North Beach Sun Summer 2018

SUMMER 2018

AN OUTER BANKS DAY SEEN THROUGH THE LENSES OF SIX LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHERS FOOD & DRINK PAIRINGS FOR THE TAKEOUT ENTHUSIAST THE SISTER WHO MADE THE WRIGHT BROTHERS FAMOUS

FREE! VOLUME 125

@NORTHBEACHSUN

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Hand-crafted sandwiches, fresh-baked French baguettes, imported cheeses – if it weren’t for the

2016

breathtaking view of the Manteo waterfront and the Elizabeth II, you’d swear you were in Paris!

From the gelaterias in Venice to the cafés in Marseilles, owners Belinda and Juraj Pleva traveled the Old World in a quest to bring the perfect European café to the shores of the Outer Banks.

Both trained chocolatiers, the pair first opened Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop in Corolla, then Kitty Hawk and finally Manteo. Their attention to detail as well as their passion for organic, clean and simple food drove them to open the Outer Banks’ first truly European-style café.

Best European Cafe

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There’s no assembly line at the Hungry Pirate, no hidden kitchen, and no processed foods. Just about everything – from the salad dressings to the sangria – is made in-house. It’s everything from the Old World made new – that’s the Hungry Pirate way.

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Serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week, the Hungry Pirate is the perfect place to grab a quick fresh bite before exploring Manteo’s many historic and cultural sights.

waterfront café & european deli CALL AHEAD FOR TO-GO ORDERS!

Located on the Manteo waterfront • 207 Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Manteo • 252-423-3133 • hungrypiratecafe.com

! ’s k c u B ig B t a f f o l o o C Hot outside? Cool off your taste buds at Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop with a frosty milkshake, fresh fruit smoothie or a banana split piled high with all of your favorite toppings. Or choose a homemade waffle cone with one of Big Buck’s 57 signature ice cream flavors made fresh daily like Espresso Chip, Chocolate Peanut Butter or Coconut Almond Fudge. YUM!

One bite and you’ll understand why Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop has been named the Best of the Beach time and again.

Flavor, freshness and fun—it’s that simple!

Waterfront Shops Manteo 252-423-3118

Buccaneer’s Walk MP 4.5, Kitty Hawk 252-715-0779

Timbuck II Corolla 252-453-3188

106A Sir Walter Raleigh St. Manteo 252-423-3400

bigbucksicecream.com • distinctdelights.com 2

ORDER ONLINE!

Like us on Facebook for updates, store hours, specials and more.

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

Find it. Rent it.

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

@NORTHBEACHSUN

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Summer 2018

10 From the publisher 13 BUT FIRST...

2152 26

lifestyle

48

14 summer EVENTS CALENDAR

34 capture the day

An Outer Banks day through the lenses of local photographers

community

44 What happens in Vegas

A wedding to remember (or forget)

18 the winning gift

Locally created nonprofit Charitocracy is

reinventing philanthropy

arts & entertainment 21 from flame to fame

Randy Hodges, the Manteo Blacksmith 24 fresh ink

Two artists, countless iconic t-shirt designs

food & beverage 26 grab & go

Food pairings for the takeout crowd

46 What’d you say?

A handy guide to Ocracoke brogue

folks 48 the flyers’ sister

The sibling who shaped the Wright brothers’ fame 52 an enduring legacy

Soft-shell industry shaper Murray Bridges

everything else under the sun 56 island hopping

Little-known islands of the Outer Banks

REAL ESTATE outdoors 31 shore science

Why is the ocean cold when it’s so hot?

32 board banter

A family of surfers 6

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

about the cover: Photographer Ray Matthews takes advantage of a perfect Outer Banks sunset at Whalehead in Corolla (top). The ocean melts into sky in this Nags Head beach photo by Roy Edlund (bottom). this page: Photos clockwise from top left courtesy of Ryan Moser (top left and right), Elizabeth Neal, and Wright State University.

N LEAOW SING

A TA S TE OF

ON THE BEACH

COASTAL LIVING AT ITS FINEST Featuring casually elegant living accommodations with an array of first-class amenities.

KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC

1-3 Bedrooms • Pool • Clubhouse • Fitness Room • Theater From $1380 per month • LIMITED OPPORTUNITIES REMAIN

LUNCH • DINNER • TO-GO PARTY TRAYS

RunHillApartments.com • 866.364.9534 • 1004 Run Hill Court, Kill Devil Hills Photos by Milepost Portraits • Professionally Managed by VR Real Estate Advisors, LLC

The Outer Banks’ Only Oceanfront Restaurant Serving Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner • Appetizers • Seafood

Killer ocean view!

Waterfront dining at the Wright Memorial Bridge 252-863-3001 • MasalaBayGrill.com

Coldest dra fts on the beach!

Over 30 b eers on ta p including locally crafted NC beers

Full ABC Permits

9 TVs Sports Central entals Bait & Tackle • Tackle R Live Music Nightly

at the

MP 11.5 on the beach road in Nags Head 252.441.4200 (Restaurant) NagsHeadPier.com • 252.441.5141 (Pier) @NORTHBEACHSUN

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d r i b b b le. com / m a lyou sf i

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70 years of Outer Banks style

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

dr i b b b l e.co m/ ma l yo u s fi

dr i b b b l e.co m/ m a lyou sf i

FAMOUS

Big Duck towels, t-shirts and gifts

Silver Wave Rings!!!

www.shopgraysobx.com • info@grays-sportswear.com • 1-800-382-5006 Corolla, NC TimBuck II 252-457-1058

2nd Location in TimBuck II 252-453-4994

Duck Village Duck Village Scarborough Faire Waterfront Shops 252-261-1740 252-255-5768

Kitty Hawk MP 4 Bypass 252-261-1776 @NORTHBEACHSUN

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from thE publisher

Staff Publishers

Adam & Cathy Baldwin EDITOR The Baldwin family on the James Madison University campus, circa 2012.

Amelia Boldaji Art Director

“The more things change, the more they remain the same.”

- Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, French newspaper editor (1849) Not long after Adam and I took over the North Beach Sun, we traveled to the Blue Ridge Mountains with our kids for a nostalgic visit to our old alma mater, James Madison University. Both Adam and I were mass communications majors, and with my concentration in journalism and his in graphic design, publishing a magazine seemed the perfect marriage of our degrees.

I imagined on this trip that I’d stand on the steps of Anthony-Seeger Hall, the elementary school turned college campus building that housed most of the mass comm classes, with a sense of accomplishment and exclaim: “Look! I actually used my major, and now I’m publishing a magazine!”

Except when we got there, it seemed like everything had changed. Anthony-Seeger was no longer home to bleary-eyed mass comm undergrads; it now housed the JMU campus police department. And mass comm was no longer even a major; it had evolved into the School of Media Arts & Design, with hipper-sounding concentrations like creative advertising and interactive design.

This was about six years ago, and we were still trying to find our footing with the magazine.

After working at plenty of jobs that didn’t quite fit — two years as a college English teacher, seven as a bartender and one in advertising sales — I finally felt like I had hit the professional nail on the head, except it was 2012 and my profession was in print. Both of us wondered how we could stay focused and relevant during a time when magazines were ditching their print versions and relying on click-throughs, content marketing and search engine optimization.

But we kept at it. Eventually, it was like shedding a skin — we kept leaving behind everything that didn’t work and honing in on what did — which, as it turns out, was just

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

publishing interesting stories that people liked to read. It was as simple as that.

Going back to James Madison reminded me that even though so much had changed, the basic lessons had stayed the same. And I think that’s true a lot in life.

In this issue, we acknowledge the beauty in getting back to basics. We take a glimpse at one of the oldest professions-turned-art forms with Randy Hodges, a local blacksmith who uses a 3,000-year-old process to create both beautiful and useful pieces. We also meet with Murray Bridges, an octogenarian who still spends his days and nights tending to the shedders at his soft-shell operation off Colington Road — a business he started (in a state industry he helped shape) more than four decades ago.

In our real estate section, developer Jim Rose eschews the trend of building bigger, more elaborate vacation estates by constructing a cottage court that harkens back to the days of simple family beach vacations. And Kelley Shinn takes us back in time to the once-inhabited Portsmouth Island for its biennial homecoming celebration, a day that honors past residents and reminds attendees how important it is to preserve the island and the old ways of living.

In an age of flashing pop-up ads, cat memes and online quizzes that tell you which Harry Potter character you’re most like, we’re taking you back to the beginning. Because no matter how much things may change, what really draws us in is still the same: good writing, interesting content, beautiful photography and smart layout design. I hope you find all of that here in the North Beach Sun. As always, enjoy the issue!

-Cathy Baldwin

Dave Rollins Graphic Designers

Adam Baldwin Dylan Bush Writers

Cathy Baldwin • Amelia Boldaji Brian Boutin • Dawn Church Fran Marler • Amanda McDanel Meg Puckett • Arabella Saunders Kelley Shinn Photographers

Mary Basnight • Roy Edlund Cory Godwin • Patti Harrell Matt Lusk • Ray Matthews Ryan Moser • Ryan Osmond Elizabeth Neal • Wes Snyder Kati Wilkins Sales Manager

Helen Furr Account Executives

Sue Goodrich Tori Peters Distributor

Bob Baldwin

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. Opinions, responses, and inquiries are always welcome.

NORTH BEACH SUN 115 West Meadowlark St. Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948 252.449.4444 editor@northbeachsun.com

@NORTHBEACHSUN

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Add the Y to your vacation, and enjoy healthy activities for all ages, including: • • • • • •

Outdoor aquatic center with zero entry access, water slide, diving well, and open swim times plus fun family activities Summer camp full of nature, water fun, arts & crafts, games, field trips and sports Racquetball, basketball, volleyball, soccer and pickleball Complimentary child care for up to 2 hours while you workout Over 80 group exercise classes each week including Cycling, Power, Kickboxing, Hip Hop and Yoga Indoor pool with hot tub for when you’re ready for a break from the sun

SAFE AROUND WATER Teaching children to be safe around water is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Sign-up for swim lessons today at ymcashr.org/swim-lessons Member Rate: $40

Regular Rate: $80

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

BUT FIRST... wright place, wright time During the early 1900s, the Wright brothers traveled from their hometown in Ohio to the Outer Banks multiple times to conduct flight experiments. Here are a few things you might not know about some of those historic visits…

1901

watch out for this

gator

The TerraGator is a custom-built state park vehicle that looks something like a cross between a school bus, a dune buggy and a monster truck. Designed to distribute its weight more evenly in order to lessen its impact on fragile dunes and shorelines, the TerraGator is used to take people on tours of False Cape State Park – the undeveloped coastal area located just north of the Carova state line. Photo by Cory Godwin.

ocracoke express by the numbers This summer brings the long-awaited debut of the Ocracoke Express, the new passenger-only ferry to Ocracoke. The existing car ferries will continue to operate between Hatteras and the northern end of Ocracoke Island, while the new passenger ferry will bring travellers directly into Silver Lake, the heart of Ocracoke. Information courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

12 70 bicycle capacity

minutes trip duration

96 4.34 2

catamaran style hulls

seats inside

million dollars

budget outlay for the ferry’s construction

26

seats above deck

1

25

28 knots cruising speed

concession stand onboard

15 dollars

miles trip length

round-trip ticket (includes use of the new visitors’ tram on the island)

Arriving on the heels of one of the worst hurricanes locals could remember, combined with swarms of monster mosquitoes and disappointing glider experiments, Wilbur declared at the end of this trip that “not in a 1,000 years would man ever fly.”

1902

In order to more effectively get from the camp they constructed in Kitty Hawk to the test site they’d selected in Kill Devil Hills, the brothers custom built a bicycle designed for traveling over sand – cutting their commute down to an hour rather than three on foot.

1908

Reporters from all over swarmed the area after a local newspaper reported that the brothers were conducting tests. The crowds maintained an uncharacteristic distance, however, and the brothers later learned that was because of a widespread rumor that they kept a bevy of ammunition on hand to guard their invention.

1911

Orville made a solo trip to the Outer Banks to test a much more sophisticated version of the duo’s original gliders. On October 24, he soared over Kill Devil Hills for nine minutes and 45 seconds – a record that was only broken a decade later. @NORTHBEACHSUN

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summer 2018

events

Dinosaur Exhibit May 26 – September 4

This summer, the aquarium’s nature trail transforms into a Jurassic (and Cretaceous and Triassic) jungle populated by legendary reptiles of the past, transporting guests to a world lost in time. ncaquariums.com Currituck Cornhole Tournaments

May 30 – September 12 (Wednesdays only, except July 4)

ongoing Acoustic Sunsets

May 3 – September 27 (Thursdays evenings)

Sip local wine and listen to great acoustic bands on the north lawn of The Cotton Gin in Jarvisburg. sanctuaryvineyards.com Manteo Farmers’ Market Saturday mornings

Buy fresh local fruits and veggies at this farmers’ market every Saturday in downtown Manteo. townofmanteo.com Ghost Tours of the Outer Banks Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays

Get spooked by local legends and lore during these 90-minute walking tours in Manteo. ghosttoursoftheouterbanks.com

Magnolia Craft Fair at Magnolia Marketplace

Compete in weekly games at Whalehead in Historic Corolla for a chance to win a beach vacation donated by Brindley Beach. visitcurrituck.com

Tuesdays throughout the summer

Whalehead Wednesdays

Shad Boat Rides

Sample local wine and beer while listening to live music on the lawn of Historic Corolla Park. visitcurrituck.com

Shop local artisans’ booths at this open-air market in downtown Manteo. townofmanteo.com Tuesdays throughout the summer

Boats depart from the Maritime Museum in downtown Manteo at 6 p.m., weather permitting. townofmanteo.com 81st Anniversary of The Lost Colony May 25 – August 22

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

May 30 – September 26 (Wednesdays only, except July 4)

Family Magic Show

June 20 – August 15 (Wednesday mornings)

Illusionist Clive Allen of OBXtreme Magic performs incredible illusions and mind-bending tricks at the Duck Amphitheater. townofduck.com The Hunting of the Snark – Children’s Theater June 20 – August 16 (Wednesdays and Thursdays only)

Children will love this high-energy tale about bold adventurers on the hunt for a mythical creature. thelostcolony.org

Vacationing runners will enjoy this fun 5K series through the Historic Village of Corolla. Check the website for exact dates. theobxrunningcompany.com

Enjoy a free live concert with music ranging from modern indie rock to bluegrass on the Duck Town Green. townofduck.com

Farmers’ Market

Kids’ Day in the Park at Whalehead

May 30 – September 12 (on select Wednesdays)

June – October (second Thursday of every month)

Stop by Dowdy Park in Nags Head each month for fresh fruits and veggies.

First Friday

June 1, July 6, August 3

June 8, 22; July 4, 20; August 10, 24; October 19

Enjoy free bluegrass and acoustic bands throughout the summer in historic downtown Manteo. pickinontheporchobx.com

2-5 PM

Bring the kids to weekly interactive shows at the Duck Amphitheater, featuring animals from the North Carolina Aquarium, performers from The Lost Colony and more. townofduck.com

Concert on the Duck Town Green

Pickin’ on the Porch Concert Series

S A T U R D A Y, S E P T. 2 9

June 19 – August 7 (Tuesday mornings)

Lighthouse 5K

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

G R A N D TA S T I N G

Children’s Interactive Theater

Brew & Arts

June 18 – August 27 (Mondays)

Kids can make crafts or play on the pirate ship while adults shop the artisan booths in the backyard of the Outer Banks Brewing Station at this free event to benefit the Children at Play Museum. obbrewing.com

June 21 – August 23 (Thursday evenings)

June 28 – August 23 (Thursdays only)

Bring the kids for a day of fun in Historic Corolla Park, including a special children’s tour of Whalehead. visitcurrituck.com Nags Head Beach Race Series

June 28; July 12, 19, 26; August 2, 9, 16

Village Realty presents this 5k/1-mile race series on the beach in Nags Head at Jennette’s Pier. theobxrunningcompany.com Story Time

July 6 – September 7 (Friday mornings)

Bring the little ones to the steps of the Paul F. Keller Meeting Hall in Duck for a reading of funfilled children’s stories. townofduck.com

may

w i n e .b e e r. f o o d. f u n On the grounds of The Lost Colony, Roanoke Island

Rock the Cape Festival

Memorial Day Beach Blast

This three-day celebration of local and regional music and art offers a full slate of activites from Rodanthe to Hatteras Village. rockthecapeobx.com

Shake a leg on the lawn of Historic Corolla Park to the music of Blackwater Rhythm & Blues Band and Jeremy & The Generations in this free outdoor concert. visitcurrituck.com

May 26 – 28

june Dare Day Festival June 2

TLCwinefest.com | 252.473.2127 14

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

May 27

Dozens of vendors and artisans line the Manteo waterfront during this outdoor, family-friendly festival. The event kicks off with a performance by the original Rhondels. townofmanteo.com

Wind Voyager Triple-S Invitational June 2 – 8

World class wakestyle kiteboarders compete in this multi-day event at REAL Watersports in Cape Hatteras, complete with bands and parties. triplesinvitational.com

2013 & 2014 - Best Chicken 2016 - Best Ribs Judge’s Choice 2017 - Best Ribs People’s Choice 2018 - Best Ribs Judge’s Choice

COME PLAY CAROLINA KENO AT OUR COROLLA AND NAGS HEAD LOCATIONS!

CELEBRATING 17 YEARS! HE RE WE GROW AG AI N. DOCKSI DE AT OBX.. VISIT SOOEY'S MAR INA

CATERING FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT! W E H AV E

The area's finest southern cooking

Great Food. Excellent Service. Relaxed Atmosphere.

Neighborhood BAR & GRILLE (2 52)2 61 -2 2 43

S A N D T R A P TAV E R N O B X . C O M

Every day at Sandtrap Enjoy Breakfast 7am - 11am

happiest hours 3pm - 6pm

Serving lunch and dinner daily and breakfast saturday and Sunday lunch & DINNER SpECIALS

@NORTHBEACHSUN

F O L L OW U S O N FAC E B O O K

3 0 0 W. E C K N E R , K I T T Y H AW K • LO C AT E D AT S E A S C A P E G O L F L I N K S

www.simplysouthernkitchen.com 252-491-8100

seascapegolf.com

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SOUND

Outer Banks Food Truck Showdown

36th Annual Rogallo Kite Festival

This event is guaranteed to be a tummy-tempting, toe-tapping good time with food trucks, breweries and local performers at The Soundside Event Site. soundsideevents.com

This free kite festival at Jockey’s Ridge honors Francis Rogallo, inventor of the flexible wing, and features stunt kites, kite displays, kite instruction, kite making and more. kittyhawk.com

CURRI

TUCK

June 3

National Running Day June 6

DUCK POST OFFICE

Celebrate your passion for running during this nationwide holiday with a 5k and a 1-mile run starting at The Marketplace in Southern Shores. theobxrunningcompany.com 8th Annual Family Fishing Tournament June 9

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7th Annual Outer Banks Sunrise 5K and Little Kids Crab Crawl

Duck’s walkable village has everything you could want or

June 14

Rise and shine for this early morning, familyfriendly running event at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head. theobxrunningcompany.com

need, from a sound side boardwalk to stores, galleries, and eateries. Enjoy free live events at the Town Park and stroll along the newly completed pedestrian path

3rd Annual Soundside FunFair June 14 – 20

WAT E R TOWER

on the east side of Duck Road.

Find it all in Duck.

DUCK ROAD

Summer Events For start/end dates and more info visit townofduck.com

Tuesdays 7:30 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

Wednesdays 7:30 a.m.

Dynamic Flow Fitness on the Green 9:30, 11:00 a.m. Family Magic Show Amphitheater Hula Hoop and Play on the Green Concert on the Green

Fridays 10:00 a.m.

Story Time Paul F. Keller Meeting Hall steps

DUCK TOWN PARK

For more information on businesses, a shopping guide, and special events and promotions held by Duck Village Merchants, visit doducknc.com.

CROSSWALK

SHOP

PLAY

DINE

STAY

BOARDWALK

townofduck.com 252.255.1286 NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

June 14 – August 16

June 19 – 20

This two-day free art festival features talented artisans on the waterfront grounds of Historic Corolla Park. visitcurrituck.com The Fritz Boyden Memorial Youth Tournament June 20

This catch and release style fishing tournament at Jennette’s Pier is open to anglers ages 16 years and under. ncaquariums.com 7th Annual Sunset 5K and Carolina Pig Pickin’ June 21

Pirate’s Cove Realty presents this family-friendly running event at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head. theobxrunningcompany.com Kitty Hawk Surf Co. SUPtastic Paddleboard Race: Manteo June 23

All skill levels are encouraged to participate in this paddleboard event that’s held at the Manteo waterfront. kittyhawk.com TobyMac with NewSong Presented by His Generation June 27

Spend the evening enjoying the sounds of Christian artist TobyMac with NewSong at the Festival Park on Roanoke Island. hisgen.org

Killer Dunes 2-Miler & Fun Run

Town of Kill Devil Hills Fireworks Show

Conquer the dunes at this run/walk event over Jockey’s Ridge in Nags Head. outerbanksrunningclub.org

Watch a pyrotechnic display off Avalon Pier. Rain date: July 5. kdhnc.com

July 4

Independence Day Celebration

Get the whole family into the race with these three events presented by Sun Realty at the Town Hall in Kill Devil Hills. theobxrunningcompany.com

Commemorate this national holiday with day-long festivities – including a concert by the 208th Army Band – and evening fireworks in Manteo. townofmanteo.com

14th Annual 4th of July Parade and Community Celebration 12

July 4

7th Annual Freedom 5K, 1-Mile Run and Fun Run July 4

Save the date! The 2018 Duck Jazz Festival is coming October 6-7.

Visit duckjazz.com for info and updates.

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Royal Tea with The Lost Colony

Under the Oaks Arts Festival

july

Thursdays 10:00 a.m.

6:30 p.m.

SHOPPING AREA

Kick off summer with carnival rides, a giant Ferris wheel, cotton candy and more at The Soundside Event Site. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Children & Youth Partnership for Dare County. outerbanks.org

Enjoy tea and sweets with the Queen’s Master of Ceremony and Sir Walter Raleigh, while waiting to be presented to Queen Elizabeth I. thelostcolony.org

Yoga on the Green Children’s Interactive Theater Amphitheater

SIDEWALK

Fish for nearly a dozen different species in this family-friendly fishing tournament at Jennette’s Pier. ncaquariums.com

June 15 – 17

July 4

Cheer on this festive parade in downtown Duck followed by a celebration with live music and watermelon at the Duck Town Park. townofduck.com 26th Annual Festival of Fireworks Independence Day Celebration July 4

Marvel at fireworks on the lawn of Historic Corolla Park while listening to live music and enjoying family-friendly activities. visitcurrituck.com

July 4

Town of Nags Head Fireworks Spectacular July 4

Celebrate the Fourth with an evening of fireworks off Nags Head Fishing Pier. Rain date: July 5. nagsheadnc.gov Outer Banks Independence Beer Mile July 5

Love running and beer? Try the Outer Banks Independence Beer Mile presented by the Outer Banks Brewing Station, and join in on the fun after-party, too. theobxrunningcompany.com

40th Annual Wright Kite Festival

16th Annual One-Design Regatta

Learn to fly stunt kites and watch large kite displays during this kiting event at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills. kittyhawk.com

This regional regatta held in Manteo is open to Optimist, 420 and Sunfish boats. townofmanteo.com

July 14 – 15

Outer Banks Skim Jam July 21 – 22

Watch talented skimboarders glide across the shoreline as they compete in this regional tournament. skimusa.org

July 28

Currituck Pirate Plunder Festival July 29

This pirate-themed day celebrates Currituck’s 350th anniversary with a pirate encampment, artisan market, pirate bounce house and plenty of activities for adults and kids at the Weeping Radish Brewery in Jarvisburg. visitcurrituck.com

august Outer Banks Watermelon Festival

New World Festival of the Arts

There’s plenty for the kids to do at this summery event at the Kitty Hawk Kites store in Nags Head, including an inflatable waterslide, face painting, watermelon seed spitting contests and more. kittyhawk.com

Artists from all over the East Coast participate in this 37th annual juried outdoor art show in downtown Manteo. townofmanteo.com

August 1

Surfing for Autism August 11

This autism awareness surfing event at Jennette’s Pier partners two surfers and a therapist or teacher with an autistic child. surfingforautism.com 5th Annual Youth Fishing Tournament August 11

Hook a big one at this annual fishing tournament in downtown Manteo. townofmanteo.com Outer Banks Pirate Festival August 15 – 16

Learn pirate lore, meet Blackbeard’s crew and enroll the little ones in Scallywag School during this fun festival at Jockey’s Ridge Crossing in Nags Head. kittyhawk.com

BEER IS GOOD, BUT BEERS ARE BETTER.

August 15 – 16

Rip Curl Grom Search August 16 – 17

Watch young surfers compete at this Rip Curl event at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head. ripcurl.com Virginia Dare Faire August 18

The Lost Colony and the National Park Service join forces in this free and family-friendly event celebrating Virginia Dare’s 431st birthday on the grounds of the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. thelostcolony.org OBX Wedding Fest August 26

Meet and mingle with local wedding vendors at this wedding expo held at the Duck Woods Country Club. obxwa.com WRV Outer Banks Pro August 29 – September 3

Top-rated surfers from around the world compete at this WSL QS1000 Event at Jennette’s Pier. wrvobxpro.com

fall Outer Banks Triathlon

Mustang Rock & Roast

Participants can choose from Sprint, Olympic or Half in this annual test of endurance. obxse.com

Jam the weekend away listening to 12 live bands on two stages while enjoying an oyster roast and a BBQ cook off at Mike Dianna’s Grill Room in the Timbuck II Shopping Village in Corolla. Proceeds benefit the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and Mustang Outreach Program. mustangmusicfestival.com

September 15 – 16

The Lost Colony Wine Festival September 29

This year’s festival features wines from around the world, regional cuisine, entertainment and seminars – all with a dramatic view of the Roanoke Sound from backstage at The Lost Colony. thelostcolony.org Parade of Homes October 4 – 7

Tour a select group of new, remodeled or green homes all along the Outer Banks. obhomebuilders.org 12th Annual Duck Jazz Festival October 6

This free, all-day event features national, regional and local acts at the Duck Town Park. duckjazz.com

October 13 – 14

Outer Banks Seafood Festival October 20

Enjoy fresh, local seafood, cooking demos, mullet tossing, live music and more at this family-friendly event at the Outer Banks Event Site in Nags Head. outerbanksseafoodfestival.org Outer Banks Marathon and Southern Fried Half-Marathon November 9 – 11

This 3-day event over Veteran’s Day weekend includes a marathon, half-marathon, 8K, 5K and a family fun run. obxse.com

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community Charitocracy’s Benj Lipchak and Jessica Sands at the nonprofit’s de facto office at Waveriders in Nags Head.

the winning

gift photo by kati wilkins / story by arabella saunders

a local nonprofit is getting people to think differently about philanthropy, one vote at a time

O

n any given Friday on the Outer Banks, you can stroll into Waveriders Coffee, Deli & Pub in Nags Head to find local Benj Lipchak tucked away near the corner of the cafe, sitting in what he refers to as “the comfy chair” – a cushiony throne complete with beige upholstery and two oversized arm rests that can double as small desks. Amidst coffee enthusiasts and nine-to-fivers on their lunch breaks, the young entrepreneur works tirelessly on his graduate school project turned passion: Charitocracy.

“About six years ago, I was working on my MBA, and I needed to do a project for a social entrepreneurship course,” Benj explains. “That’s when I came up with the idea to get a lot of people to give a small amount of money, and then vote on which charity should receive it each month.

Each donor has an equal vote, no matter how much money they contribute.”

Charitocracy – where charity meets democracy, and which conveniently rhymes with meritocracy – transformed from a Powerpoint presentation into reality in October 2016, when Benj decided to take a year off from his day job as a software engineer.

“The hope was to engage people who aren’t used to giving – either because they’re new to it or because they don’t have a lot of money – and encourage them to become philanthropists,” Benj says. “I wanted to make it a fun experiment – it’s social, educational and convenient.”

After a year filled with afternoons spent at Waveriders designing the website charitocracy.org, and long nights 18

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

completing the paperwork required to become a national donation of $4 per month, Benj and Jessica have collected charity, the online crowd-curated, charity-of-the-month more than $25,000 for both local and national charities since October 2016. club was born.

“Feline Hope won one time, and the Outer Banks SPCA Although Benj describes the concept behind Charitocracy as being simple, through his own strokes of program- just won this past April, because there’s a strong base of ming ingenuity, with the help of his wife, Jessica Sands (who locals voting. Other national groups have included the runs the administrative side of things as the nonprofit’s Innocence Project and NPR. There have even been some CEO), and the three other members who make up its lead- neat smaller ones like Comfort Cases, which provides bags ership board, Charitocracy is now a multifaceted operation. for foster kids who might otherwise have to carry their stuff At the beginning of each month, Charitocracy enters a around in trash bags or whatnot,” Jessica explains. “They’ve new cycle. Week one is reserved for nominations. Once a covered all kinds of things, which is really cool.”

Going forward, Benj hopes to expand their nonprofit organization is nominated, it remains marketing to reach a wider audience, integrate in Charitocracy’s database for life – although it’s only eligible to win once per calendar year. “the hope was more website features, and allow for specific During week two, members vote for the regions or interest groups to create specialized Charitocracy clubs. organizations they believe the money should to engage “I think that what makes the most sense in go to at the end of the month. No matter what people who amount is pledged per month – $1 being the aren’t used to the future will be to create many local ‘mini’ minimum – each donor gets an equal vote.

Charitocracys,” Benj explains. “We’d continue giving.” growing Charitocracy at the national level, but Week three marks the announcement of if, for example, we gathered a couple hundred the top 10 charities based on votes.

-benj lipchak, donors from Hampton Roads, I could create “People can move their votes around, too,” a separate Hampton Roads Charitocracy, and Jessica explains. “So even if you voted for some- charitocracy thing that doesn’t make it into the top 10 for the founder then that group could concentrate on voting month, you can switch over to one that is.” for causes that are specific to their area.”

For now, however, Benj and Jessica will At the start of week four, the top three nonprofits are announced, and members can then vote on a continue to focus on allowing locals and visitors alike to not winner. Once the winner is chosen, donors also have an op- only give back to national organizations, but to maintain a connection with Outer Banks nonprofits as well. tion to sweeten the pot.

“When we have the winner, we give people a week to do“The beauty of being based on the Outer Banks is that nate more towards that specific cause if they want,” Jessica while a lot of locals have already gotten involved, we also says. “When the relief funds for Hurricane Harvey won, we have people who regularly come here from all over and had a lot of extra donations, and the final pot was more than still want to stay connected to this area when they’ve gone back home,” Benj says. “Our hope is that Charitocracy gives $2,000.”

Today, Charitocracy boasts more than 200 members them one more way to do that – and supporting our local who are located everywhere from the Outer Banks to Sili- nonprofits sustains us in a way that simply writing a check con Valley, and many places in between. With an average and mailing it off to a faraway charity never will.”

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arts & entertainment

Randy Hodges stokes the flames of his forge at the KDH Cooperative Art Gallery.

From

Flame The Tale of the Manteo Blacksmith

S

oot hangs effortlessly in the air as the hum of a hand crank fuels the fire pot where Randy Hodges – who’s more commonly known as “the Manteo Blacksmith” – is busy testing raw steel over an open flame. From start to finish, his process looks methodical…and even a bit romantic.

“Metal working actually started in North Africa and Central Asia around 3,000 B.C.,” Randy explains as he takes a short break from stoking his forge. “Eventually,

to Fame photos by Ryan Moser / story by Fr an M arler

the craft spread west and became an integral profession since every village tool, nail, blade or horseshoe had to come from a blacksmith.

“But, for me?” he adds casually. “It’s mostly therapeutic.”

Glancing around his workspace, at least a dozen different hammers hang silently, awaiting their next task, while a menagerie of other uniquely shaped tools are present and ready to bend, grip, chisel and mold metal at a moment’s notice. If nothing else, it’s

immediately apparent that blacksmithing is an art form that requires a high degree of attention to detail.

“When I first started smithing as a hobby about 38 years ago, it was all about shoeing horses,” says Randy, who enjoyed a decades-long first career as an engineer before discovering his current passion. “During the ‘70s and ‘80s, it became somewhat of a lost art, and folks had no idea what I was doing. Now, I’m not the only show in town, and there’s a lot of local talent creating all sorts of beautiful things.”

continued> @NORTHBEACHSUN

21

Above: Randy hammers a glowing piece of steel into a decorative hanging ornament. Left, below: Several of Randy’s whimsical sculptures that are on display at the KDH Cooperative Art Gallery.

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

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With a home fabrication studio in Manteo and a forge at the Kill Devil Hills Cooperative Gallery, Randy regularly re-imagines old tools and constructs a variety of original steel sculptures. Railroad stakes become oyster shuckers, grenades become ducks and old pitchforks morph into music notes. The final result of his hard work is as delicate as it is forceful.

“My mom always had a cool vintage style, and my dad was a welder who was very much into modern machinery,” Randy says with a laugh. “I just wanted to bang everything by hand. It looked like so much fun.”

Randy credits his own original style to the equal influence of his dad’s high regard for clean lines, and his mom’s deep appreciation of handcrafted art, and he’s very clear about his favorite tool of all: the anvil.

“It’s iconic,” he explains. “And it’s essential. As a smith, there are three basic things you must have. An anvil is one, and the others are a vise and a source of heat.”

The setup of his forge is actually quite simple. A hand-operated crank forces air through a hose that feeds a fire pot filled with coal. And since fire requires oxygen, the faster the crank is turned, the hotter the coals become. A heat range of 1,500 to 2,500 degrees is desirable since this is the stage where steel becomes incandescent and malleable.

“Given enough heat, steel actually becomes the consistency of clay and is quite forgiving. You can always go back, reheat your material and fix any mistakes,” Randy says. “But smithing also takes a lot of patience and efficiency, because as soon as you take the metal out of the fire it begins to cool and oxidize.”

Once the metal begins to cool, a thin, flakey scab forms on its surface. But, of course, Randy has tools for dealing with that as well. “You can use a steel brush to polish the surface,” he says with a quick demonstration. “Or you can clean it up with a brass brush while it’s cooling, which gives it a nice bright patina.

“It’s all about the process and the principles,” he continues. “But as far as a heat source goes, there can be some variety. Some folks burn coal or charcoal, and some choose to take a more modern approach by using a gas forge.”

For Randy, less is more when it comes to modernity, which would explain why he opts for a coal forge – even though it requires a supreme amount of dexterity to manage.

However, for someone with an uncanny ability to stoke a fire with one hand, secure a vise with the other, and yet still fix his gaze elsewhere, the fit couldn’t be more perfect.

“There can be a lot of Superman-like moments in blacksmithing,” Randy says as a smile broadens across his face.

“Plus, I love to play with fire.”

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arts & entertainment

Ink Fresh

Photo by Cory Godwin / Story by Fran Marler

Grinning tiki torches. Cartoon clams. Surfing tacos and winking crabs.

Chances are you’ve seen (and worn) at least a few t-shirts featuring Mama Kwan’s tropical artwork, Black Pelican’s distinctive bird silhouette, Goombays’ neon-colored piranha or Rundown Café’s iconic dreadlocked running man.

What you might not know is that over the years, all of these designs have come from one of two men who have fueled some of the most iconic concepts in our local screen-printing industry.

This is the story of Mark Russell and Britton Ricketts, and their story began at The Governor’s School for the Arts in Hampton Roads.

“We actually used to skateboard together as kids,” Mark says cheerfully. “We were great friends and neighbors.”

Both of them also had a natural hand at art – which, for Mark, was fueled at an early age by his father, who was into wood carving, sculpting and painting. As a result, Mark had already begun learning to draw in perspective by age six.

“During high school, Britton and I were given the opportunity to take some visual arts courses at the Governor’s School,” Mark explains. “It gave us a chance to work with a number of artistic mediums, such as acrylic painting, sculpture and mixed media.” From there, Mark began to study advertising and design, and as his high school career began to wrap up, his life went directly into the fast lane.

“I graduated, and immediately began doing graphic work for the Yellow Pages,” Mark explains. “By 19 I was designing logos and ads for Kransco.” (Ring a bell? Kransco is the company that many of us can thank for helping to popularize hula hoops, Frisbees, Morey boogie boards and Power Wheels.) “Those guys were really open to giving me a chance to work on big campaigns at a young age,” adds Mark.

Mark’s work was being sold as fast he could produce it. At one point, one of his t shirt designs was even featured on MTV’s House of Style.

To say that Mark covered a lot of ground in a small amount of time is an understatement.

At 20 he branched out and opened his own studio. “I was working six days a week from four a.m. until one a.m.,” he says, laughing. “There were just so many incredible opportunities.”

The momentum, however, was grueling, and Mark began to burn out. It was time to reevaluate.

“I had been doing some freelance work for a company on the Outer Banks called Island Xpertees,” Mark says. “So I decided to head to the beach and try it out on a full-time basis.”

Now a managing partner and the art director for the company, Mark has around 70 employees and works with thousands of clients both locally and internationally. He works with the Grave Digger monster truck racing team, and he’s been designing shirts for local businesses such as Dirty Dick’s Crab House, Kelly’s Restaurant & Tavern, and Awful Arthur’s Oyster Bar for the past 20 years. Last year they even did some print work for the Super Bowl.

Thirty thousand shirts in two days, to be exact.

The funniest bit of all is that when Mark first started with Island Xpertees, there were

24

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

Mark’s work only about seven employees – one of whom was his childhood friend, Britton Ricketts.

“We had no idea we would run in to one another,” Britton says happily. “Mark always came to the beach because he liked to surf, and I was always here because my grandparents had a cottage. After a while this place kinda gets under your skin, so I guess it makes sense that we both wound up settling down here.”

For Britton, his fascination with art started with illustration. But after high school he took a bit of a detour, and went to work as a plumber. After several years in that field, he decided it was high time he put the plunger down.

“I designed the yearbook cover for the Governor’s School, and would often find myself drawing cartoons of people,” he recalls. “It didn’t seem realistic, but I finally decided to move here and pursue being an artist.”

Production never stops—childhood friends and artists, Mark Russell (left) and Britton Ricketts (right) are masters of the Outer Banks screenprinting industry.

brit ton’s work Next thing he knew, he found himself in a dark room at Island Xpertees. “I had absolutely no computer skills,” Britton says, “but I could draw.” After doing some screen-printing for Graphic Attack and a bit of freelancing, Britton branched out, and has now been with Flying Fish Ink as their art director for six years.

“We’re currently working with around 250 clients – including all kinds of folks on the beach, from restaurants like Bad Bean and Outer Banks Brewing Station to the Duck Fire Department, Bayliss Boatworks and Lost Colony Brewery.” And he’s got quite the out-oftown client list in his arsenal, as well, with big names such as Wicked Tuna, Monster Energy, Kyle Busch, and the heavy metal band, Lamb of God…just to name a few.

“It’s a really cool gig,” Britton says. “But it can also get demanding. It’s one thing to draw something, and quite another to take that vision and make it into a product.”

There are times when research is needed for a bit of inspiration, but for the most part Britton tends to dive straight in with confidence and insight. No matter what the project is, Britton feels as though involving his clients in the process is crucial.

“I’ll come up with some designs and then let folks point out their likes and dislikes,” says Britton. “It’s good to have an open mind, because feedback and criticism are big parts of the process.

“I like to think of myself as a one-stop art shop,” Britton adds. “If you need it, I can supply it!”

And even after all these years, Mark and Britton still enjoy working together. With seemingly opposite personalities, one is the yin to the other’s yang.

“It’s healthy to push each other and make one another better,” says Mark with a laugh.

“After all, I’m always happy to work with the other best guy on the beach.” @NORTHBEACHSUN

25

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C

hampagne and caviar. Grilled seafood and craft saisons.

Manhattans and filet mignon.

Sounds delicious, but what if you want to sample some of the best fare the Outer Banks has to offer sans tablecloths – or even all those pesky utensils? Get ready to think less upscale and more get-up-and-go with these four unusual local food and drink pairings that put fun before fancy.

on the boardwalk eat in or take out 252.255.0375 wavepizzacafe.com 1190 duck rd. nc

26

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

Your taste buds will thank you.

food & BEVERAGE

Lost Colony Brewery’s Kitty Hawk Blonde

+

Sooey’s BBQ & Rib Shack’s Southern Fried Chicken

Don’t worry about your diet – sometimes a little southern comfort is exactly what you need. Available in eight, 16 and 24 pieces, Sooey’s

southern fried chicken buckets are all the rage – allowing you to pig out with take-out year round. Lost Colony’s Kitty Hawk Blonde (which can be found on tap at a number of locations, and, starting this summer, also in bottles), is a session brew made with pale Irish malts that have been bittered with traditional British Challenger hops and finished with a citrusy American hop known as Mt. Hood. Put it all together? Well, that’s pure deliciousness.

Why it works: With hearty pieces of chicken like these, you want to be able to enjoy the salty crunch in every finger-licking bite, so the Kitty Hawk

Blonde’s crisp lightness makes it a winning thirst quencher that can complement all that tastiness – without overwhelming things.

@NORTHBEACHSUN

27

Outer Banks Distilling’s Kill Devil Silver Rum

+

Wave Pizza’s Blackbeard’s Revenge

Would you like a side of local lore with that? Then you’ll love noshing on Wave Pizza’s specialty Blackbeard’s Revenge with a Devil’s

Daiquiri. This daiquiri, which was dreamed up by the guys behind Outer Banks Distilling especially for this pairing, can be made by combining equal parts fresh lemon juice, basil-infused simple syrup and some Kill Devil Silver Rum (shaken, not stirred) – plus a slice of lemon and bit of fresh basil as a garnish. The pizza features a red sauce, sausage, banana peppers, red onions and jalapeños that have been oven baked to perfection.

Why it works: This dry-style rum comes straight off the still with notes of toffee, caramel and butterscotch without being overly sweet – and

this specific cocktail takes advantage of using basil to accentuate the pizza sauce, while adding a citrus bite that cuts through the greasy goodness of ingredients such as sausage and cheese.

28

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

Sanctuary Vineyard’s Morton

+

Capt’n Franks’ Junkyard Dog

This one’s a monster. When the folks at Capt’n Franks say this dog has the works, they truly mean it. Slathered with a full eight toppings – including

chili, relish, coleslaw, sauerkraut, chopped onions, melted cheese, ketchup and mustard – it’s the stuff records are made of. Not to be outdone, Sanctuary Vineyard’s Morton is a hugely versatile red blend that combines the flavors of cherries, strawberry jam and toasted oak – allowing this medium-bodied wine to pair easily with a diverse array of simple, weekday meals such as pasta with a Bolognese sauce and burgers with grilled summer vegetables.

Why it works: The sweeter notes of plum and cherry balance out bold spices such as the Junkyard’s mustard and sauerkraut – not to mention the fact

that fruity wines like the Morton tend to pair well in general with hot dogs and other grilled sausages.

@NORTHBEACHSUN

29

Outer Banks Brewing Station’s Hoi Toider IPA

+

Country Deli’s Killer

You’ll want to use both hands. Country Deli’s Killer sub is a longtime local favorite that towers above all other sandwiches. And we mean that

literally. Stacked with ham, turkey, Muenster and Havarti cheeses, lettuce, tomato, onions, mild peppers, mayo and deli mustard, it’s both a mouthful – and a (double) handful. The Outer Banks Brewing Station’s equally monumental Hoi Toider IPA (which can be poured at the source or purchased in four-pack cans), is made with English malts balanced out by hops that include the earthy tones of Huell Melon and the citrusy notes of Sorachi Ace. Why it works: Like virtually all intensely hoppy craft beers, the Hoi Toider pairs best with aggressive flavors – and the Killer has so many flavor profiles

going on at once that this behemoth needs a similarly worthy adversary to round the meal out.

30

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

shore science

By Brian Boutin

Hot & Cold M

U

LF

S

T

R

A

G

We’ve all been there. It’s a scorching hot summer day in July or August, and the kids are going stir-crazy – the kind of day, you think to yourself, that’s just made for the beach. So you pack up the umbrella, a cooler, skim boards and surf gear and head to your favorite beach access. But just as you get settled in with your beach chair and open your favorite beverage to relax, you hear it: “Mom! Dad! The water’s freezing!”

While large drops in water temperature during the height of summer can be annoying to locals and visitors alike, such fluctuations are not all that uncommon. Still, it seems like a yearly ritual that friends, neighbors, colleagues and visitors inevitably want to know why the water can be so dang cold when it’s so hot outside.

The answer, simply put, is that persistent southwest winds coupled with rapidly deepening water just offshore can create a perfect storm, so to speak – resulting in frigid water temperatures that can put a chill on an otherwise perfect summer beach day.

The summer of 2017 was a great example of how this process works.

In July, several weeks of strong southwesterly winds blew the warm surface water offshore, creating upwelling conditions that drew deeper, much colder water to the surface to fill the void left behind.

Water temperatures hovered in the low to mid-60s for weeks. But once the winds shifted to a more onshore pattern in August, the water temperatures warmed up rapidly into the mid-70s.

Unlike Hatteras Island, the northern Outer Banks do not have the luxury of being in such close proximity to the Gulf Stream to better regulate summer water temperatures. The Gulf Stream makes a hard northeasterly turn near Cape Point, putting it more than 30 to 40 miles offshore once it reaches Kitty Hawk. Occasionally, eddies break off from the Gulf Stream, bringing warm, Caribbean blue water to shore, but in general, the water temperatures on the northern beaches are lower than they are on the beaches south of Oregon Inlet.

The steepness of the continental shelf also plays a role in these upwelling events. Off the northern Outer Banks, water depths deepen quickly, allowing for cold, subsurface waters to accumulate closer to shore. Compare that to the relatively shallow shelf slope found off Hatteras Island, and it’s not hard to see why upwelling affects the northern beaches more often.

But these upwelling events aren’t all bad. They can bring a whole host of deep-water marine visitors not normally seen in our area, leading to some interesting discoveries on the beach. In the summer of 2016, naked sea butterflies, shell-less mollusks more common in the Arctic than our waters, washed up all over the northern beaches. And in 2001, barrelshaped tunicates called salps caused some concern for beach goers because they were mistaken for jellyfish. Harmless to people, salps are known for their spotted, chain-like appearance, and they move using one of the most efficient jet-propulsion mechanisms in the animal kingdom.

Still, when you’re trying to enjoy the beach on a 90-degree day in the middle of the summer, putting on a wetsuit to swim or catch knee-high waves isn’t all that fun. Fortunately, there are quite a few ways to check the conditions before you lug your family (and all your gear) out to the beach. The Duck Research Pier, run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, records current water temperatures and displays them on their website, as does Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head, which has online resources that allow you to check water and air temperatures, wind direction, and even the surf via three Surfline webcams.

So the next time you find yourself longing for the beach on a hot summer day, check the conditions before you go to ensure maximum beach enjoyment… unless, of course, taking a polar plunge is your thing.

E

We all like a refreshing swim in A warm ocean, but sometimes Mother Nature has other plans.

D O N S H O R E W IN

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31

board banter

Fun

Photo by PattI Harrell / Story by Fran Marler

Family A day spent with those closest; there sim-

Factor in a little saltwater therapy, and the equation can’t be rivaled.

On any given day on the Outer Banks, adults and children of all ages take to the water to share a bond that’s quite unlike any other. And, as with any small town, you inevitably start to notice a few familiar faces – particularly if you’re a surf enthusiast.

Natives of Hatteras Island, the Robinsons are one such family that you can bet will be in the water virtually year round – whether that’s because the waves are pumping or just because they’re taking a dip to start the day off right.

Leanne and her husband, Nate, have been surfing almost all their lives. In fact, Leanne has two East Coast Championship wins under her belt, and she’s now a co-owner of Secret Spot Surf Shop with Nikki and Shawn Deane – the very same surf shop that has sponsored both her and Nate since they were kids.

Now with two kids of their own – eight-year-old Leila and her three-month-old brother, Miller, plus a legendary threelegged golden mix named Dude (who’s notorious for swimming around the line-up) – the Robinsons continue to share their love of the ocean and surfing.

Even with busy schedules. ply isn’t anything like it.

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

These lifelong surfers are learning to navigate the tricky waters of parenthood.

“We both work a lot, so it can be hard to make it to the beach as a family,” Leanne says. “Usually, it’s just one of us with the kids, unless it’s Monday, which is our family day.”

On those days, Leanne can often be seen coaching her daughter. “I do a lot of surf lessons,” Leanne explains, “so it’s natural for us to work together. While I work with her, Nate will usually go surfing, or we’ll switch off for a bit.”

And when Leila’s playing with friends on the beach after her lesson and someone’s taking care of Miller? Then it’s time for mom and dad to surf together.

Sounds like a lot of work, but for many, surfing is something you just can’t get enough of – even when circumstances don’t always allow for a perfect family session.

“When Leila was an infant, we didn’t have any friends with kids,” Leanne says. “So instead of letting her hang with others her age on the beach, our only option was to take turns surfing.”

That type of arrangement can be extra hard, however, when the waves are good – especially, as Leanne points out, because time seems to exist on a different plane when you’re in the water. “At one point,” Leanne says ruefully, “we were racing to see who was up and out the door first for a dawn patrol session while the other stayed home with Leila!”

But the family dynamic is beginning to shift a bit, as these things often do once the kids start growing up and close friends begin having families of their own.

“We have a lot of friends with kids now, so I know at some point we will all be out there together,” Leanne explains. “Our biggest goal as a family is to keep teaching Leila so that when the waves are good she can be out in the water with us while our friends hang out with Miller on the beach.”

That seems well underway seeing as Leila has already begun to surf competitively. Last year she placed second in the family-centric Throwdown North of Town contest in Southern Shores. And while Miller isn’t even a year old yet, there’s a pretty good chance that he’ll follow in his sister’s footsteps.

“I’d say there’s a very big chance that Miller will take up surfing. At least that’s what we hope. It took Leila awhile to decide that she wanted to try it, but she came around,” Leanne says with a laugh. Hopefully he’ll join in sooner than she did – it’ll be much easier to travel if they both surf with us!”

Leanne Robinson is all smiles as daughter Leila catches one of her first waves.

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33

LIFESTYLE

Capture the Day

By Amelia Boldaji

O

cean to sound – and everywhere in between – this area is filled with so much natural beauty that we can take it for granted at times. That’s almost never the case, however, for the many talented professional photographers who call this place home – and make it their life’s

work to regularly capture our local landscapes. From morning to night, six resident photographers agreed to share some of their favorite images and take us on a visual journey of what you might see during a typical summer’s day on the Outer Banks. Fair warning: Seeing things through their lenses might just inspire you to get outside and take a good, second look around – perhaps even from a different point of view.

The clock is ticking.

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

SUNRISE Corolla

A self-proclaimed morning person, Roy Edlund enjoys getting up and out on the beach before the crowds set in. After a Facebook fan contacted him to see if her father could tag along on a sunrise shoot while they were visiting from West Virginia, Roy waited all week for the weather to break, and they were finally rewarded with a perfect morning. “Sunrise color is the most intense to me,” Roy says. “Sunsets are nice, but when they’re over, it’s dark!”

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35

LATE MORNING Manteo

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

Sometimes it’s as simple as being in the right place at the right time, according to Mary Basnight. She had wanted to shoot a scene with fog moving over the sound for a while – but when dealing with the weather here, you often have to be patient. By chance, she happened to have her camera handy though when conditions aligned during a morning walk. “Life is busy. Life is hectic,” Mary notes. “This image is the antithesis of that.”

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

MID-DAY Nags Head

The middle of the day can be the most difficult time to get good shots outside because of the hard light and harsh shadows.

So while Ray Matthews generally avoids this time of day for photography, especially if he’s doing portraits, those conditions were perfect for this composition because it allowed him to convey the feeling of a sun-drenched summer’s day. “I love the old historic cottages on the oceanfront,” Ray says. “They speak to me of earlier times, and summers well spent.”

LATE AFTERNOON Waves

Kiteboarders travel from all around the world to take advantage of the unique geography (and remarkably consistent winds) available south of Oregon Inlet – and Ryan Osmond tries to be on hand to catch the action as much as possible. While late day is often known as the “golden hour” for photography, shooting toward the sun with a person in motion in the foreground is slightly unconventional. “I like that it’s so in your face,” Ryan says, laughing, as he recalls standing on a ladder in the sound to get this particular shot. “And that there was a high element of risk in taking it!”

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40

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

SUNSET Kill Devil Hills

On this particular evening, recalls Matt Lusk, the surf was relatively small, but conditions were pristine, and he could tell by the clouds that there was probably going to be a particularly good light show. He swam out with 20 minutes of light left and low expectations. But right as the sun dropped below the clouds, the biggest set wave of the evening came right at him. “Lucky for me, it went unridden,” says Matt. “It was perfect and untouched.”

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41

NIGHT

Rodanthe Pier Rodanthe Pier is special to Wes Snyder because after he first discovered the Outer Banks, he spent a lot of time camping nearby and walking the beach there at night. But a full moonrise only lines up with the end of the pier on rare occasions – so taking this shot required some careful planning. “The moon looks similar to a light at the end of the pier,” Wes explains. “It’s only after you look closely enough that you realize what you’re seeing.”

42

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

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LIFESTYLE

B y A m a n d a M c Da n e l

. . . s a g e V n i t Happens

Wha

u o Y n e h W d e it lo p x E s t e G Write a Humor Column

My first wedding was a grand church

followed by a tented reception and plenty of mashed potatoes. My second wedding included medical bills, and it was literally performed.

Let me take you back a bit. After an amazing wedding, my husband, Johnny, and I jetted off to the British Virgin Islands for a romantic honeymoon. It was lovely. For our anniversary vacation the following year, we spent an absolutely incredible week at St. Lucia’s Jade Mountain Resort (Google it – it’s where they filmed The Bachelor), which we were only able to afford because we have the BEST travel agent who hooked it up with a ludicrously once-in-a-lifetime deal.

(It remains, probably for the rest of my life, my only true Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous moment in time.)

Enter year two of marriage, when housing expenses, insurance bills, car payments and all those real life-type things had fully set in – resulting in a decidedly smaller trip fund. At some point, Vegas was suggested, and I declared that if we were indeed spending our second anniversary in Sin City, then we would do it in style and renew our vows.

Much like anything in Vegas, vow renewals at any nice casino turned out to be incredibly expensive – to the tune of almost half our real (first) wedding budget for a simple 10-minute ceremony. Enter moi, the research-obsessed, kitschy fun-loving wife, who spent her childhood vacationing in Myrtle Beach eating at pancake houses, shopping at the Gay Dolphin and spending hours at Ripley’s Believe It or

affair

44

NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

Not Museum. With a little bit of digging, I figured it out: We could get (re)married at a little white chapel! It seemed delightfully tacky and perfect.

But let’s just be clear: When we go in, we go ALL IN. I found the tackiest, kitschiest chapel in Las Vegas and booked their drive-thru limousine package. And while I settled on a simple white dress for the occasion, Johnny came through with some proper flashy wedding attire that consisted of a fly white linen suit and a fedora.

Here’s the thing, though: Vegas can be amazing. For about three days. Then your body, particularly your liver, starts to revolt. We stayed for six.

You can probably imagine that booking our vow renewals toward the end of our trip was not a sound decision. However, I had confidently purchased a homeopathic remedy online from Australia called Drinkin’ Mate, which claimed to prevent hangovers.

Being the responsible adult that I was, I duly took it every night after imbibing plenty of free cocktails at the penny slot machines, and (miraculously!) didn’t feel like death

warmed over each morning or see any side effects. I was ready to invest stock in that stuff, wear the t-shirt and tell all my friends about it.

That is, until we pre-booked a sunset tour of the Grand Canyon – and realized, on that ill-fated morning, that we had to wake up at six a.m. in order to crawl into a 12-passenger van and head toward our destination.

About an hour into the trip, we stopped for breakfast, and I remarked that we HAD to be halfway to the canyon by then (I should mention that in addition to feeling hungover – my Drinkin’ Mate had definitely let me down by then – I’m also extremely prone to car sickness, and I was mostly willing myself not to vomit in front of 10 strangers), at which point the guide looked at me and chuckled, “Lady, we still have three and a half hours to go!” If Uber had existed in 2008, I would have paid prime rates for someone to drive me back to the hotel right then and there.

With no other options at my disposal, we eventually made it to the canyon – with a pit stop at the Hoover Dam, where I lost one of my favorite earrings while throwing up in a port-o-potty – and we saw the sunset, which was truly breathtaking. Johnny and I returned to our hotel room well past midnight, weary (but very sober), and went to sleep.

The next morning we awoke for our renewal ceremony feeling refreshed – yet, as I emerged from the shower, I noticed that that my stomach was covered in small, red spots. I frantically checked for bedbugs, but with no immediate culprits detected (and because everything was concealed by my dress anyway), we donned our wedding finery and made our way downstairs to be greeted by a fat Elvis impersonator singing in the lobby.

A glass of cheap bubbly later, our shiny white limo pulled through the chapel’s underpass, a Sammy Davis Jr. look-alike emerged from the drive-thru window, and we recited our vows through the sunroof – after which, “Sammy” declared our (re)marriage complete, and we took a few obligatory pictures to commemorate the occasion. It seemed like $250 well spent.

Ironically, however, that was approximately the cost of the doctor’s visit when I returned home to treat the raging case of beet-red hives I soon developed all over my body.

What had been concealed by my dress the day before, quickly spread, grapevine-like, down to my wrists and ankles – much like the blush that comes from the memory of a particularly bad night in Vegas.

True to form, the rash corresponded with the color of my face when I had to tell my favorite family doctor, “Well, I was in Vegas to get (re)married at a drive-thru chapel, and I took this stuff called Drinkin’ Mate that I ordered from Australia…” I’ll allow you to picture the rest of that conversation on your own.

Which reminds me: I still need to book some first-class tickets to Oz so I can give those Aussies a piece of my mind for false advertising. Our 15th anniversary is only three years away, after all…

Amanda McDanel has lived on the Outer Banks for more than 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, teaches cooking classes and is a successful entrepreneur.

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LIFESTYLE

what’d you say

?

quormish / quamished

pizer

bless

queasy “Excuse me, I’m a bit quamished, and I must go now.”

porch “You’ll probably find Martha on the pizer at this hour.”

euphemism for curse “You should have heard her blessing him out.”

airish

dingbatter

windy, cool weather “I’m going home for my shoes. It’s getting right airish.”

non-native, visitor “Don’t go now. The store is thick with dingbatters.”

By K elle y Shin n

I

f you take a step or two off of the scenic byway of the Outer Banks and wander into an old store, there’s a chance you might hear a local talking “funny.” Nowhere is this more evident than on Ocracoke Island.

That thick, rich musical lilt exists because early English settlers in this area were largely isolated from many cultural shifts for more than 200 years. Accessible only by boat or plane, Ocracoke’s isolation lasted longer than its immediate northern coastal neighbors, and locals are often referred to as hoi toiders – a reference to their unique pronunciation of “high tide.”

Much has changed, however, and Ocracoke now welcomes roughly four times the village’s year-round population each week during the busy summer vacation season. But although tourism has brought outside influence, and evidence of the distinct island brogue is now ebbing, it’s not hard to hear it on the island on any given day. It’s just part of Ocracoke’s rhythm.

For more information about Ocracoke life and the waning island brogue, please visit The Language and Life Project at langageandlife.com. Established by Dr. Walt Wolfram of North Carolina State University in 1993, the project’s aims include studying and documenting the rich variety of dialects found in North Carolina and the American South.

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

cocky-jawed crooked “That rig’s all cocky-jawed.”

scud a ride around in a car “I used to love it when my daddy’d take us on a Sunday scud down southpoint.”

jay bird

flaw

rascal “That jay bird comes down here once a month from up the beach.”

gust of wind “That flaw come up and took her skirt with it!”

a-flutin’

buck

kicking up the devil

moving in grand style “You should’ve seen the way she came a-flutin’ into the bar last night.”

friend, pal “Hey there, buck, can you help me move this tree limb out the road?”

getting mad and making a big to-do “They all start kicking up the devil at those tax meetings.”

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FOLKS

Siblings Katharine and Orville Wright (center), with others at Tempelhof Field in Germany sometime during the fall of 1909.

Photo courtesy of Wright State University.

T The Flyers’ Sister

By A m eli a Bolda j i

he story of how two brothers traveled from Ohio to the then-isolated and windswept beaches of Kitty Hawk in the early 1900s to conduct some of the most famous aeronautical experiments to date – and ultimately performed the first successful instances of sustained, controlled and powered flight – has been told many times. The part of the story that’s less well known, is that when it came to popularizing those achievements and that historic invention, the duo behind those innovations was actually a trio – which included a Wright sister: Katharine.

The youngest of five Wright children, Katharine (also known as Kate or Katie as a child) was closest in age to Orville (she was born on his third birthday) and Wilbur, who was seven when she was born. Besides their age proximity, the three grew up taking care of each other because their two eldest brothers already had families of their own, their father was a traveling minister, and, after a prolonged eight-year battle with tuberculosis, their mother passed away when Katharine was only 14.

Well before their mother’s death, much of the responsibility for managing a household of men fell on Katharine, but their father, Milton Wright, had progressive ideas about educating women for financial independence. In 1893, when Katharine was 19, Milton sent her to Oberlin College, which was located a half-day away from their home in Dayton, Ohio.

This was unusual during the late 1800s for several reasons. For one, the idea that women could benefit from higher education wasn’t yet a widely accepted notion. Even more distressing to many was the debate about whether or not women should be segregated at their own colleges. As the oldest coeducational institution in the country at the time, Oberlin’s approach of providing the exact same education to both sexes was even more radical.

By all accounts, Katharine’s time at Oberlin was foundational indeed. Regularly described as “vivacious” by those who knew her, Katharine excelled at her studies (especially Latin, Greek, English and history), and she developed a wide social network that, for the first time, included many deep female friendships.

Her family was still a large part of her world, however – particularly her beloved brothers, Will and Orv. That bond was further strengthened due to their mutually fledgling career

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An Oberlin College photograph taken of Katharine in 1898, the year she graduated. Katharine was the only one of her immediate family members to earn a college degree. Photo courtesy of Wright State University.

tracks – as Katharine was starting her first year as a high school teacher (one of very few professions that were open to women around the turn of the century), her brothers were making inquires with the Smithsonian to learn more about the theoretical ideas behind flight.

Not long afterwards, the brothers made their first two sojourns to the Outer Banks. Upon their return from their second trip in 1901, Katharine wrote a playfully mocking letter to their father about all the commotion. “We don’t hear anything but flying machine[s],” she teased. “I’ll be glad when school begins so I can escape.”

While Katharine was present during almost all of the glider’s initial manufacturing process – including a period when the brothers were absorbed with carefully cutting and sewing the wings – she never traveled to Kitty Hawk with them, and it wasn’t until about eight months after their first successful flight that she even witnessed them flying.

Although it can be hard to comprehend this today, nothing much changed for the Wrights immediately following those first flights. Members of the press were informed, and a wildly exaggerated front-page story appeared in the Norfolk VirginianPilot on December 18, 1903, but, generally speaking, public reactions ranged from disbelief to disinterest.

This continued for several years, due in part to the fact that a few technical setbacks made the brothers increasingly inclined to stop seeking publicity and focus solely on improving their technology.

By 1906, all that had changed, however. It was time to stop testing and start trying to sell their invention – and this meant that they needed to stop thinking like creative inventors and more like calculated businessmen.

But that was easier said than done – not least of all because neither of them particularly enjoyed public speaking, and also because interest in their revolutionary invention was lackluster during those early years. Besides some brief enthusiasm from the Barnum and Bailey Circus, even the United States Army turned the brothers down flat.

Some European governments were interested, but they were also somewhat suspicious of the brothers’ wariness with business matters and the lack of typically aggressive American press coverage. The brothers traveled to Europe for the first time in 1907 to try and secure some contracts anyway – and it was around that time that Americans began to develop flight fever.

Katharine, who had long handled the bulk of the family’s correspondence to begin with, essentially became their de facto press secretary. In addition to long days teaching, she spent her afternoons and evenings doing everything from responding to business propositions to correcting news reports about her brothers and their invention.

As Wilbur and Orville’s fame grew that year, so did Katharine’s responsibilities – and so did the number of contracts they amassed. The U.S. Army was now very interested, as was a large company in France.

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NORTH BEACH SUN SUMMER 2018

Wilbur headed abroad to Europe a second time in 1908 to start demonstration flights, and he became a virtual instant celebrity as he wowed crowds of thousands with dizzying takeoffs and in-flight tricks. For his part, Orville was responsible for heading to Fort Meyer, Va., to oversee the Army test flights – and that’s when tragedy struck.

On September 17, Katharine received a telegram reporting the fact that Orville had crashed during a test flight, fracturing his ribs and one of his thighs. Less than two hours after she read the telegram, she was onboard a train headed to Virginia.

As Katharine feared, Orville’s injuries were somewhat more severe than the telegram had implied. In fact, his passenger during that illfated flight died upon impact. Katharine spent the next six weeks at the hospital with Orville as she helped him convalesce.

By the time he was on the mend, however, Katharine was struggling with how dependent he had become on her alone – in addition to concerns about her loss of income since she’d been too busy to return to the classroom – so Wilbur made an interesting proposition: They should both join him in Europe. Wilbur could then help with the flight demonstrations, and Katharine could act as their salaried social manager.

After some hesitancy on Katharine’s part, she agreed, and, on January 5, 1909, she boarded her first internationally bound steamliner with Orville in tow. She was 34.

The nearly four-month european trip that took the trio to places such as Paris, Rome and London, was part of a period that Katharine later recalled “like a dream.”

While the brothers were excellent at conducting flight demos, their social graces were somewhat lacking, and Katharine’s natural exuberance allowed the Wrights to entertain the diverse array of influential people – from celebrities and diplomats to royal monarchs – who were both drawn to the flight fields and wanted to extend a flurry of invitations to dinner parties and other gatherings. Katharine charmed them all.

But Katharine wasn’t only universally adored by those crowds; she was also clearly an intellectual in her own right. After all, she was the only one in the Wright family with a college degree – sparking the persistent rumor, despite all her protests over the years, that she was actually the mathematical genius behind the development of the Wright airplane.

While Katharine planned to resume teaching when the trio returned to America, she was needed for a second trip accompanying Orville to Germany shortly thereafter.

Eventually though, the Wright Company grew more established and corporate in nature, leaving all of them with less and less to do. Katharine’s teaching position was long gone by then, so she spent much of her time keeping house for her brothers and volunteering for an array of causes that were close to her heart, including her passionate support for the women’s suffrage movement.

Although Wilbur passed away at the age of 45 after a bout of typhoid fever in 1912, Katharine continued to care exclusively for Orville for almost another decade and a half.

And, most importantly, her invaluable contributions to the Wright family legacy did not go unnoticed during her lifetime.

This was perhaps best expressed in the remarks made by a presidential board member during an honorary weeklong trip that Orville and Katharine undertook in 1925 at the invitation of President Calvin Coolidge.

“We are hearing, and have for years heard of the Wright brothers and their accomplishments,” he declared to a roomful of others who were in complete agreement.

“But we hear very little of Miss Katharine Wright, who, after all, was just as instrumental in developing the airplane as were the brothers.

“I think,” he added, “we ought to at least be introduced to her.”

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FOLKS

Murray Bridges holds a box of several dozen jumbo soft shells that are ready to be packed and shipped to New York from his Colington-based operation, Endurance Seafood.

An Enduring Legacy How Murray Bridges built a local industry, one soft-shell crab at a time

S

oft-shell crabs have long been a local delicacy.

Very local. Forty years ago you’d have been hard pressed to find a North Carolina soft crab on tables very far away from the beach.

They were served at local restaurants, and could occasionally be bought straight from the source at roadside stands up and down the island, but hard-shell blue crabs were a much more profitable export.

“A soft crab was just a soft crab,” says Murray Bridges, owner of Endurance Seafood in Kill Devil Hills. And if any

P h ot os by Ryan Moser / St ory by Meg P uck ett

one person is familiar with the modern history of Outer Banks soft shells, it’s definitely Murray.

But Murray will humbly tell you that he doesn’t consider himself a commercial fisherman. He had a full 30-plus-year career in the Merchant Marines before returning home to Dare County…and promptly started a second career in the seafood industry.

While his kids handle some aspects of the family business these days, you won’t ever find Murray sitting on the porch, taking it easy – not even now, at age 84. If you turn down Endurance’s tree-lined gravel driveway on Colington Road at any point during the year, you’re almost sure to spot him out in the boatyard repairing crab pots, boxing up the day’s catch for market, or working on a busted engine. That is, if he isn’t out on the water fishing or crabbing.

While he credits his mother-in-law for teaching him everything he knows about soft shells, there’s no denying that Murray himself has been one of the most influential

forces behind creating a sustainable and profitable softshell industry on the Outer Banks.

When Murray first got into the business, there were no regulations for harvesting soft-shell crabs in North Carolina, because there was no market. No one harvested peelers – blue crabs that are about to molt – but if one or two were brought up in the pot, they certainly didn’t go to waste.

While hard-shell blue crabs were regularly sent to market, soft shells were often taken home, fried up and enjoyed by the family. Sometimes they were sold on the beach, like Murray’s mother-in-law did in the 1950s, but you didn’t see shedders lined up in back yards like you do today. The largescale distribution of soft-shell crabs was time consuming, labor intensive, and, in most people’s minds, not profitable.

In large part, that’s because soft shells are delicate creatures. Many people mistake them for a different species, but they’re actually the same blue crabs that are commonly steamed and picked at boils and cookouts all

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along the East Coast. Those same crabs Many years later, Murray still sees begin to molt in the late spring, typically a bright future for North Carolina soft after a full moon, and they’re only soft for shells. While he continues to harvest his a couple of hours. own – during peak season, he can easily To top things off, harvesting soft shells have up to 60,000 peelers in his shedders is literally a 24/7 job. The crabs are caught at a time – he now also acts as a dealer, in pots, and the ones that are a few days purchasing local soft crabs for worldwide (or even a few hours) away from molting distribution. are placed in large shedder troughs that Murray’s work with Sea Grant also circulate clean, temperate water in order taught him how to grade soft crabs (a to keep them alive until they fully soften. crab shipping out of state needs to be Once they begin to molt, crabbers have at a different stage of molting than one to scoop them out of the shedder before that will be eaten locally), and it helped they begin to harden again – even if that him network with other dealers and happens in the middle of the night. Then crabbers in places such as Maryland and A look down into one of Murray’s nearly 200 shedders filled with peelers (top). A blue crab they’re graded based on softness, packed New York. By expanding his business in the process of molting backwards out of its shell (inset). on ice and sold. and his knowledge, Murray has certainly It was in the 1970s, while attending a helped expand the business of many North Carolina Sea Grant meeting, that North Carolina commercial fishermen as Murray first saw the potential in exporting well. He routinely purchases crabs from soft shells. Sea Grant had already begun funding programs With Sea Grant’s help, he brought new technology – such North Carolina fishermen located as far away as Tyrrell to educate crabbers along the East and Gulf Coasts after as mechanized pot pullers – to Outer Banks crabbers as County, Hertford, and everywhere in between, and he having identified the need to modernize the industry and well, and he facilitated numerous partnerships between the remains a staunch advocate for fair and sustainable fishing give fishermen the tools and resources they needed to take organization and this area’s fishing communities. regulations. advantage of bigger, healthier and more lucrative soft-shell Murray also lobbied for changes in the way the crabs Over the past 50 years, the way our food is produced seasons. were harvested. and distributed has changed drastically. These days, eating “I’m not what you might call a full-fledged fisherman,” “What laws they got in the industry, I caused ‘em,” he locally can actually be hard work. But luckily, there are Murray says. “So my thoughts on the matter were a little says with a knowing smile. people like Murray who understand the importance of different.”

Fishing regulations can be a touchy subject, but Murray maintaining a balance between large-scale commercial He was convinced that there was a market for Outer recognized an opportunity to be a pivotal player in shaping fishing, environmental sustainability and the health of local Banks soft shells, but in order for it to become profitable, the soft-shell industry in North Carolina. Over the years, he markets. Above all, he was also able to see an opportunity local fishermen had to first institute (and embrace) had watched many commercial fisheries be “managed to for growth, and quickly embraced monumental changes to changes in the way crabs were harvested, graded and sent death” by regulations on quotas, environmental restrictions an industry that barely existed on the Outer Banks before to market. and area closures. By working with Sea Grant, the state he became involved.

After that first meeting, Murray continued to promote and the federal government, Murray made sure that the When asked where he sees himself in five or 10 years, Sea Grant’s state and federally funded programs, and began regulations developed for North Carolina soft shells aimed Murray takes a minute to consider the question before a introducing innovative ideas about how to harvest soft to protect both the crabs and the people who make a living slow smile spreads across his face. “As long as the crabs are shells and prepare them for market to other fishermen. off of them. here, I guess I will be, too.”

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EVERYTHING ELSE UNDER THE

Sun

By Dawn Ch urc h

That’s-a big-a banana!

No monkeying around!

N

You can see a lot of things from atop the Currituck Beach Lighthouse in Corolla: the nearby Whalehead Club and nearly 360-degree water views, for starters. But if you look north out into the Currituck Sound you can also see Monkey Island, and, if you squint, what is left of a once-thriving hunt club that brought visitors there from all over. Monkey Island is now part of the Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge, and while you can take a boat or kayak trip to the island, you can’t land without permission.

(And because of all the snakes!)

Did monkeys really live on the Outer Banks back in the day? Nope.

The island was named after the Pamunkey tribe of Native Americans who also once used the island as a hunting camp.

Penguins in Nags Head?

island hopping

T

he Outer Banks is largely a 200-mile-long strip of barrier islands and spits, which, from above, looks as though some giant kid dribbled sand all along the North Carolina coast. Most folks who love the Outer Banks are familiar with the names of the largest islands here: Roanoke, Bodie, Pea, Hatteras and Ocracoke, and many may have even heard of some of the lesser-known islands, such as Colington and the now-deserted Portsmouth Island. But there are even more islands to be found on the Outer Banks that even some locals aren’t aware of – most are nameless, some are tiny or elusive, and a few have gone from bustling to forgotten over time.

If you’ve lived on or been visiting the Outer Banks for a while, you probably remember a restaurant in Nags Head called Penguin Isle Soundside Grille. Perfectly located for sunset watching, diners often thought that the view included a glimpse of Penguin Isle – but they were only partly right! There are actually three islands clustered in the area that’s now home to Pamlico Jack’s: Big Penguin, Little Penguin and Nags Head Island (not to be confused with the town of Nags Head!).

According to old maps, the islands have held the penguin moniker for quite some time, but the origin of the name has unfortunately been lost.

Manteo is a great place to get away from the beach crowds, but if you want to get even farther away, you need to know about Banana Island.

Basically just a nice, long sandbar off the coast of Roanoke Island, Banana Island offers peace and quiet for sunbathing on sandy white beaches and calmer waters for snorkeling and swimming. If you’re a visitor, the best way to find this little-known gem is getting a native to take you, but a word of caution: Many people will only bring you to Banana during the week, because it’s a favorite spot for locals on the weekends!

Easy come, easy go?

Shelly Island was last year’s favorite adventure for Outer Bankers in the know. It turned up in April as a sandbar just off the tip of Cape Point on Hatteras Island. Sandbars aren’t all that unusual around here, but this one came in hot, growing in size with remarkable speed and eventually reaching a jaw-dropping 27 acres. Getting to Shelly in the beginning was a teensy bit sketchy since the currents between the islands moved fast and attracted interesting wildlife such as sharks, and by some reports, manta rays the size of car hoods – though, eventually, the two islands nearly connected, and you could walk from one to the other.

Known for its tidal pools and named for its abundance of shells, Shelly Island attracted locals and visitors alike who enjoyed walking its banks, kayaking and even kiteboarding from its shores. Alas, what Mama Ocean giveth, she sometimes taketh away, and satellite images from this past February show no sign of the island. Is Shelly Island gone for good? We’ll just have to see what the next big storm has to say about that.

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. You can find HOBX at hiddenouterbanks.com, on Instagram and Twitter as @hiddenobx, and at facebook.com/hiddenouterbanks.

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