Monday, April 6, 2026
Home Blog Page 113

A first ride across the ‘Jug Handle’ Bridge

0
The on ramp to the Jug Handle Bridge driving south on NC12. Photo by Kip Tabb

By Kip Tabb Courtesy of Outer Banks Voice on July 31, 2022

I admit it, curiosity got the better of me. So one day after the delayed opening of the Jug Handle Bridge for traffic — the first vehicle traveled across shortly before noon on Thursday, July 28 — I decided to make the journey.

After years of driving to Rodanthe and points south, what may be most remarkable is how unremarkable it is getting on the bridge. Coming from the north, it’s just a gentle curve to the right you’re on.

Driving south, the amazing expanse of Pamlico Sound is apparent. Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European explorer to stumble on Pamlico Sound and he thought he had discovered the fabled passage to the Pacific Ocean. For about a mile and a half, or maybe two miles looking west, there is no land in sight. And 500 years ago, before there was any knowledge of the size of North America, the confusion is understandable.

The pavement markings that were at the heart of the delayed opening of the bridge don’t seem all that exceptional, but NCDOT and Flatiron were adamant that what was put down initially did not meet their specifications and a new contractor had to be found to finish the project.

What was NC12 is now closed north of Rodanthe with a sign telling drivers to use the round about. Photo by Kip Tabb

What was NC12 is still there in the Mirlo subdivision on the north end of Rodanthe. Where the road ends there’s a blinking sign telling drivers. “Road Closed…For NC12 North…RND ABT & Bridge.”

Heading north it’s almost as though the sound has formed a small bay on the north end of Rodanthe. There was a kiteboarder flying across the calm waters between the bridge and shoreline. It’s unclear how he or she got there, because there probably isn’t room under the bridge for a kite that large.

There’s a US Fish and Wildlife parking lot at the north end of the bridge. Paved, plenty of parking and it looks as though a restroom is going to be a part of it. There is a trail that leads over the dune to the beach. The dunes are high in this area and the trail to the top is steep, but the climb is worth it.

The beach at the parking lot on the north end of the bridge is as fine a beach as there is on the Outer Banks. Photo by Kip Tabb

The beach is beautiful. Wide and sandy, it’s everything an Outer Banks beach is supposed to be. Two miles south, the first homes of Rodanthe can be seen, dancing a bit in the heat of a July afternoon.

Getting to the surf breaks of what used to be the S Curves isn’t going to be easy. The beach is open, so if someone wanted to put the effort into it, they could hike a mile or so south.

There’s no way to drive. The road south of Jug Handle Bridge is closed and there are barriers in place sealing it off. The road will be maintained for a little while so Cape Hatteras Electric Coop crews can access power lines until work running conduit under the bridge connecting Hatteras Island to the grid is completed. At that point, the road will be removed and nature will take its course.

That’s probably when we’ll learn just how good the Jug Handle Bridge really is. It’s not clear exactly what will happen at the S Curves one, two or many years into the future. But the same forces that have created one of the best surf breaks on the Outer Banks will inevitably, over time, wear the land down and bring the ocean to the sound.

For anyone who wishes to do so, it’s a two mile walk on the beach to Rodanthe. Photo by Kip Tabb

Ocracoke Fig Festival starts today through Saturday

2

The 9th annual Ocracoke Fig Festival begins tomorrow afternoon (Aug. 4) with a sold out dinner with guest Restaurateur and Chef Ricky Moore, of Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham.

Chef Ricky was recently named the 2022 James Beard Foundation “Best Chef in the Southeast.” He will judge the Fish ‘n’ Figs category and join Ocracoke residents in judging the Traditional, Innovative, and Kids entries.

Chef Ricky Moore, owner of Saltbox Seafood, will be the guest chef at the 2022 Ocracoke Fig Festival Aug. 4 to 6.

The festival continues through Saturday. Click here for more info on the festival and see below for further details.

Lightning strike silences all island communication services

0
Technicians from CenturyLink and power systems contractor Hartcom work through the night repairing damage caused by a lightning strike. Photo by Richard Taylor

By Richard Taylor 

Local residents and visitors were awakened in the wee hours Sunday morning by two hours of intense thunder and lightning. That by itself wasn’t unusual. What happened next was definitely out of the ordinary.

Sunny skies returned by the time local church services began at 11 a.m. Ocracoke United Methodist Church Pastor Logan Jackson soon noticed his normal Facebook Live broadcast stopped working at 11:15. Jackson was unsuccessful in restarting it.

By that time, others had discovered that all CenturyLink communications services on the island were down (except for radio-connected fire and EMS). Those with access to Starlink, could get internet service.

Most assumed it was another off-island fiber optic cable cut, something that has already occurred twice this year. This time, even local landline phone service was uncharacteristically out of service.

But according to Danielle Spears, corporate communications with CenturyLink, “We identified the cause as a lightning strike that hit our tower and caused a power surge.”

The lightning strike occurred around 3:30 am in the morning, but backup batteries kicked in keeping the service going for several more hours, according to Ocracoke’s commissioner Randal Mathews, a former CenturyLink network technician. “When the batteries fell below a certain voltage, the machines started failing. That’s why even though this lightning strike was at about 3:30 in the morning, we really didn’t start losing service until 11:15 a.m. when the batteries got too weak. They held for six or seven hours, which is pretty darn good.”

By 10 p.m. Sunday night, CenturyLink’s off-island network technicians and contractors were on the island replacing the damaged equipment, three blown rectifiers, electronic devices that convert alternating current to direct current.

Most internet, cell phone and landline services returned to normal at 3:26 a.m. Monday morning and all services were restored by noon on Monday, Aug. 1, according to Spears.

During the public comment period of the Hyde County commissioners meeting on Monday, former Ocracoke county commissioner Tom Pahl provided a written statement about the loss of landline/911 service for the third time this year.

“We were extremely lucky that none of these incidents coincided with a medical or fire emergency,” he said. “But we really shouldn’t depend on luck when it comes to the health and safety of our citizens. This has happened three times and I think it would be prudent to have a plan in place for the next time.”

He said two things need to be addressed.

“The first one is to put in place a backup communications system that will quickly connect people with 911,” he said. “That might be one or more Starlink dial up options WITHOUT password protect located at the OVFD and/or other logical public locations.”

The second is how to communicate the need and the availability of the backup communications system.

“For example,” he said, “park a fire truck outside the station with a big sign in it that says ‘911 EMERGENCY CALL HOT SPOT,’ or similar notification.

“Also, big signage in two or three other prominent locations so that our residents and our visitors have a chance of knowing that this situation is under way and what to do in case they find themselves in an emergency. These may not be the only or even the best ways we can prepare for the next time we lose all normal communications, but let’s recognize that this is a serious problem, and we need a plan in place to address it. Maybe touch base with the Control Group for some additional ideas, but let’s not be unprepared again.”

After Pahl’s comments were read, Mathews provided an update on how these issues are being actively addressed, much of what he said is reported in Wireless broadband project in trial phase on Ocracoke.

Peter Vankevich contributed to this story.

Ocracoke passenger ferry resumes service

0
The Ocracoke Express pulls into Silver Lake harbor. Photo: C. Leinbach

HATTERAS – The Ocracoke Express passenger ferry between Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands resumed service today (Aug. 3) with the 1 p.m. departure from Hatteras.

The passenger-only ferry had been out of service since July 27 with mechanical issues.
Passengers may once again make reservations for the Ocracoke Express online at www.ncferry.org or on the phone at 1-800-BY-FERRY.

Regular departures from Hatteras are at 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4:30 p.m., with departures from Ocracoke’s Silver Lake Harbor at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.

Passenger ferry service is a seasonal supplement to the vehicle ferries, which continue to take people between Hatteras and the north end of Ocracoke Island.

Wireless broadband project in trial phase on Ocracoke

6
What is that thing? It’s a Tekniam wireless internet module atop the Pirates Chest in a pilot project for Ocracoke.

Text and photo by Connie Leinbach

Two power outages in the spring and another over the weekend that knocked out internet cell service and phone land lines got some locals rattled enough to rally.

The first two outages (reported online) resulted when fiber cables were accidentally cut during repairs in two different locations in Dare County. A lightning strike on the island caused the one over the weekend.

Ocracoke’s county commissioner Randal Mathews is among those who concerned about losing the ability to call 911 in these situations.

“The landline is our lifeline,” Mathews said, adding that fiber optic cables are buried several feet underground. “The fiber optic cable is buried deep enough so that pushing sand around or whatever is usually not an issue.”

But it was an issue as NCDOT workers severed these cables while moving sand around near Mirlo Beach after extended nor’easters in May overwashed NC 12.

After these events, Mathews and others investigated a new company that’s offering wireless service so that if fiber cables are accidentally severed, the island isn’t entirely without communication.

Wireless service from Tekniam, based in Lenexa, Kansas, is now in a trial stage in a small area of Ocracoke village.  If the trials in this first phase are successful, Tekniam will be a third internet choice for islanders following CenturyLink and Starlink services.

In this pilot project, distribution modules have been installed in five businesses operating immediately adjacent Irvin Garrish Hwy., extending from the Community Center to Silver Lake Drive, and to the Back Rd. and Sunset Drive intersection.

These are hidden networks now during this trial phase, Mathews said, so it’s not open to the public.

The businesses in the trial are trying out this technology for their point of sales devices, he said. It’s not for video streaming.

Hyde County is using $100,000 it received from the American Recovery Program Act to match CenturyLink’s fiber expansion in Swan Quarter and Engelhard. But the rest of Hyde County mainland may not benefit because of the expense these companies incur to lay fiber cable through large distances.

Moreover, the companies can’t install new cable on Ocracoke because of the logistics involved in laying new underground cables throughout the village.

Because it is wireless, Tekniam’s new technology would be perfect for a small area like the village of Ocracoke.

“This is the pilot project for Tekniam,” Mathews said. “They want this to work so they can show it and demonstrate this technology.”

Hotline slates a fundraiser for Nov. 4, seeks donations

0

Hyde County Hotline, which helps domestic violence victims, has scheduled a gala fundraiser the evening of Nov. 4 in Martelle’s Feed House restaurant in Engelhard.

The event will include two live bands, Cooper Greer at 6 p.m. and Spare Change at 7:30 p.m. DJ Julio Morales will provide tunes between bands.

There will be a tent for a silent auction that open most of that day so that even if you can’t make it to the feature event you can purchase tickets online: 

https://www.honeydrewmedia.com/greerupforsparechange.

The group also is looking for donations of money and/or silent auction items.

To donate, contact their advocacy office at 252-925-2502, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Hyde County Hotline, Inc. works to eliminate domestic abuse and sexual victimization and to provide safe shelter in Hyde County through the collaborative efforts of a compassionate community. They promote dignity, respect and safety at home resulting in safer communities.  

The proceeds will assist those affected by DV, SA, and HT with comprehensive services, including court and medical advocacy, support counseling, safe shelter, job training, education assistance and other services as they begin their journey free from abuse. 

Hotline’s 24-hour Crisis Line is 252-925-2500.

July safety report

0
The island’s Independence Day fireworks, launched from the end of the NPS parking lot on July 2, were suspended briefly when one misfired and landed in the marsh. OVFD firefighters, who are always on the scene for the fireworks, quickly extinguished the fire and the show went on. Photo by the OVFD 

By Connie Leinbach

Chatter in July on an island Facebook page centered on several thefts, albeit minor, still annoyances to the property owners.

Yet these incidents were not reported to the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office.

“We don’t monitor Facebook,” said Capt. Joe Smith of the Ocracoke office. “If there’s a theft, they need to report it and we’re more than happy to take their report.”

Reporting for the period of June 16 to July 15, Smith said he responded to complaints one night in July that kids were yelling while driving around in a golf cart. There were reports of five bikes stolen (later found) that night and a flag off someone’s porch, also later found down the road, he said.

“I chased those kids all over the island that night and never found them,” he said.

The next night someone threw a liquor bottle through a car windshield and later, someone threw a full beer bottle at the back windshield of another car, he said.

Both windshields were broken and listed as damage to property. Smith thinks it was the visitor kids since the shenanigans stopped after that week.

Smith also reported the following:  Three calls about dogs barking; 27 traffic stops, eight lost-and-found properties and five accidents.

Five “disturbances” involved arguments between neighbors or tourists at businesses and two parking complaints.

Smith said deputies are still having an issue with motorists exceeding the 20-mph island-wide speed limit.

While four noise disturbances of loud music at homes were called in, Smith said they have stopped responding to loud music calls.

“There’s nothing we can do,” he said about the lack of a noise control ordinance.

As for his first July 4 holiday on the island, Smith, who joined the force earlier this year, said the events went well.

“There appeared to be a large number of people on the island for the holiday and everything went well for our office with only a few minor calls,” he said, “which are to be expected with a large number of people.”

Although last month he reported that a fifth deputy would be hired, that fell through when the new person decided to find another position because he could not find housing.

“The housing situation is tough here,” he said. “When people find out the problems with housing they don’t want to come here.”

Calling all bakers (and chefs): enter the Ocracoke Fig Festival Bake-Off

0

An update from Sundae Horn, the Ocracoke Fig Festival coordinator

New this year: A category just for pairing Ocracoke figs with Ocracoke seafood at the 9th Annual Ocracoke Fig Festival Aug. 4 to 6.

This year, there are four award categories:

Traditional ingredients are limited to flour, sugar, oil/butter/margarine, eggs, pecans/walnuts, fig preserves, milk/buttermilk, vanilla and salt/spices. A sugar glaze or buttermilk frosting is also acceptable.

  • Innovative Dessert (Anything goes, as long as it’s sweet and figgy.)
  • Fig Kids (Anything goes, as long as it’s figgy – and the cook is 16 or under.)
  • NEW for 2022: Fish ‘n’ Figs (Creative pairings of Ocracoke figs and Ocracoke seafood)
Sundae Horn, Ocracoke Fig Festival coordinator. Photo: P. Vankevich

Enter in one or all categories; cakes are judged on Presentation, Traditional/Innovative Flavors, and “Figginess.” 

No need to sign up ahead of time. Deliver your uncut Fig Cake entry to the Berkley Barn between 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 6. Fig Festival volunteers will get your information and assign a number to your cake for the blind judging. If you’d like to share your recipe, please bring a copy. All Bake-Off entries become the property of Ocracoke Fig Festival and will be served to festival attendees after the judging.

This year, the Fig Festival welcomes a special guest: restaurateur and 2022 James Beard Foundation “Best Chef in the Southeast” award-winner Chef Ricky Moore of Saltbox Seafood Joint in Durham. Chef Ricky will judge the Fish ‘n’ Figs category and join Ocracoke residents in judging the Traditional, Innovative, and Kids entries.

Fig cakes go on display at 11 a.m. and judging begins at 11:30 a.m.; winners are announced as soon as the judges make their choices. The audience is welcome to join in the Fig-For-All (the eating of the entries) after the Bake-Off is over.

The Fig Cake Bake-Off is the main event of the Fig Festival – a three-day celebration of Ocracoke’s love affair with sweet and delicious figs.

The fun begins Thursday afternoon with a Porch Talk at the Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum at 1 p.m. Chester Lynn, Ocracoke’s fig expert, will give a presentation about the island’s many fig tree varieties, the fruit they bear, and how Ocracokers like to eat them.

Friday’s special event is a book signing with Chef Ricky at the OPS Museum from 3 to 5 pm. Bring your well-loved copy from home or buy one at the OPS Museum Gift Shop. Be in line by 4:30 to guarantee a chance to meet Ricky.

Enjoy performances by local musicians including Molasses Creek and Raygun Ruby. Beer, wine, and soft drinks will be available to purchase 3 to 11pm. Dive for the Oyster and Dig for the Clam when you join in the traditional Ocracoke Square Dance Friday evening.

The annual Fig Preserve Tasting Contest begins at 3 p.m. on Friday and offers festival-goers a chance to sample several varieties of fig preserves and vote for their favorites. (Tasting tickets are $3 each.) Anyone can enter Fig Preserves in the two categories: Traditional or Innovative (including combinations with other fruits). Drop off your entry at OPS Museum before 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 5.

Saturday kicks off at 10 a.m. with vendor booths and a silent auction. Fig Cakes (and other entries) will go on display at 11 a.m.

Following the Bake-Off on Saturday, the Barn will be busy inside and out with vendor booths (selling all things fig-tastic), live music from local musicians, information from fig experts, crafts for kids, and a Q & A with Chef Ricky.

Beer, wine, and soft drinks will be available to purchase from 1 p.m. till midnight. Come out and enjoy a dance with the Ocracoke Rockers.

Questions? Call Sundae Horn at 252-921-0283.

The schedule below has been updated as of Aug. 3.

Ocracoke passenger ferry service suspension update

0
Ocracoke Express at the Hatteras ferry docks. Photo courtesy of Island Free Press

Reprinted, courtesy of  Island Free Press on August 1, 2022

By Joy Crist | Island Free Press

The Ocracoke Express passenger ferry has been suspended since July 27 due to a mechanical issue. Per the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), pre-paid passengers who made reservations are being notified and refunded.

“It seems to be an electronics issue with the water jets, which control the steering on the ferry,” said Tim Hass, NCDOT communications officer. “We are having a tech from the manufacturer, Thrushmaster, assist us with the repairs.”

At this time, there is not a timeline for when passenger ferry service will resume. The Ocracoke/Hatteras vehicular ferry is running its normal summer schedule with no interruptions.

Coins adorn Ocracoke Island tombstones

0
Edgar Howard’s gravestone on Howard Street receives lots of coins. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer

Originally published in August 2022

By Philip Howard 

Historic Howard Street, a one-lane, unpaved road on Ocracoke, has a number of family cemeteries along it, and some of the graves date to the early 1800s.

Visitors to the island often visit the cemeteries to read the epitaphs to glean a bit of island history, and they have come into Village Craftsmen to ask about the significance of coins left on the headstones.

My parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great grandparents, as well as other more distant relatives, are buried across the street, and placing coins on tombstones is not a traditional local custom.

For millennia, human beings have decorated graves with flowers, shells, stones, feathers, candles and other items.

The modern practice of leaving coins on tombstones apparently has its origin with the military, and this can be seen on the graves at the British Cemetery.

According to posts shared on social media, different coins convey different messages.

  • Penny – A penny left at a gravesite means you visited there. It is simply a way to honor a departed service member.
  • Nickel – A nickel indicates you trained with the deceased.
  • Dime – A dime left on a tombstone means you served with the deceased person in his or her unit, company, ship, etc.
  • Quarter – A quarter indicates you were with the deceased when he or she died.

On nonmilitary headstones coins, especially pennies, are favored by those who wish to demonstrate that the deceased has not been forgotten.

Pebbles on gravestones: These stones signify that the deceased was visited, mourned for, respected, supported and honored by the presence of those who’ve visited their memorial.

The Hebrew word for pebble is also a word that means “bond.” Placing a stone on the headstone bonds the deceased with the visitors.

There is no official protocol for leaving coins on tombstones, and the practice has clearly extended beyond honoring just military members as, in some locations, family members have begun honoring their loved ones by placing coins on graves.

For many years Ocracoke islanders decorated graves with flowers and shells, but as mentioned, placing coins on tombstones is not a time-honored Ocracoke Island tradition.  

Most of the people buried on Howard Street did not serve in the military.

Even those who did (including members of the U.S. Life Saving Service and U.S. Coast Guard) may not have military markers.

And most, if not all, of the coins seem to have been left by island visitors, not by local family members.

Coins on Howard Street family cemeteries are used to help clean and maintain the graves.

Perhaps visitors simply wish to honor the many generations of sturdy islanders who have lived on this beautiful barrier island and endured storms, hurricanes, shipwrecks, and isolation from the mainland.

The coins left at the British Cemetery are periodically collected and used to fund the annual memorial ceremony.

The above is edited and used by permission from http://www.villagecraftsmen.com.

Coins and rocks left on the crosses at the British Cemetery are an old European tradition that says, “I was here and I remember.”  Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
Coins adorn the top of the Bedfordshire memorial at the British Cemetery. Photo: C. Leinbach
1...112113114...506Page 113 of 506
© Ocracoke Observer 2026 All rights reserved.