients.

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There’s a reason Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream has been named Best Ice Cream Shop on the Outer Banks for the past three years. It’s because fresh always tastes better.

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NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

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14 20

24

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spring 2017 spring 2017 spring 2017 9

BUT FIRST...

10 spring EVENTS CALENDAR

arts & entertainment 12 you are now entering the glen

The collected works of Glenn Eure 14 duf's playhouse

The alternate universe at Earth 383 Comics & Games 16 the evolution of art

Mike Rowe turns surfboard resin into art

REAL ESTATE food & beverage 19 amanda's kitchen

Party in an (Instant)Pot 20 hooked on hops

Two new breweries join the local beer scene

community 24 preserving ocracoke's maritime heritage

Saving the island's community square 6

NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

outdoors 26 shore science

Behind the mysterious glow of plankton 28 board banter

Essential surf gear for spring

lifestyle 30 b.s. in parenting

The eye of the storm 32 pieces of the past

The hunt for beach pottery

everything else under the sun 34 future obx

Food trucks, light rail service and more

about the cover: Outside his shaping "shack," Mike Rowe holds a sculpture made from excess surfboard resin. Photo by Ryan Moser. this page: Photos clockwise from top left by Cory Godwin Productions, Ryan Moser, Daniel Pullen Photography, Ryan Moser.

PHOTO BY PIVOT VISUALS CK DU ’S

GENERAL STORE

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STORE

Sunset Ice Cream

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FOLLOW THE SUN ALL YEAR LOOKING FOR

THE LOST COLONY ON HATTERAS ISLAND

LOCAL

HUNTERS TREASURE SHARE THEIR FINDS

illustration Alex Lex

Publishers Adam & Cathy Baldwin

Writers Cathy Baldwin Amelia Boldaji Dawn Church Lindsey Beasley Dianna Katrina Mae Leuzinger Amanda McDanel Jeffrey Myers Kelley Shinn Kip Tabb Michelle Wagner

EDITOR Amelia Boldaji Art Director Dave Rollins Graphic Design Adam Baldwin

Sales Manager Helen Furr Account Executives Sue Goodrich Tori Peters Distribution Bob & Glen Baldwin

millss&hine moon

117 SUMMER 2016 | VOLUME

MAGAZINE INSIDE!

Photography Cory Godwin Productions Ryan Moser Daniel Pullen Photography K. Wilkins Photography

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Mail Checks to: NORTH BEACH SUN

115 West Meadowlark St. Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948

Name: Address: City:

NORTH BEACH SUN 115 West Meadowlark St. Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948 252.449.4444 phone 252.715.1303 fax

State: The North Beach Sun is published quarterly by Access Media Group. All works contained herein are the property of the North Beach Sun and/or its contributors.

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BUT FIRST...

From the Publisher I hate to brag, but in third grade I grew the largest cabbage in our elementary school garden in Georgia.

It was a huge source of pride for me, and it gave me a temporary boost in popularity amongst my peers. Alas, my green thumb days are long gone.

This past summer my mother-in-law half-jokingly told me that I shouldn’t be allowed to own houseplants anymore after I enlisted her help to revive a sad hanging basket of dried-out petunias — for the second time.

So it struck fear in my heart when my nine-yearold son, Sam, brought a cabbage plant home from school a few days ago. Apparently there’s an elementary school cabbage growing contest we can enter to win $1,000. With all the enthusiasm of a third grader, my son just knows we’re going to take home the prize.

He sees that little seedling not for what it is, but for what it can be. Truly, that’s how everything great starts out — as a seedling of an idea bolstered by unwavering confidence, a leap of faith, a belief in the future and a whole lot of action.

In this issue, we meet with folks who nurtured an idea, planted the seed and are watching it grow into something so much more. We peek in on two new microbreweries — Lost Colony Brewery in Stumpy Point and 1718 Ocracoke Brewing — both aiming to make the Outer Banks an even larger hotspot for craft beer (page 20). Mike Rowe, our cover subject, is perennially open to new ideas.

Creating colorful statement pieces from leftover surfboard resin, Mike found inspiration both at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City

and in the waste bin of his shaping room (page 16).

And, after spending decades of their lives nurturing local talent, Glenn Eure and his wife, Pat, are nurturing something of their own: The Glen, a library that chronicles Glenn’s life and works, and also documents nearly a half-century of the Outer Banks art scene as a whole (page 12).

We’ve also been growing here at the North Beach Sun. Last winter we hired the lovely and talented Amelia Boldaji as our editor. You may remember reading her “Mills and Moonshine” piece on Buffalo City in our Spring 2016 issue. She’s the one who has been breathing new life into our social media scene (shameless plug: check us out on Facebook and Instagram!) and bringing fresh ideas to our writers’ meeting table. Plus, she’s got a wicked sense of humor, an eye for detail and a deep love for Frye boots, coffee and all things canine (though not necessarily in that order). Basically she fits right in. Now our Art Director Dave Rollins has to deal with two of us. Sorry, Dave, you’re outnumbered!

So this weekend, in spite of myself, we’re planting a cabbage seedling in our sandy, inhospitable backyard. Together Sam and I will care for it, nurture it and watch it grow — hopefully (though possibly not) into prize-winning size. Because we’ll never have a shot of winning if we don’t take the first step — and I’d just love to relive those elementary school glory days.

Enjoy the issue, and happy spring!

-Cathy Baldwin

People are loving the Facebook group OBX "Rocks" ­— and all you have to do to join is be creative. Find some rocks, decorate them as you will, then hide them somewhere on the Outer Banks for someone else to find. Instant joy! Photo

by K. Wilkins Photography.

Hey, smartypants,

can you decode these anagrams for some of the Outer Banks’ most iconic locales and geographical areas? Eat grit ivy! (That’s an anagram for: Give it a try!) The answer key is below.

1. Pasta Teacher A Sensational Hero 2. Internet Jeeps 3. Sandal Firm 4. Ice Dogs Jerky 5. Bright Throwers I Am Ornamental Oil 6. Proletarian Flakiness Vodka 7. A Heartland Bee Zings 8. Inedible Ghoulish Toads 9. Blue Nosed Alarm 10. Had A Wheel 11. Halt Illogical Corrosive 12. Cane Coal Titan 13. Can Tuna Doors 14. I Am The Morbid Wriggler 15. Tree Logo Inn

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Anagrams key: 1) Cape Hatteras National Seashore; 2) Jennette’s Pier; 3) Island Farm; 4) Jockey’s Ridge; 5) Wright Brothers National Memorial; 6) Roanoke Island Festival Park; 7) Elizabethan Gardens; 8) Bodie Island Lighthouse; 9) Albemarle Sound; 10) Whalehead; 11) Historic Corolla Village; 12) Atlantic Ocean; 13) Croatan Sound; 14) Wright Memorial Bridge; 15) Oregon Inlet

s t n Eve Spring 2017

c a l e nd ar

Manteo Fun Runs Tuesdays and Thursdays

Roanoke Island Running Company hosts free runs every Tuesday (2-miler) and Thursday (3-miler) starting from the store. roanokeislandrun.com Outer Banks Taste of the Beach Weekend March 23 – 26

Savor four delicious days of food and drink with over 60 foodie events at more than 30 venues.

The event culminates at the Sysco Foods Taste of the Beach Chefs Grand Tasting & Bartenders Bubbly Bash. obxtasteofthebeach.com

Dare County High Schools’ Annual Art Show March 24 – April 20

Artwork from students attending First Flight, Manteo and Cape Hatteras High Schools will be on display in the Event Room at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo. roanokeisland.com

Outer Banks Wedding Vendor Meet + Greet April 1

Mix and mingle with more than 30 Outer Banks wedding professionals at the Sanderling Resort in Duck. sanderling-resort.com

Bag Oyster Shells and Oyster Roast April 1

Tribe OBX April 3; May 8; June 5

Volunteer to bag oyster shells as part of the town’s Living Shoreline Stabilization project and then feast on oysters afterwards. townofmanteo.com

This free event aims to bring women together to discuss mind, body and soul issues in a safe and non-judgmental environment. facebook.com/tribeobx

Outer Banks Bike Week April 22 – 3 0 Comedy Tonight!

April 7

Critically acclaimed comedian Greg Hahn headlines this fundraiser for The Lost Colony. thelostcolony.org First Friday April 7, May 5

Downtown Manteo comes alive on the first Friday of each month from 6–8 p.m.

Woofstock April 8

Celebrate your four-legged friends on this day of fun at The Elizabethan Gardens with pet photos, concessions for dogs and humans, music and more. elizabethangardens.org Outer Banks Duathlon April 9

This annual run-bike-run event takes participants on a journey through northern Corolla. theobxrunningcompany.com Ghosts of the Lost Colony April 10 – 22

MONDAY

bu rger nig ht TUESDAY

tapas & wine nig ht WEDNESDAY

e ve r s p ringb f at e rn i e’s

go ur me t tac o nig ht THURSDAY

su shi wi th mil o

Take an interactive, historical ghost tour through the grounds of the Waterside Theatre and the Fort Raleigh National Park thelostcolony.org Fly Into Spring & Easter Eggstravaganza April 14 – 15

Welcome spring with a kite festival at Jockey’s Ridge and two days of Easter egg hunts. Bring your camera to get photos of the Easter Bunny himself! kittyhawk.com Easter Eggstravaganza April 15

Hunt for thousands of eggs on the Great Lawn of The Elizabethan Gardens during this fun, familyfriendly Easter tradition. elizabethangardens.org Boeing Boeing – Theatre of Dare April 21 – 23; April 28 – 30

This comedy follows a swinging bachelor who gets engaged to three different stewardesses in the 1960s. theatreofdareobx.com

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NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

16 BEERS ON TAP

Run 13.1 miles through the Outer Banks on this fun, pirate-themed half marathon that culminates with a Pirate Jamboree in Nags Head. flyingpiratehalfmarathon.com

Rev up your engines for a week of poker runs, bike shows, bikini contests, tattoo contests, live music, guided tours and more. outerbankshd.com Hope Floats Benefit Celebration April 23

Enjoy food, music and a silent auction in this kid-friendly benefit that raises money for Swim Safe Forever and Food for Thought at Aqua Restaurant in Duck from 3-8 p.m. swimsafeforever.org David Holt with Josh Goforth April 23

Listen to stories and songs about the Blue Ridge Mountains with four-time Grammy Award-winner David Holt at First Flight High School. bryanculturalseries.org 9th Annual Duck & Wine Festival April 29

This chef cook-off challenge uses duck as the main dish. Proceeds benefit the Currituck-Dare Community Foundation. duckandwine.com The Virginia Symphony April 29

Listen to the one of the nation’s leading symphony orchestras, the Virginia Symphony, perform at First Flight High School, presented by Outer Banks Forum for the Lively Arts. outerbanksforum.org Manteo Farmers' Market Starts in May

Buy fresh, local fruits and veggies at this farmers' market every Saturday in downtown Manteo.

Run a Muck in Currituck May 6

Join runners at Sanctuary Vineyards for a day of obstacles, mud and wine! visitcurrituck.com Relay for Life Dare County May 6

Locals walk together to raise awareness and money to fight cancer at First Flight High School. relayforlife.org/darecountync Hatteras Storytelling Festival May 6 – 7

Enjoy two days of “yarn-tellin, foot tappin’—Hatteras style” at this annual festival in Hatteras Village featuring Donald Davis. hatterasyarns.org

what’s happening this spring at aqua...

New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players Production of H.M.S. Pinafore May 7

The ensemble group New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players brings the comedic opera H.M.S. Pinafore to the stage at First Flight High School. bryanculturalseries.org 10th Annual KidsFest May 12

Children and Youth Partnership for Dare County sponsor this free, family-friendly event at Roanoke Island Festival Park that includes face-painting, bubbles, arts and crafts, music and more for children ages five and under. darekids.org 34th Annual Yuengling Nags Head Woods 5K Run May 13

Wind your way through the beautiful Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve for the Yuengling Nags Head Woods 5K and the Fun Run 1-Miler. nagsheadwoods5krun.org Dowdy Park Grand Opening and Dare County Arts Council’s 28th Annual Artrageous May 13

Celebrate the opening of the brand new Dowdy Park with a day of fun festivities including the DCAC’s annual Artrageous. This free community event at Dowdy Park in Nags Head encourages children of all ages to explore their creative sides. darearts.org Couture by the Shore May 13

Enjoy lunch, a silent auction and a fashion show with the Broadway theme “The Show Must Go On” put on by local boutiques at Kelly’s Restaurant to raise money for the Outer Banks Relief Foundation. outerbanksrelieffoundation.com Putt Putt for Polio May 13

Enjoy a family-friendly, piratethemed game of putt putt at Professor Hacker’s Lost Treasure Golf Course to raise money for the Rotary Club’s “End Polio Now” campaign. pirateputtputt.com 45th Annual Hang Gliding Spectacular May 19 – 22

This is the longest running hang gliding competition in the world.

Watch professional hang gliders compete in this free and fun event at Jockey’s Ridge. kittyhawk.com

WATERFRONT DINING

Dare 2 Care OBX Shred Fest May 20

Enjoy live music, demos by professional skateboarders and BMX bikers, a silent auction and much more at The Soundside event site. Proceeds from this annual fundraiser go to programs for veterans and special needs individuals. dare2careobx.com “Mayday, Mayday, Middle School Mayhem” Color Run and Spring Festival May 20

Walk, run or jog to raise money for First Flight Middle School on the 25th anniversary of FFMS. eventbrite.com Buns ‘N Roses – Grand Crü, BBQ and Brü Hair Metal Party May 20

Rock on at this wine release party with live music and BBQ at Sanctuary Vineyards. sanctuaryvineyards.com 6th Annual Mustang Spring Jam May 21

Jam on with BIG Something, London Souls, Urban Soil and more at Mike Dianna’s Grill Room in Corolla. Proceeds benefit the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and the Mustang Outreach Program. mustangmusicfestival.com

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Celebrating American Imagination and Creativity

Soundside Live Sunset Concert Series May 25, June 1, June 8

Enjoy free concerts on the sound, live performing arts and local artisan vendors at The Soundside event site in Nags Head. soundsidelive.com 80th Anniversary of The Lost Colony May 26 – August 19

This fascinating drama—the longest running outdoor historical drama in the United States— brings to life the mysterious disappearance of the first English colonists that happened right here on the Outer Banks. thelostcolony.org 6th Annual Cupcake 5K May 28

Roanoke Island Running Company hosts this fun event with cupcake stations at miles one and two. roanokeislandrun.com Storm the Beach June 4

Conquer beach obstacles in this fun run-climb-crawl race. stormthebeach.org

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11

Arts & Entertainment

g n i r e t n E w o N e r uA

Yo

THE GLEN

Ask anyone who knows him (and probably a lot of people who don’t), and they’ll all agree: Local artist and longtime Ghost Fleet Gallery owner Glenn Eure is a force of nature. And, at 85-years-old, he’s still a

natural charmer who can light up a room (or even more simply, one person’s face) in no time at all.

“Let me ask you something – and I know it’s early in the day,” Glenn starts with a twinkle in his eye. (You may know where this is going, but it’s still worth the wait.) “How many people have told you today how absolutely gorgeous you are?”

Timed right (as it inevitably is), it’s enough to elicit a blush from schoolgirls to seasoned matriarchs – and it’s pure, unadulterated Glenn as he basks in his element: bringing joy to everyone he meets by any means necessary.

“This gallery’s been my life,” says Glenn as he pauses to warmly greet – and strike up a lengthy conversation with – yet another first time visitor who’s happened to find their way into his orbit. “But until recently I didn’t realize how much we’d done here in the past 40 years.”

“Glenn’s led a lot of lives,” adds his wife, Pat, as she describes a decade’s-long evolution that’s seen him go from being known as the “barefoot painter” to the local artistic “ringleader” – and (most recently) has people referring to him affectionately as the “grandfather” of the Outer Banks’ art scene.

But that’s just the basics. Which is partly why this year, for the 12

Photos by K. Wilkins Photography Story by Amelia Boldaji

NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

very first time, Glenn Eure’s Ghost Fleet Gallery will open its 22nd annual Artist Self-Portrait Exhibition on April 1 in conjunction with a special unveiling of a brand-new permanent addition: The Glen.

Puns aside, The Glen is an extensive gallery library that’s been a labor of love for Pat over the past few years. Filled with everything from sketches and canvases to photographs and framed articles, the library documents the diverse work Glenn’s done over the years (including designing Kitty Hawk’s Monument to a Century of Flight and hand carving the 15 Stations of the Cross for the Holy Redeemer by the Sea Catholic Parish) – but, as Pat observes, the heart of the library lies in the binders that fill several steel bookshelves’ worth of space.

“Back in the early days I started keeping things in binders – invitations for events, letters, photos, copies of articles…all kinds of documentation. I just thought of them as reference,” says Pat. “It wasn’t until much later that I began to realize how significant they are.”

The binders (which are all titled “A Little History of Glenn Eure’s Ghost Fleet Gallery” plus

the year) begin in 1973, and from 1986 on there’s at least one binder on display per year. Pat even created several specialty binders, such as the one she made for Glenn’s 80th birthday that contains some of his writing.

The library itself is housed on the second level of the gallery – which functioned as an extension of their hanging space until 2014, and has been affectionately referred to as the “second dimension” for years (why? “It just sounded a lot better than the upstairs gallery,” explains Pat). Once it officially opens, visitors can climb the narrow curving staircase to leaf through decades’ worth of ephemera, learn a little about Glenn’s early life (he was born in Honolulu and earned a B.F.A. in printmaking after retiring from a long career in the Army) – and hopefully walk away with some sense of how important the arts have been to this community…and for how long.

In fact, the oldest thing in the collection is an editorial by North Carolina journalist W.O. Saunders, in which he wrote that the Outer Banks was rapidly becoming a haven for creative individuals. The year that was published? 1935.

“Where artists gather, people come,” says Glenn with a laugh. “This isn’t just about me. Really it’s a gallery history – and in a way, it’s also a history of art on the Outer Banks.”

Pat agrees. “You don’t ever really know how to go about getting older,” she says. “But you do learn a couple of things along the way. One is that evolution doesn’t go in a straight line – it’s more back and forth. And it never stops. When I started this project I didn’t intend for it to be public, but I think it’s important to have your history accumulated in one spot. To get organized and ready for the next day.”

Together, Glenn and Pat can reminisce for hours about years worth of events, gatherings and – especially – the people who have been so important to them and our community. Names like Denver Linley. Lillian Rosenthal. Ann Sandburg.

Chester Smith. Russell Turner.

“There are huge stories behind the smallest things,” Pat says as she recalls another name, another part of the narrative that branches out from the gallery’s walls. “The library inspires people to think about that.”

But when asked if they can pick out a favorite – or most exciting – year from their collection, Pat doesn’t hesitate. “Next year,” she says firmly. “That’s what we’re looking forward to.”

“It just continues to get better,” Glenn adds. “Every, single day.”

Above: Artist Glenn Eure with the library of his work, collected by his wife, Pat. Left: Binders filled with everything from sketches to photographs chronicling the gallery's history.

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Legends live on in Corolla, on the Currituck Outer Banks.

Discover a land of wild wonder on the Currituck Outer Banks.

The legendary wild horses of Corolla, wide-open family friendly beaches, awe-inspiring historical sites (including Whalehead in Historic Corolla Park and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse), unique shops and one-of-a-kind dining options are just a few of the reasons why now is the time to visit.

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13

Arts & Entertainment

the heroes Duf and Turtle stand guard over the lair of Earth 383 in Kill Devil Hills (Photo

by Cory Godwin Productions).

By Katrina Mae Leuzinger

When Duf Franco opened Earth 383 Comics & Games in Elizabeth City in 2003, he had no idea how to run a business. These days, he probably still doesn’t, but that’s what makes the place great.

“Thirteen years later I’m still figuring things out,” admits Duf, who prefers to think of Earth 383 as less of a business and more of a clubhouse or a community gathering place where people can share their passion for all things comics, tabletop games and other assorted geekery. (Even the store’s name reflects that – 383 is Duf’s name as it would be typed on a phone, paying homage to the numbered multiple universes found in comics and signaling the fact that once you enter the shop you’re entering a particular new universe with its own distinct rules.)

“We keep stuff on the shelf, but it’s never been a hard grind on the business end of things,” Duf says.

“We’ve never been really worried about making money or paying the bills.”

For not being worried much about the money, they seem to be doing just fine anyway. Since starting with a storage locker full of back-issue comics and nearly worthless Pokémon toys, the business has expanded into three stores: the inaugural location in Elizabeth City, one in Florida that’s operated by Duf’s nephew, and one right here in Kill Devil Hills that’s managed by John “Turtle” Moore. The KDH store just recently moved into a bigger shop next door at milepost six on the bypass, with more room to spread out and play games.

The games are what really make Earth 383 more of a clubhouse than a store. On any given day you’ll find a dozen or more people gathered around one of their card tables playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer or Magic: The Gathering. The demographics range from 13-year-old kids learning the rules for the first time to 45-year-old hardcore gamers who have literally been playing for decades. It’s not uncommon for people to keep gaming well past midnight, long after Duf and the other employees have left. There’s an “honor jar” on the counter so gamers can pay for the snacks and drinks stocked up in the refrigerator, and before he goes home, Duf will usually ask the last customer there to lock up and leave a note if anyone comes in to buy something. He even let a few people use the store on Christmas Day. “We are a refuge for those who don’t have anywhere else to go,” Duf says.

That may sound strange at a time when, thanks in no small part to the movies, the popularity of comics is surging. But Duf still frequently encounters what he calls “the stigma of the comic book store” from people who tend to think of comic book stores as places for loners. What Earth 383 actually is, is a place where people can find community, conversation and acceptance.

14

NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

“There aren’t a lot of places for kids to hang out that’s a safe environment and doesn’t involve alcohol, drugs or drama,” says Duf. “You walk in the door here, and whether we know you or not, someone will greet you and you’ll be immersed in a conversation.

Everybody is welcome here. Family is where you fit in.”

It’s also a great place to leave the problems of the real world behind for a while, and get a much-needed dose of fantasy.

“We don’t do politics. We don’t do religion. We do comic book arguments. We do make-believe stuff,” says Duf. Besides the gaming groups, tournaments and comic book arguments going on inside the store, Earth 383 regularly holds outside events such as the movie premiere nights at R/C Kill Devil “We don’t do Hills Movies 10. When politics. We don’t a new highly-anticipatdo religion. We ed comic book or sci-fi do comic book movie is released, they arguments. We do host an early premiere make-believe stuff." party in the lobby with trivia, costumes, photo backdrops, artwork from local artists inspired by the film and, when appropriate, Stormtroopers. When the show’s over, everyone’s invited back to the store to discuss the movie.

This year they’re looking forward to holding premiere parties for eight different movies including Justice League, Spider-man: Homecoming, and Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Duf says that things are a little different now compared to when he opened the first Earth 383.

“We’re a little more focused on the money now. We’ve gone into online shopping. We’ve got employees now instead of volunteers,” he says.

In the beginning, the business was called Duf’s Playhouse, because that’s exactly what it was. Fueled by friends, volunteers and the very last of Duf’s savings, he wanted it to be a place where people could come together, talk for hours about things they’re passionate about, and play. These days the business has gotten a lot bigger, but Duf has managed to keep that clubhouse vision after all those years. Selling comics is still less the purpose of the place, and more the way to keep the lights on so that people can keep on playing.

“Without all the people who hang out here, there wouldn’t be a here,” says Duf. “So it’s more their store than it is my store anyway.

I’m just the one who’s responsible for the bills.”

MORE FUN FOR THE FAMILY

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15

Arts & Entertainment

The Evolu A close look at the sculptures reveals layers of accumulated resin. Right: A commissioned mermaid sculpture. Above: Mike's most recent sculpture depicts the moon phases.

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NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

ution of Art

Photos by Ryan Moser / Story by Amelia Boldaji

Watching local artisan Mike Rowe move around one of his (several) Southern Shores work spaces is a bit like watching a mad scientist at play.

In the midst of so many rapid-fire comments, it can be hard to tell when he’s explaining an aspect of his process or when he’s simply thinking out loud – mostly because the difference between the two can seem pretty negligible.

“There’s definitely a method to the madness,” Mike explains as he temporarily pauses for a moment of self-reflection. “But I don’t care to be all that organized. Sometimes the coolest stuff comes from improvising.”

Mike, who’s been building surfboards on the Outer Banks for more than 30 years, is no stranger to the local crowd – many of whom primarily know him as one of the premier shapers in this area – but the “stuff” he’s talking about today is slightly more off radar…even to those who have known him for decades.

In a nutshell, that “stuff” is glass artwork, but don’t let that bare-bones description fool you: It’s like no other glasswork you’ve ever seen, or even imagined. These are pieces that could only have come – fully sprung – from Mike Rowe’s imagination. To say that they’re original is an understatement. To say that they’re just the beginning of something larger only starts to do them justice.

There are perhaps unlimited ways to tell the back story to this, but Mike points to the day of his high school graduation,

when he packed up all his things immediately after the ceremony and moved to the Outer Banks in search of surf. It wasn’t long before he started apprenticing under Mickey McCarthy at New Sun Surfboards on the beach road, learning everything he could about board building. Mike started his own brand (Hooked Surfboards) in 2001, and eventually started creating his own custom boards from start to finish in 2010.

Then came the eureka moment for his current artwork.

During a trip to New York City in the winter of 2015, Mike encountered the work of renowned artist Frank Stella at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Awed by Stella’s largescale abstract sculptures done up with riotous colors and welded metals, Mike walked away inspired to try something new.

“It was like a light bulb went off there,” Mike says. “I thought, ‘I work with all these colors, too – why couldn’t I make something like that?’”

Prior to this epiphany, Mike had been throwing away colorful blocks of resin for years. In the process of glassing a board (as he quickly demonstrates), some of the excess resin drips down into a board-shaped metal tray and hardens. Thirty to 40 boards later the pan is filled with a thick kaleidoscope-like block of resin – or what Mike used to call “the waste.”

Mike can laugh about that term now, while also lamenting the years’ worth of material he so blithely tossed away – though prior to encountering Stella’s work at the Whitney

he had begun saving some of that leftover resin…with only a vague notion that he could find a use for it at some point.

Using all the same tools he already had in his arsenal for building boards, he began experimenting by cutting out rough wave shapes with a jigsaw and hand sanding them until they gleamed. One laborious experiment led to another, until a friend caught wind of what he was working on and commissioned him to make a sculpture of a mermaid.

“That was different because it was so specific,” Mike explains.

And at the end “Using the recycled resin I only of the day, Mike’s have a three-by-six-foot block to work with, and that restricts latest endeavor the size. For my first commisisn’t only sion I had to get creative again. relatively new; it’s I cut a mermaid mold out of plywood and poured colored resin also something in to get the exact look I wantthat he’s been ed. But even with the poured pieces, I still have to shape keeping close to them after they dry.” He laughs. his chest.

“Either way, it can take a lot of time.”

And at the end of the day, Mike’s latest endeavor isn’t only relatively new; it’s also something that he’s been keeping close to his chest.

“I’m just getting it figured out,” says Mike as he goes into the reasons why he’s made it a point to kept his glass NORTHBEACHSUN.COM

17

Left: Mike with one of his wave pieces. Bottom: Mike hand sands every piece until they gleam. Above: A close up of the fish sculpture that hangs inside Mike's doorway.

sculptures off the grid in terms of social media and has even shied away from spreading the news more widely through word of mouth – at least so far. It’s not that he’s trying to hide it, but more that there’s something intensely personal about this new work that’s made him feel a bit more guarded.

“I don’t want to be expected to do this on anyone else’s terms,” Mike says firmly. “I’m just doing my thing, and a lot of the time I don’t know what I’m going to get – in a sense it’s very Jackson Pollock like that.”

To date, Mike only has five large-scale finished pieces, along with numerous wave silhouettes in assorted lengths, but he recently started working on a mold for his second commissioned piece (a four-by-eightfoot bluefin tuna), and his work will be on display at Urban Cottage in Duck starting this spring.

“I have some visions about where this is all going,” Mike says contemplatively as he points out various features of the six-foot-long fish sculpture that hangs just inside his front doorway – including streaks of vibrant orange approximately midway through the piece. That layer in particular resonates with him because it’s part of one of his own personal boards.

“Every layer of that thing is a story,” Mike explains. “I’ve thought that in the future I could create a book for each recycled piece that tells you a little about all the boards that went into it. There are a lot of great guys out there riding my boards, and I’m never going to quit shaping. That’s how I got here.”

Of course, finding time to devote to his artwork can be a pretty significant hurdle (in addition to board building, Mike also manages several local Airbnbs, waits tables a couple of nights a week at The Blue Point in Duck and picks up plenty of construction gigs during the wintertime). All of that aside, Mike has made it an increasing priority to focus as much as possible on his newest venture as it takes shape in ways even he can still be surprised by.

“This might be the most meaningful thing I’ve ever done, and I’m pretty positive this stuff’s going to keep evolving,” Mike says with a good-natured laugh. “So if you think it’s cool now, just wait another year.”

"Every layer of that thing is a story."

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NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

amanda’s kitchen

By Amanda McDanel

Party in an (Instant)Pot! Macaroni & Cheese and Your New Best Friend Forever

I recently saw a story on a morning news program highlighting the things people did when they were alone. They

included everything from eating a sandwich in bed while watching Netflix to walking on all fours up the stairs (ummm… okay?). I, too, have a secret solitary behavior. I was a little hesitant to broadcast it, but after the latter response above, I am not ashamed to let my freak flag fly.

I. Love. Infomercials.

And not just your typical half-hour pitch – I also embrace my friends on the Home Shopping Network and QVC. There’s David (formally Bob) in the kitchen, Jane Treacy who looks like my Aunt Mary demonstrating the latest lip color that looks just like the other 37 in my drawer, Ron Popeil with the seven-layer dehydrator set to change the way you eat, and let’s not forget dear Billy Mays, the greatest salesperson of all time. RIP Billy.

I don’t even discriminate if I’m not interested in what they are selling. Sometimes it’s even better if I’m not because it’s a true test to see if they can convince me to order a Quacker Factory crystal-embroidered duck shirt with a matching cardigan in seven minutes. (Too late – missed the magenta in my size. Damn.) Whether it’s on television early morning, midday or late at night, I somehow always get roped in. Subsequently, I will phone a friend: “Natalie, weren’t you looking for an outdoor speaker shaped like a one-legged gnome? It’s on the television for three easy payments of $14.99, and you’ll get free shipping and handling if you order in the next nine minutes!” My excitement overflows.

So imagine my astonishment when I found a remarkable product touting claims to revolutionize the way I cook.

And I had never heard of it! After relentless researching and

investigation, I was smitten. Click. Order placed. The heavens parted. Meet the InstantPot.* I’m always hesitant to promote a product in such a broad manner but when my oven died last year and I was left to feed a family of four for an entire week while we waited for the replacement, the InstantPot did me a solid. It’s a slow cooker, electric pressure cooker, rice maker, steamer, sauté/browning pan, yogurt maker and warming pan. It slices, it dices – I even made a CAKE in it! While the product is still fairly new, it’s gaining popularity and a cult-like following, so it would be irresponsible of me not to share it with you. In fact, I feel bad that I’ve had it for two years, cooked with it weekly and not mentioned it before now. Please forgive me, dear reader.

Imagine making frozen chicken in approximately eight minutes or throwing in Arborio rice for perfect risotto in five minutes, cooking dried beans with no overnight soak in 35 minutes or dumping nine ingredients into the pot, closing the lid and having perfect macaroni and cheese in six minutes. Mashed potatoes. Clam chowder. Chicken and dumplings. Sausage dip. Cheesecake. Lasagna. Pot roast. Collards.

Oatmeal. Chicken noodle soup. Are you convinced yet?

Remember years ago when I told you I couldn’t make rice?

Problem solved. Perfect rice every time. That fact alone should be a stamp of approval!

Electric pressure cookers have been around for ages, but honestly, it’s the one appliance I’ve always been straight out scared to use because I’m afraid I’m going to blow my face off if the lid explodes. The InstantPot solves all of that and makes it completely easy and safe to get dinner on the table in less time. The one caveat I should mention is that it does take some time for the pot to pressurize, so while

the cooking time is six minutes, you will need to add about 10 to 15 minutes on the front end for the pot to come to pressure before it automatically switches to cooking mode. Yet, I can use those 15 minutes to bathe my children or pour a glass of wine and play Candy Crush while I wait. Easy clean up seals the deal since there is only one single solitary pot to clean, and like every cook’s dream, it’s dishwasher safe.

For beginners, I recommend a cookbook to get you started until you learn the ins and outs of the machine. I like Great Food Fast by Bob Warden. There are also entire social media groups, boards and forums devoted to InstantPot (IP) recipes. Remember I said cult-like following? Here I’m sharing the tried and true favorite in our family, along with a modification to prepare stovetop if you aren’t ready to drink the Koolaid just yet. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you when I’m on level 26,743 of Candy Crush and you have tennis elbow from stir, stir, stirring that risotto. *I received no compensation for my opinion on this product. However, if you would like to bring your meal over to share with me once you’ve cooked your first perfectly tender pork roast, I’ll be happy to save a seat for you. I’ll even do the dishes, since there is only one.

Best Ever Macaroni & Cheese 3 cups elbow macaroni 2 cups chicken stock 1 cup water 2 T butter 2 T grated parmesan cheese (the real stuff, not the powder in the green container) ¼ t salt ¼ t pepper 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese 4 oz Velveeta, diced into small cubes Add macaroni, chicken stock, water, butter, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to the pressure cooker. Securely lock the lid and set for six minutes on high. Perform a quick

release to release the cooker’s pressure. Stir in shredded cheddar cheese and Velveeta until both cheeses are melted and creamy. Let sit for five minutes to thicken before serving.

Alternative stovetop method: Cook the macaroni according to package directions.

Drain. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add Parmesan cheese with the salt and pepper, and stir well. Add the chicken stock and water slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in your cheeses, and cook over a low heat until the cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick.

Amanda McDanel has lived on the Outer Banks for over 15 years, is married, has two beautiful daughters and a dog that walks backwards. A collector of the unique and different, she has an MS in Child and Family Development, has taught cooking classes and loves to create new recipes.

NORTHBEACHSUN.COM

19

food & beverage

By Michelle Wagner

Top: Several of the Lost Colony Brewery's 1,000-gallon fermenters. Bottom, left to right: Lenny Ferguson (Charron's right-hand man), Paul Charron and Lost Colony Brewery's brewmaster, Owen Sullivan. Insert: One of the brewery's signature beers. All photos on this page by Ryan Moser.

Paul Charron still remembers that knock on his door back in 2004.

It was his good friend and the mayor of Manteo, Jamie Daniels, who was excited about a beer brewing kit he had just received.

“He asked me if I wanted to give it a shot,” Charron recalls.

After a few batches, Charron was hooked on brewing hops. “It took over just about everything I did.”

The two friends innocently began with five-gallon batches. They soon moved to 10-gallon batches. Then 60. “It got bigger and bigger and soon got out of control,” Charron says, adding that he initially set up his operation in a guest cottage behind his Roanoke Island home, an operation that got so big he couldn’t fit the equipment out the door unless he literally “took down the door.”

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NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

Those first few batches morphed into a lifelong obsession. Fast-forward 13 years, and Charron and his wife, Sharon Enoch, now operate the 30-barrel Lost Colony Brewery along the waterfront in Stumpy Point. The operation has the capacity to brew 980 gallons of Charron’s signature beers.

That’s a long way from those five-gallon batches all those years ago.

In many ways, you could say Charron’s experience parallels the growing popularity of microbreweries and craft beer that’s not only sweeping across North Carolina, but also across the country.

“It was once said that craft beer would never account for more than five percent of the market – now it makes up 12 percent of the market,” Charron says.

Uli Bennewitz opened the Weeping Radish brewpub in 1986 in Manteo, which was the first brewery in North Carolina. Aubrey Davis and his wife, Karen Loopman-Davis,

and partners Eric Reece and Tina Mackenzie came along in 2001 and opened the Outer Banks Brewing Station, the 14th oldest brewpub in the state and the first wind-powered one in the country.

That same year, Bennewitz moved his Weeping Radish operation to Grandy and expanded.

Now, Charron says, there are more than 150 breweries in North Carolina.

Along with breweries, there’s also been an incredible surge in brewing equipment manufacturers, with about 35 in North Carolina alone. Brewers just starting up literally have their pick when it comes to choosing a manufacturer, and Charron says that much like beer options, that wasn’t always the case.

“When I was a kid, the major beers were Budweiser and Miller, along with some regional beers. And I remember the days when Michelob was considered really living high on the

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hog,” says Charron, who recently renamed his downtown Manteo restaurant, which opened in 1995 as the Full Moon Café, to Lost Colony Brewery and Café.

Davis has also seen an exponential growth at the Brewing Station.

During its first year, the pub brewed 500 barrels. “Today, we brew about 1,200, and most of that is consumed in the building. So we’ve more than doubled what we put out.”

Davis says that the pub plans to contract out its Lemon Grass Wheat Ale to Aviator Brewing Company, which means that the popular style will soon be available west of I-95.

“Nationwide, I don’t think anyone saw [the explosion in the craft brewery industry] coming,” he says, adding that in the early 1980s there were only about 30 breweries in the country.

“No one could have guessed it; it’s just been explosive. Eventually it will reach saturation, but we haven’t hit that yet. Breweries keep opening in the oddest of places.”

Top: The interior of 1718 Ocracoke Brewing while under construction. Above: Garick Kalna with some of the brewery's newly installed equipment. Below: The eye-catching exterior of 1718 Ocracoke Brewing takes shape. All photos on this page by Daniel Pullen Photography.

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NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

A Brewery Boom In the beginning, after he moved his small-scale operation into his Manteo café, Charron would wheel a brew table into the café’s kitchen and sell his inaugural blonde and brown ales. But his interest and obsession with brewing continued to grow, along with his offerings of various British and Irish-style beers.

Years ago, Charron and Enoch used the shop attached to the café as an art gallery and then as an ice cream shop, but they finally turned it into the Lost Colony Brewery tasting room in 2011. The tasting room has become a favorite watering hole in downtown Manteo, and they regularly hold “beer schools” for the public.

When Owen Sullivan came on board in 2013 as the brew master (or as Charron likes to call him, “the beer whisperer”) the Lost Colony Brewery kept growing not only in concept, but also in terms of demand.

“Owen showed up as a cook, but said he wanted to brew beer,” Charron says with a laugh. “He’s just phenomenal.”

At about that same time, the brewery was distributing its beer to about 30 local restaurants. Realizing it had outgrown its modest Manteo operation, Charron asked Bennewitz over at the Weeping Radish if he’d help out by brewing a beer for them. Charron also bought a few tanks to put at Weeping Radish, allowing their production to jump from 60 gallons to 620. “But we soon outgrew that, too.

We just couldn’t keep up. Folks kept asking for beer and we had to tell them we couldn’t give them any. We gave every ounce we had.”

Charron points out that brewers are a friendly group who are willing to lend each other a hand. In this business, he says, there’s little competition, and Davis agrees. They help each other out on many occasions.

“There’s no bad blood,” Davis says of local brewers. “We’ve come together on many occasions to serve beer side by side. Brewers are pretty laidback people in general.”

And as things continued to grow, Charron and Enoch started looking around Stumpy Point for some extra space. During an oyster feast there one year, Charron heard about an empty warehouse for sale that was once used for building boat cabinets. It turned out to be the perfect spot.

“Negotiations took two and a half years,” says Charron, but he adds that it was well worth the wait. “It’s 25 miles south of here and right on the Stumpy Point Bay. It’s a beautiful site, but it’s primarily for production. It’s a long way to go for anyone.”

The Lost Colony Brewery and Café in downtown Manteo is where the majority of people will continue to go for tastings and to get a bite to eat, but that doesn’t mean that the Stumpy Point brewery won’t eventually hold special events and have its own tasting room.

“Whenever there’s a brewery, people will always come,” Charron says – adding that when people do show up at the Stumpy Point brewery he wants to give out pint glasses that read, “Congratulations, you found Lost Colony Brewery.”

As for distribution, Charron says the sky’s the limit. “Right now, we deliver beer from Corolla to Ocracoke, but have to cut it at 30 restaurants. With this new space we will be able to distribute to anyone and everyone.”

In short, Lost Colony Brewery may still be one of the coolest breweries on the East Coast, but it’s certainly no longer one of the smallest.

Ocracoke Brewery Debuts Another brewery is getting ready to open its doors on the Outer Banks – and it’s just a bit farther south on Ocracoke Island.

Owners Garick Kalna and his wife, Jacqui, met on Ocracoke in 1994 and started what Kalna once thought of as their “three-year plan." But life didn’t go quite as they expected, and the couple has lived on the island ever since. They co-owned Ocracoke Coffee Company for 17 years until they sold the shop four years ago and switched their focus from coffee…to beer.

“I first started brewing beer in college some 20 years ago,” says Kalna, who is opening 1718 Ocracoke Brewing in the former Café Atlantic Restaurant on Irvin Garrish Highway, just past Howard’s Pub. Like many brewers, Kalna fell in love with making great beer. “One of the things I like most about brewing is that you use both sides of your brain – you use the science-based left side to accurately repeat the brewing process and then the creative right side to come up with variations. It fits perfectly for me, but in the beginning it was just a hobby.”

Kalna stepped away from brewing beer for a while as he and Jacqui focused on raising their two children and running the coffee shop. Kalna, an engineer by profession, was also designing and building houses. But his love for craft beers resurfaced six or seven ago when he decided to pursue his dream of opening a brewery. He connected with Scott Meyer, former brewmaster of the Outer Banks Brewing Station, and learned the ins and outs of operating a larger system.

The “1718” in the brewery’s name, Kalna “One of the things I says, is to honor like most about brewing Blackbeard, who is that you use both sides of was killed that your brain – you use the scienceyear in the waters based left side to accurately repeat off of Ocracoke. the brewing process and then the “We’re tipping creative right side to come up with our hat to him,” he says good-navariations." turedly. “Besides, -Garick Kalna, Blackbeard was a 1718 Ocracoke Brewing bad ass.”

Kalna gutted the Café Atlantic building and renovated it to hold a 10-barrel system as well as a tasting room and a small pub area, where they plan to brew and serve a large variety of beers, including everything from a light Kölsch to imperial stouts.

“My wife is a hop head so we plan to have tons of IPAs – at least three at all times, including a session, double and regular IPA,” he says.

The brewery will also feature beers using local figs and honey. “We want to use as many local ingredients as we can, and plan to roll out a sour program eventually. We’ll have a Gose right away, but a sour program takes time. We should have one going by October.”

Kalna’s 10-barrel operation will allow for about 310 to 340 gallons of beer, or 20 to 24 kegs per brewing cycle. “We’ve designed everything exactly the way we want it so that we can make the style of beers we want.”

The two-story building will mark the first time Ocracoke has ever had a brewery. 1718 Ocracoke Brewing will have indoor and outdoor seating on both levels, with fire pits outside during certain times of year.

The Kalnas will also be leasing a portion of 1718 to Joseph Ramunni, owner of The Community Store, a specialty grocery store located at the heart of the village that carries an array of organic items.

According to Kalna, Ramunni will serve pub-style food by creating a hybrid version of the popular “food truck” theme commonly seen at Asheville, N.C., breweries and elsewhere. The menu will include a variety of tapas-style dishes, plus some menu items that incorporate underutilized seafood.

With two beloved craft breweries – the Weeping Radish and Outer Banks Brewing Station – well established in this area, along with the new 1718 Ocracoke Brewing operation and the expanding Lost Colony Brewery, one thing’s certain. There will always be something brewing on the Outer Banks that’s sure to wet your whistle.

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23

community

preserving ocracoke's

maritime heritage Photos by Daniel Pullen Photography / Story by Kelley Shinn

ocracoke island bears witness to a complex and unique history – one of Native Americans,

pirates, shipwrecks and small yet significant roles in the Civil War, World War I and World War II. Indeed, the island boasts more than 200 buildings and homes that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And while each home and building tells its own rich and salient story, the heart of the village – the place where villagers have gathered for news, goods and celebrations for nearly a century – is the cluster of five historic buildings across the harbor from the Ocracoke Lighthouse known as the Community Square.

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NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

Although several small merchandise stores were maintained in different areas of the island over the years, Amasa “Mace” Fulcher opened The Community Store on the north side of Cockle Creek in 1918. And while the building has changed form and location due to both storm destruction and island growth, this gathering place remained open for 88 consecutive years until 2006. Mace carried baking goods, cheese, beans, hardware and Sunday clothes, and she even kept one child and two adult caskets on hand at all times. In 2014, The Community Store reopened under the management of Joseph Ramunni and Lauren Strohl. The store still sells a variety of goods – everything from cast-iron pans, fishing rods, toys and organic produce – and it still maintains an

Old World charm. It is not uncommon to see men sitting in rocking chairs around the potbelly wood stove in the center of the store, or sitting on benches underneath the covered porch.

In 1930, Will G. Willis built the Willis Fish House and Dock.

The structure became a hub for local fisherman, and it was the first place on the island to sell blocks of ice. Later, it became a store where Ocracoke children would sip milkshakes and jump off the docks into Cockle Creek to escape the summer heat. Today, it houses the Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Exhibit and the office for the Ocracoke Foundation. Its docks are still used as a launching point for local charter boats and tours to nearby Portsmouth Island. You can spend the day shelling there, or touring the pristine village that has been abandoned since 1971.

In 1936, The Ocracoke Power and Light Company was formed. A generator plant and office were built next to The Community Store, along with a plant where ice was produced and sold. Ronald “Conk” O’Neal was a company employee, and could often be seen on the plant’s roof pouring ice over the generator on hot summer mornings to prevent overheating. For decades now, the building has been home to both Kitty Hawk Kites and the Fudge and Ice Cream shop, run by longtime resident Mark Justice. The line for treats is often long but worth the wait.

Also in 1936, a small commercial structure was built at the edge of the Willis dock. It was used as an office where

Top: A panoramic view of the Community Square.

Bottom left: Images from around the square today, including the potbelly wood stove at the center of The Community Store. Left: Iona Teeter and her son, Carl Teeter, purchase sundries from Monkford Garrish at The Community Store in 1955. Photo courtesy of the Ekstrom Library.

residents could pay their electric bills, and after a public water system was introduced in the 1970s, their water bills. The space will soon reopen as Trixie’s Fineries, a studio and shop for artist Karen Rhodes.

The fifth and final historical structure that makes up the square is the William Ellis Williams House, circa 1900. The building was moved twice before it came to its final resting place on the waterfront of the Community Square. Recently, it became the “Coyote Den” of beloved island musicians Marcy Brenner and Lou Castro. It’s a place for music lessons, jam sessions and concerts featuring old island stories and songs in the “Hoi Toide” brogue for which Ocracoke is famous. A portion of the building also houses the Ocracoke

Civic and Business Association’s Visitor Center.

Ocracoke’s Community Square is the heart of this maritime village. It is a main hub for annual festivals, including Ocracoke’s famous Fig Festival and Blackbeard’s Pirate’s Jamboree, where you can watch a reenactment of Blackbeard’s final battle – complete with cannons – from the square’s docks. The restoration and revitalization of this historic property is not only vital to the survival of Ocracoke, but to the maritime heritage of the Outer Banks.

To this end, the 2013 purchase of this iconic maritime heritage site by the Ocracoke Foundation kicked off a multi-faceted initiative that aims to restore the five National Historic buildings and the docks, improve water quality in Silver Lake

Harbor, maintain water access for maritime businesses and the public, preserve open space, enhance the local economy and eventually to create a permanent community endowment. With both long and short-term goals in mind, the Ocracoke Foundation is currently working with The Conservation Fund and TowneBank to continue protecting – and preserving the rich history of – the 80 to 117-year-old structures that make up the square for many future generations to come.

Visit ocracokefoundation.org for more information, for links to their Stories from the Square video series, or to add a financial contribution to help save this irreplaceable island asset.

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25

shore science

mother nature's

light show Photo by Cory Godwin Productions / Story by Kip Tabb

Imagine a million points of light, or 10 million, or 100 million, all coming together at the same moment, the light flashing for just a tenth of a second, as another 10 million flashes of light flare into existence…and another…and another. Each light an iridescent blue, tumbling through the surf, turning the breaking waves into an illumination that stretches for miles.

Mid-September of last year, Mother Nature put on quite a show, turning the Outer Banks’ surf into lines of intense blue white light.

That light is bioluminescence, and at its most intense, it’s one of nature’s most beautiful light shows. Defined by the Smithsonian as “the production and emission of light by a living organism,” bioluminescence is fairly common in nature.

On land we witness bioluminescence every time a male firefly signals that he’s looking for a mate, or in the glimmer of a glowworm. But bioluminescence primarily exists in the world’s waters.

And that beautiful blue light that filled the Outer Banks surf in mid-September of last year? That was created by phytoplankton. To be more specific, dinoflagellates.

Dinoflagellates are fascinating little – microscopically little – single-celled organisms that are an important group of phytoplankton in marine and freshwaters.

They are classified in the Kingdom Prosista. They’re not quite animal, not quite plant and not quite fungus.

A ubiquitous species of phytoplankton that occurs in all the oceans of the world, in Arctic ice, brackish estuaries and fresh water, more than 1,500 species of dinoflagellates have been identified. They generally reproduce asexually, but there are some rare circumstances where they develop sexual characteristics in order to reproduce.

For the most part, dinoflagellates are an unseen, unnoticed part of our world.

There are exceptions. Karenia brevis is a dinoflagellate, and it’s the organism 26

NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

primarily responsible for the red tides that poison sea life. A red tide is caused by very heavy concentrations of Karenia brevis, although other phytoplankton can produce toxic conditions for aquatic life.

Karenia brevis seems to prefer warmer waters than are typically found on the Outer Banks, and the risk of a red tide in this area is low.

But other dinoflagellates do make their presence known locally from time to time – sometimes spectacularly, as they did last September.

The glowing surf of last fall was remarkable in its intensity, but it wasn’t the only time dinoflagellates brought a light show to the Outer Banks. Still, what happened last fall was memorable for this area.

As a source of light, bioluminescence has some truly unique characteristics. Created through a chemical reaction, there’s no heat associated with it. And that’s important. That male firefly wouldn’t live long if his tail was on fire; the first time a dinoflagellate lit up in the ocean would be its last if there was any heat to that light.

The basic process that allows dinoflagellates to produce light is understood; the details of the ecological advantage the bioluminescent flashes provide are still a matter of speculation.

All bioluminescence is caused by a group of chemicals called luciferins. Luciferins don’t do anything unless triggered by a catalyst called a luciferase. There are still some questions about the exact nature of the chemistry involved in this process, but what is known is that the time from stimulus to

light for dinoflagellates is one of the fastest in nature: less than 20 milliseconds (.02 second).

There are a number of theories about why dinoflagellates use bioluminescence. The most likely, according to researchers, is as a defense against predators. Research has shown that some predators who feed on phytoplankton are startled by a sudden emission of light.

As single-celled organisms, dinoflagellates do not have a brain and have no way to distinguish between water disturbed by a predator, a wave or a person walking through the water. Because they are unable to tell the difference between a passing fish and a waving hand, bioluminescence is triggered whenever the water moves.

There are certain conditions, however, that favor bioluminescence.

It does not occur during daylight hours. Water temperature also plays a role; warmer temperatures are more likely to trigger bioluminescence.

One of the most famous spots worldwide for viewing bioluminescence is Puerto Mosquito (Mosquito Bay) on the tropical southern shore of Vieques, an island off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico.

Nearshore ocean currents are also a factor.

Dinoflagellates use their flagella, whip-like appendages, to maneuver. However, they are powerless against a current that moves from south to north over the course of two or three weeks.

Although they don’t emit light this time of year, dinoflagellates are still in our waters, according

Cory Godwin Productions captured bioluminescence — mother nature's light show — in the waters off the Outer Banks last September.

to Dylan Owens of the First Flight High School Phytoplankton Finder – which is more commonly known as the Phytofinders Club.

Dylan, a senior, has been analyzing phytoplankton samples for the past two years and has learned to distinguish among various types of phytoplankton.

“It’s something you have to learn,” he says about the difference between phytoplankton. About half the phytoplankton he is seeing are dinoflagellates.

Even though phytoplankton and dinoflagellates are most likely to be noticed during the summertime,

Dylan says that’s not necessarily the time of their heaviest concentration. Based on the samples the Phytofinders Club has brought in for analysis recently, it seems as though phytoplankton are actually more prevalent in winter rather than summer.

Dylan, who hopes to pursue a career in the sciences, is cautious about these conclusions however.

“It could be that in the cooler waters of the Labrador Current, they are more dispersed,” he says, quickly adding that there’s still more research to be done on the topic.

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Connect with nature by strolling along the Boardwalk, walk the village area with stores, galleries and eateries, and enjoy free live events at the Town Park throughout the year.

Visit doducknc.com for a shopping guide and info on special events held by Duck Village Merchants.

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board banter

Springtime Gear

By Jeffrey Myers

what's not to love?

As year-round residents, we entertain Mother Nature's unpredictable winter weather and haven't a say in what we are dealt. Cloudy grey surroundings, gusty northerly winds and a subtle splash of the winter blues isn't a far cry from what's on special regarding our chilly seasonal menu.

It can be a bit of a grind, but once spring shows her welcomed face, we are all reminded of just how blessed we are to live in such a special place.

Days grow longer and the sea seems to finally settle, allowing those world class sandbars to finally reform. The sun shines, heating both our air and water temperatures, and that subconscious weight of winter is finally a faint memory.

As surfers, springtime is a resurrection of sorts. We have survived another brutal winter so rewarding ourselves with some new gear is an absolute must!

In terms of essential gear for this time of year, we'll start with our springtime surfboard quiver. Shedding wetsuit thickness allows us to go a little shorter and a little thinner, so as far as equipment goes, the staple shortboard is a must have!

A step-up board for the Outer Banks’ bigger storms is also a must, because it helps ease the paddle during those swell events that have strong currents. A shorter and wider board is probably the most clutch board of your quiver, providing that extra buoyancy and speed to help those who are just getting back in shape after the long, cold winter months. A longboard provides motivation when the weather is beautiful and the surf is tiny. It's the "no excuses" board, inspiring you to surf and get exercise on even the smallest days! Any one of Catch Surf's soft top boards are fun. From the longboards to my absolute personal favorite the Stump, these boards are super safe and perform incredibly.

Most surfers invest in new wetsuits come springtime and/or new boots and gloves, as we thankfully can shed hoods this time of year. Springtime can be tricky, however. Air temps can rise rapidly and stay rather consistent, but water temperature can take its sweet time – though the good news is that it's only getting warmer from here on out!

The bottom line is that a great wetsuit can be as motivating as a brand new surfboard. With all of the top-shelf wetsuit technology, there are plenty of extremely comfortable wetsuits with so much flex and stretch that it's almost like not wearing a wetsuit at all. Better construction makes it easy to shed millimeters and wear thinner wetsuits while still staying both comfortable and toasty. And while water temps on the northern beaches can often call for a 4/3-millimeter suit, you can catch the same swell in Buxton or Frisco and be sweating like mad in a short-sleeve full suit! I recommend purchasing a pair of three-millimeter booties, a two-millimeter pair of seamless gloves and

have a decent spread of wetsuits ranging from 4/3, three and some of the new two-millimeter suits.

Personally, I like Matuse wetsuits out of California. They have an incredible spread of both front and back zip suits and are constructed with rubber imported from Japan for superior warmth and flexibility.

The "dipped" booties and gloves are very choice, too. Dipped is a fairly new technology in which the rubber is actually molded so no seams can leak water into your boots or gloves, keeping both your hands and feet relatively dry while providing great stretch and flex.

The next thing we must go over is a springtime accessory list! A GoPro camera is a necessity for capturing unique angles and images. Editing the images and footage can be as fun as surfing the session itself. There’s no denying that the quality of the images you capture just gets better and better with each new GoPro camera release. Incredible accessories now make shooting easier and safer, as well.

Another great accessory is the SoloShot, a small non-pesky device that a surfer wears on his or her arm to help a robotic device track and film each wave you ride.

The SoloShot pairs with most cameras and is like having someone film your entire session. Simply mount the video camera on a tripod connected to the robotic device, pair the arm band with the robot, and it tracks you steadily – it can even be turned on and off from the line up. The latest model that’s about to be released is very user friendly since most of the minor kinks have been officially ironed out. Both GoPros and SoloShots are available at most surf shops.

As far as other basics go, why not purchase a new ding repair kit and fix those old dings that are taking in water every time you surf, resulting in that brownish-yellow eyesore on your favorite surfboard?

Front traction pads also seem to have made a comeback, and if you want to give these a go, wearing a wetsuit will literally save your belly and ribs from the worst rash you have ever experienced – so springtime is actually ideal for trying these pads out!

On a final note, the new fins available are much lighter and advanced than fins were in the past, are easier to install, and can literally turn your Coupe into a Porsche when you match the right fin template with the right surfboard.

Surf shop employees should have no problem helping you pair the two.

This concludes the who's who and must-haves for spring 2017, folks. Do take advantage of the new gear impulse after riding out another long winter on the Outer Banks and purchase one of these spring essentials.

Heck, purchase one of each!

Jeffrey Myers is a professional surfer who has spent the last 20 years circling the globe in search of perfect surf. He divides the remainder of his spare time between freelance writing and corunning two fine art/photo galleries that are located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Kill Devil Hills.

28

NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

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b.s. in parenting the latest rumors, happenings and “alternative facts” heard on the playground (I may or may not have spit out my drink trying to hide my amusement and/or horror on more than one occasion).

The kids are now 11, eight, and almost five years old. I don’t know when it happened, but we have entered a new dimension that definitively alters the family dynamics and I know we made quite the nature of our dinner conver- an impression, because sations. I mean, you try navigating at one point our guest the trajectory of discussions that of honor asked me consist partly of pulling up pu(through some halfberty videos, dissections of lyrics from pop songs I’ve never heard stifled giggles) if she of before, and announcements had walked into the Mad that range from “I call my parts Hatter’s tea party.

China” to “I neeeeeeeed a bra” to fifth grade rumors that seem to mirror scenes from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with a straight face, because I stopped trying years ago. We have yet to master the “one person talks at a time rule,” among many others. We are not for the faint of heart or table manner aficionados…but when we make it to the eye of the storm, we laugh ‘til it hurts.

In the end, that’s what does it for me: Those moments when a storm of negativity is drowned out with laughter. And that guest of honor?

Apparently Marines don’t scare easily, because we managed to trap her into living with us. Our family circus keeps on getting bigger and better, storms be damned. So no matter what happens, I say keep on swimming – and whatever you do, don’t stop laughing.

By Lindsey Beasley Dianna

Lindsey Beasley Dianna is a full-time mom to three who currently resides in Kitty Hawk.

She’d like to be a writer when she grows up.

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We’re living in some crazy times, y’all. The world

as we know it often reminds me of Dr. Seuss’s NorthGoing Zax and South-Going Zax, both of whom quarreled and refused to budge an inch for the sake of peace or progress (or anything else constructive for that matter). But let’s pepper this with inspirational videos of baby animals and (sometimes) hilarious memes on social media, because as I’ve always said: Humor saves lives. For me, humor is a survival tool, not just my special combination of inappropriate laughter (ahem, funerals) with my desire to find the funny no matter what in order to remain positive.

Lucky for me, my three stooges provide endless material, and our safety zone is the family dinner table.

Global and national unrest aside, my family and I have been recovering from exposure to black mold after the basement flooded in our last rental house, and the pressure of making it through an unexpected move after those particularly trying living conditions was getting to each of us one way or another.

Before our situation became more like a game of “Find what’s in the pantry because I’m on the phone with an attorney!” than “Ooh, guess what’s for dinner, kids? Stir fry!” we used to do family dinners more often. Loud music, toasting with glasses of wine and milk (or pieces of pizza and pancakes), chats about our days, and contagious laughter were our shelter from life’s storms. So despite chaos, activities, homework, etc., I tuned out all the insanity and made room for some Grade-A quality time. (Fair warning: You’re better off taking some eyewitness testimony 30

NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

into account before you even consider accepting an open invite to our dinner table.)

The occasion in question? Recently, my kids and I were finally lucky enough to find our own Mary Poppins disguised as a badass female Marineturned-nanny. After a few weeks of digging out of the mire of our harrowing move, I was able not only to cook a homemade meal, but to actually sit down for a family dinner with her and my three cherubs.

The children requested David Bowie to accompany the celebration of my return to homemade dinners, and they were disproportionately excited about the meal. I’d lost track, but to them it had been an eternity (maybe they were right, as they seemed unusually grateful for that particular dinner, and were eager to entertain our guest).

I know we made quite an impression, because at one point our guest of honor asked me (through some half-stifled giggles) if she had walked into the Mad Hatter’s tea party. The assessment was spot on. There was no sense in trying to impress her with false pretenses. (It was too late for that anyway, and our circus is what I like to call “good crazy.” I’m a huge fan of dressing our crazy and sticking it on the front porch with a beverage; in this area, we are overachievers.)

In short, the tangential conversations were spinning, and in attempts to “take turns talking” (bwahahahaha) they were spilling a few teacups here and there, and the words “INTERRUPTING COW” somehow seemed to make its way into every knock-knock joke. The conversation ranged from jokes that, apparently, only four-year-olds know the answer to, to the age appropriateness of shows and games, to

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lifestyle

mandy's finds

krista's finds

Past of th e

Photos by K. Wilkins Photography Story by Amelia Boldaji

32

NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

Hunting for beach glass is a virtual pastime here on the islands, but that’s not the only type of treasure that can be found on our shores. Some beachcombing aficionados get an even greater thrill by searching for something more elusive: beach pottery. Generally tumbled and smoothed like more common beach glass, beach pottery can be difficult to date, but some pieces can be centuries old and feature unusual designs and colors that make them hard to resist.

Just ask Point Harbor resident Krista Barkley. Her fascination with beachcombing started when she was a high school student in Moorhead City, but it wasn’t until she moved to the Outer Banks in 2004 that she found her first piece of beach pottery.

“I’ve found everything from sunglasses, toys and clothes – even dentures!” she says with a laugh. “But the pottery is so interesting, especially when you find something that has unique colors or patterns.”

Krista often makes the drive down to Pea Island (which she calls a finder’s “hotspot”), but she just as frequently scouts the soundside area right outside her front door. One of her favorite pieces – a china doll hand that she thinks might date back to the late 1800s – came from there. “Pottery can be weird,” she says. “Sometimes you just get a little piece of something, and that’s as far as you can go with it.”

Kill Devil Hills resident Mandy Savage agrees. “I love the mystery of it,” she says enthusiastically. “I’m always thinking where did this come from? Is it from a shipwreck or did someone just dump their trash in the water? A lot

of times there’s no way to know for sure.”

Mandy started beachcombing with her husband 20 years ago when they lived in Delaware, though until they moved to the Outer Banks he was the one with the real knack for finding shards of pottery. Now Mandy either gets up extra early to scout the beaches by their house, or makes what she calls her special “treasure runs” to look for pieces on the more southern beaches.

“The cool thing with pottery is that it can look just like a plain shell,” she says. “Then there’s that excitement of picking it up and flipping it over to see if there’s an image or some burst of color on the opposite side. Of course, sometimes it is just a shell. But you never know!”

Like Krista, Mandy often does a bit of online sleuthing to see if she can get even a vague sense of the history behind her finds (a red-patterned piece of china, for example, appears similar to pictures of transferware, which was hugely popular in the mid-18th century).

Playing the part of an amateur detective is also how Buxton resident Kristin Hissong has uncovered some of the history behind her vast beachcombing collection. Not only does she do quite a bit of Googling, but she’ll also consult other longtime locals to see if they have any stories that can shed some light on her finds.

One of her most cherished pieces is a fragment

of a plate with the image of a girl and small dog on it – plus the first few letters of the alphabet embossed along the rim. She knew from the start that it was a special find, but it wasn’t until a friend gave her a full plate in that same style that she was able to put the pieces together and identify it as a children’s plate from the late 1880s.

“The full plates have images along with sayings on them, and they were used as learning tools,” Kristin says. “It’s just incredible to think that someone actually used that to teach their children manners and how to speak.”

Kristin says she’s loved to explore her entire life, and at one point she considered earning a degree in archeology.

“In my mind I’m already an archeologist though!” she says brightly. “People always ask me how I find so many things, but it’s really not hard.

You just have to go out everyday and look – then you’ll start finding stuff.”

She pauses thoughtfully. “Most people walk too fast – even I do sometimes,” she adds. “But when you slow down, you can be surprised by the smallest things. I call them ‘universe kisses’ – those pieces that catch your eye somehow as though they were meant for you. And if you don’t pick them up, the ocean will take them back. That’s just the way it goes.”

"Is it from a shipwreck or did someone just dump their trash in the water? A lot of times there’s no way to know for sure."

-Mandy Savage

kristin's finds NORTHBEACHSUN.COM

33

EVERYTHING ELSE UNDER THE

Sun

Illustrations by Alex Lex Story by Dawn Church

We know most OBX lovers like the Outer Banks just the way it is (and some would even take it WAAAY back to the old days) but times, they are a changin’! We asked around to find out what kind of new, innovative things folks would like to see in the future on the Outer Banks. Answers ran the gamut from food trucks to solar freakin’ roadways, and while some answers were pretty pedestrian, not one of them was boring!

[ solar walkways ]

New ways of getting around on the OBX came up a lot…

Joanne: A rapid transit/light rail system from the Outer Banks to Norfolk International Airport.

Lee: Water taxis, like they have in Ft. Lauderdale. You could water taxi to Manteo, the Tanger Outlet Center, businesses along the causeway, and other places accessible by boat.

Cliff: A Currituck bridge – to help with traffic backup in the summer and with evacuations.

Ken: I can't imagine how this could happen, but I would like a way to peacefully walk or ride my bike from the west side of the island to the beach without having to deal with the “kill path.”

Jennifer: Light-up crosswalks – when someone walks up to a crosswalk, the signs blink and make a noise, and the crosswalk lane lights up, too.

Misty: I'd love to see a pedestrian path put on the Washington Baum Bridge. I have to hold my breath whenever I see anyone walking or biking it. I think they could easily engineer an extension on the outside of the bridge to accommodate this.

Amanda: Crosswalks and sidewalks are huge ones. We should be sure these investments include services for the blind and disabled, like the beepers on pedestrian lights and bumps in the sidewalk found in many metropolitan areas.

Nancy: The beach road as a pedestrian road, with bicycles, rickshaws and skateboarders during the summer.

Hidden Outer Banks is the lovechild of longtime local Dawn Church.

She reminds locals and visitors alike to explore the rich history and local color that exists beyond the bright lights of the Bypass. Find HOBX at hiddenouterbanks.com and facebook.com/hiddenouterbanks.

Local photographer Alex Lex is known for his photoshopping work. You can find him on Facebook at ALEX LEX OBX Photographer.

34

NORTH BEACH SUN SPRING 2017

[ Light Rail Service ] Some would like to see the OBX head towards the future on a greener path…

Helen: Residential solar and wind. Conversion of the old landfill to a county solar farm, public transit and crystal clear water in the sound. That last one might be a reach... maybe acres upon acres of oysters cleaning the water?

Kathy: Better internet service. We are so far behind in our connectivity, and it would spur a better economy.

Heather: Structures that are more hurricane and flood resistant, made to take very strong winds and become effective disaster shelters that prevent people from having to totally evacuate at the last minute. Also, tide and wind-powered electricity and heat pumps that use the ocean water warmth for the beach community.

Mary: Solar roofing on all structures, windmills where suitable and also a rail would be super cool for public transport. Also, sunblock booths at all the accesses. You could get in, press a button and have sunblock sprayed on your body – like spray tanning booths, but you know, sunblock!

Thad: Golf cart lanes and charging stations, all eco-friendly. And solar-powered beach road crossing lights like in Florida for pedestrian safety.

[ water taxi ]

The future of FOOD was on everyone’s mind…

Dixon: Food trucks from local restaurants at beach accesses during the summer.

Amanda: In my dreams the Pirates Quay parking lot would be full of itinerant merchants at least four days a week!

Melissa: A community garden – big time! I know there's one in Southern Shores, which is great. Love the idea of local produce and no one going hungry...no one.

Douglas: How about a small to mid-sized cooking school, or a seafood processing facility? Pressure the few giant multi-nationals that dominate our local food dollars into selling strictly local seafood. These aren't new ideas at all, just two of the best I've heard.

Even the surfers added their two cents…

Patti: An artificial reef that produces a perfect A-frame peak when we get long-period hurricane swells that usually close out.

Skip: Portable chair lifts for aging, long-time local surfers. I know a few!

JM: Datable men with good jobs and brains.

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