The Ocracoke Health Center Seafood Festival auction will begin at 7 p.m. Aug. 31. Photo: C. Leinbach/Ocracoke Observer
The Ocracoke Health Center will hold its third Seafood Festival fundraising benefit from 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Berkley Barn.
To go with the local seafood will be live music and silent and live auctions. Proceeds will benefit the health center.
Activities begin at 2 p.m. with a silent auction until 5 p.m.
Food will be served from 3 to 5 p.m. A live auction will begin at 6 p.m. followed by music by the Ray McAllister Band.
The Ocracoke Health Center is a community owned and operated, private non-profit with 501c3 designation. In order to survive, it merged a few years ago with the Engelhard Clinic on the mainland and became a federally qualified health center.
While that union allowed both centers to receive federal funding, still, it does not cover all of the health center’s expenses.
If you are interested in donating items for the silent or live auction or being a sponsor or volunteering, please contact the Health Center: noneal@ocracokehealthcenter.org or send a text message to 252-588-2246.
Those who can’t attend the festival and wish to help can send donations by mail to P.O. Box 543, Ocracoke, NC 27960.
Summer on Silver Lake, Ocracoke. Photo: C. Leinbach
Monday, Aug. 12 NPS program: Meet the Banker Ponies: 9:30 to 10 a.m. at the Pony Pasture. NPS Talk: Life on a Barrier Island: 2:30 pm. Outside the Discovery Center. Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee: Bead by the Sea jewelry making class, 6-8 pm Ocracoke Oyster Company: Ray Murray, 7 pm
Tuesday, Aug. 13 Morning Bird Walk, 8:30 am. Meet at the NPS Campground parking lot. NPS Talk: Life on a Barrier Island: 2:30 pm. Outside the Discovery Center. 1718 Brewing Ocracoke: Brooke & Nick, 7 pm Ocracoke Oyster Company: Bryan Mayer, 7 pm
Wednesday, Aug. 14 NPS program: Meet the Banker Ponies: 9:30 to 10 a.m. at the Pony Pasture. Ocracoke Oyster Company: Bryan Mayer, 7 pm Deepwater Theater: Ocrafolk Opry, 8 pm
Thursday, Aug. 15 NPS Ranger program at lighthouse, 11 am NPS Talk: Life on a Barrier Island: 2:30 pm. Outside the Discovery Center. Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee: Brooke & Nick, 6-9 pm
Friday, Aug. 16 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee: Kate McNally, 6-8 pm Ocracoke Oyster Company, Shane Thomas, 7 pm 1718 Brewing Ocracoke: Music TBD, 7 pm The Breeze: Skosh, 9 pm DAJIO: DJ Matteus, 10 pm
Saturday, Aug. 17 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee: artist TBD, 6-8 pm Ocracoke Oyster Company Ray Murray, 7 pm DAJIO: Haze & Dacey, 7:30 pm The Breeze: Skosh, 9 pm
Sunday, Aug. 18 Church services: Life Saving Church, 459 Lighthouse Rd., worship, 11am Ocracoke United Methodist Church: 71 School Rd., worship, 11 am. Streaming via its Facebook page Stella Maris Catholic Chapel: 95 School Road, Mass, 3:30 pm
This spotted turtle observed on Ocracoke June 20, 2023, was photographed by Ruth Fordon.
By Peter Vankevich
While driving on NC 12 near the airport earlier this spring, I noticed a dark small object in the road. As I suspected, it was a turtle. I quickly turned around, picked it up and let it down near the marsh grasses across the highway where it was headed. Running late for an appointment, I quickly took a phone photo of it and went on my way. Only later when I looked at it did I realize it was a spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata).
This blackish turtle gets it name by having yellow spots, rarely from none at all to up to 100 which appear on the carapace (upper shell), the head, neck and limbs. Each turtle has a unique pattern and number of yellow spots on its shell and skin as is demonstrated with the two individuals photographed on Ocracoke. These spot patterns are used by some researchers to identify and track individual turtles over time.
The evolutionary reasons for the yellow spots in these turtles are not fully understood, but they may serve as form of camouflage mimicking dappled sunlight filtering through water and vegetation which helps them blend into their environment.
The male has a tan chin, brown eyes, and a long, thick tail. The chin of the female is yellow, has orange eyes and a shorter tail than the male. Females tend to have slightly more spots than males. The yellow spots are somewhat larger in individuals residing in the northern range.
It is one of North Carolina’s smallest turtles at slightly under 5 inches of the length of the carapace (the shell). Only the rare bog turtle found in the western areas of the state is smaller. The spotted turtle’s habitats throughout most of the Coastal Plain and eastern Piedmont are marshes, wet pastures, Carolina bays, ditches and slow moving streams. They tolerate slightly brackish waters, particularly in coastal areas like Ocracoke where freshwater and saltwater mix.
Their wider North America range includes Maine and southeastern Ontario and westward across New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, northern Indiana and Michigan to northeastern Illinois. They appear along the Atlantic Coastal Plain down to central Florida.
Like many turtle species worldwide, they have experienced serious declines in many areas due to habitat loss and fragmentation from road construction that isolates populations and makes it harder to find a mate. Another reason for their decline is linked to chemical pollution of pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural and industrial runoff. This pollution can affect the turtles directly or harm the plants and animals they rely on for food.
As with the case of the diamondback terrapin, the invasive plant Phragmites (Phragmites australis) also known as common reed can be a threat to spotted turtles. This aggressive plant can form dense, monocultural stands in wetland habitats, negatively impact water flow and quality, displace native plants and take over the turtles basking sites and nesting areas.
Because of their small size and bright yellow markings, thousands were reported to be taken by commercial collectors in the pet trade in the 1990s which was legal at the time, according to Jeffrey C. Beane, collections manager for Herpetology at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences.
A similar fate of overharvesting occurred to the diamondback terrapin when in the late 19th century, it became fashionable to serve turtle soup in fancy restaurants. The trend died with Prohibition because sherry, then outlawed, was a necessary ingredient for the delicacy. It took years for the terrapin to make a comeback.
Now, commercial collecting of turtles is illegal in North Carolina except for snapping, mud and musk turtles.
Spotted turtle photographed on Ocracoke Island, May 1, 2024 by Peter Vankevich
You are not as likely to encounter this turtle as of some of the others that frequently bask in the sun off South Point Road or walk on land like eastern box turtles and snapping turtles.
This secretive turtle spends much of its time hiding under aquatic vegetation and is quick to flee if disturbed.
But as with the turtle rescued on May 1, they are more likely to be seen in the spring as females search for suitable dry habitat to lay their eggs and this is the time they are susceptible to being run over by vehicles. Due to their small size, even the best of drivers conscientious of road-crossing turtles, may not notice them.
These turtles lay usually 3-4 eggs and the incubation period is around 77 days. Under the best of circumstances, they may live up to 50 years in the wild. Omnivores, their diet includes both animal and plant matter such as tadpoles, small fish, insects, worms, snails and algae and other plant material.
Beane noted that the first published report of a spotted turtle on Ocracoke was in 1942 by William L. Engels who spent several weeks in 1940 and ’41 surveying the vertebrate fauna of the island. He reported the species to be common here.
An Ocracoke spotted turtle specimen can be found in the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, collected in 1973 and another in the North Carolina State Museum in Raleigh.
Because they are in habitats with lots of vegetation, it is difficult to know how many are on Ocracoke these days. Islander Ruth Fordon photographed one along South Point Road on June 20, 2023, a notable date for her since that was also the day that she, with others, found a leatherback sea turtle nest on the island.
“We’re always interested in records of amphibians and reptiles on Ocracoke because the island is not that well surveyed for amphibians,” said Beane.
You can send photos of amphibians and reptiles (but no anoles) to him at jeff.beane@naturalsciences.org. Include the date and the precise locality (coordinates if possible), date and observer.
Several people concerned about turtles contacted me during a brief drought when the wetlands were drier than usual, especially along South Point Road.
Turtles have developed various adaptations to withstand severe droughts when water sources dry up.
These include reducing activity to conserve energy, finding a cool, damp place to hide and remain inactive until conditions improve and if prolonged, burrowing into the ground and entering a state of dormancy known as estivation.
The Ocracoke Civic & Business Association will host the Fall Ocracoke Island-Wide Yard Sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15.
It is postponed from the original date of Sept. 14 due to heavy rains the day before, Friday, and expected showers on Saturday. Sunday, Sept. 15 is expected to be clearer.
The yard sale is free to participate in and to attend. To sign up to be on the map email your name and address to ocba@ocracokeisland.net.
Maps indicating each participating yard sale location will be available several days prior to the sale at the Ocracoke Variety Store, the Post Office and online at ocracokeisland.net.
It could have been worse. While Tropical Storm Debby made its second landfall on Thursday along the South Carolina coast, Ocracoke and the Outer Banks avoided the worst of the weather on Wednesday with intermittent downpours and high wind in the 20s-mph zone and some higher gusts persisting as the outer bands of Debby’s winds whip the coast. The storm direction heading north is in the middle of North Carolina.
Tropical Storm Debby as of 2:30 p.m. Aug. 8.
Hatteras-Ocracoke vehicle ferries are running today (Thursday) on an intermittent schedule but not the passenger ferry. You can call the Hatteras ferry office for updates: 252-996-6000.
The Pamlico Sound ferry routes were suspended today due to high winds. For more information regarding the Pamlico Sound ferries, Cedar island and Swan Quarter, call 800-293-3779.
As of Thursday afternoon, the roads of Ocracoke, for the most part are clear with no standing water.
While the Outer Banks and northeastern North Carolina have avoided the worst of the weather so far, more rain is possible into Friday while the rough surf and deadly rip currents could persist into the weekend.
A High Surf Advisory continues from Oregon Inlet to Ocracoke Inlet for breaking waves of 4 to 8 feet through Friday afternoon.
There is also a risk of Hatteras and Ocracoke experiencing some ocean overwash at high tide, which will be at 11:30 p.m. Thursday, and noon on Friday.
N.C. Department of Transportation has staged crews from Oregon Inlet to Ocracoke in case there is overwash that pushes sand and ocean water on to N.C. 12.
NCDOT reported some minor overwash during the 11 a.m. high tide on Thursday, but NC12 remains open and passable with some sand and water on the road.
“Sudden downpours can create several inches of water in some locations, so slow down and drive with extreme caution,” NCDOT said in an X post.
A Coastal Flood Advisory is in effect through Friday morning for Ocracoke, where water levels could rise 1 to 2 feet.
NC12 at the sandbag area on Ocracoke. NCDOT photo
State recreational water quality officials are advising the public to avoid swimming in North Carolina coastal waters from the Wright Memorial Bridge in Kitty Hawk to the South Carolina state line that have been affected by Tropical Storm Debby.
“The surf zone will be very rough/chaotic, and we anticipate shore break of 4 to 6 feet for all eastern North Carolina beaches (on Thursday),” said NWS Newport Meteorologist David Glenn.
A high risk of rip currents is forecast for Thursday for all North Carolina beaches, where red flags will be flying and everyone should stay out of the ocean.
Seven people have died across the southeast since Debby came ashore as a hurricane in Florida on Monday.
Flash flooding has also been reported in central North Carolina this morning, and is expected to continue through Friday as the center of the system moves through tomorrow.
Along the Outer Banks, minor rainwater flooding has been reported in areas where heavy downpours have moved through.
Standing rainwater of up to two feet deep was reported Thursday on some parts of N.C. 12 in Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo.
That water receded relatively quickly but ponding of rain water in other usual problem areas also been reported where the heaviest of showers have moved through since Tuesday.
A flood watch remains in effect for all of eastern North Carolina.
Ocracoke beach on Aug. 8, 2024. Photo: C. Leinbach
The Beaufort County Community College Small Business Center will conduct free small business classes and free one-on-one small business counseling in the Ocracoke Community Center on Thursday, Aug. 29.
Please use the links below to register for classes or select a time for your confidential one-on-one counseling session.
Jack Dugan, Small Business Center director, will also discuss the 2nd Annual Seed & Sow Contest, where winners are awarded funds to help start or grow their small business.
All classes are in-person only. The following is the schedule:
10 a.m. to noon: How to Start an LLC: Forming a limited liability company (LLC) can be a wise choice for small business owners, entrepreneurs, freelancers and independent contractors who want to obtain liability protection and certain tax advantages.
In this two-hour introductory class, you’ll learn the basics of what an LLC is, why forming an LLC may benefit you, the steps for forming an LLC in North Carolina, and some common questions and concerns.
Noon to 2 p.m.: How to Finance Your Business: Jack Dugan will help you discover the most likely financing method for your business type and the fundamentals of business financing. You will also create a draft funding mix for your business, identify contacts for funding your business and assess your financial readiness and the next steps for financing.
Gail Umphlett of Belcross, Camden County, and Ocracoke, peacefully passed away on August 6, 2024, surrounded by friends and family.
Gail had been married to her beloved husband Paul, for 48 years.
Born on July 11, 1951, she was a daughter of the late Doris and Elisha Harris in Elizabeth City.
Gail grew up in Camden and went to Camden County High School.
She always loved to bake and cook, and she and Paul turned their passion into a thriving business for 31 years.
Everyone knew Gail and loved her, not only for her delicious cakes but also for her incredibly delicious personality.
Gail loved life and loved to laugh and all who were in her life loved and laughed with her.
On their days off, Gail and Paul traveled to their home in Ocracoke where they met many new friends, all of whom loved and adored her.
She was known for her incredible dinner parties and desserts that she would prepare for all of her friends.
After Gail and Paul retired, they split their time between Ocracoke and Camden. If there was a cooking utensil in Camden, she also had one just like it in Ocracoke.
Gail will be forever cherished by her daughter and best friend, Amy Brooks (Kevin) of Greenville, and Gail’s granddaughters, Elisha and Rylan.
Gail is also survived by her brother, Bobby Harris of Belcross, his wife Marguerite and their son, Hunter, his wife, Susan, and their son, Dakota; and her brother Tucker “Tom” Harris of Newport, Rhode Island, and his wife Ellen Retley.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11, at Twiford Memorial Chapel, 405 E. Church Street, Elizabeth City, with the Rev. Charles Rickard officiating.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to Ocracoke Preservation Society, 49 Water Plant Road, Ocracoke, NC 27960, or to Albemarle Home Care and Hospice, 1507 North Road St., Suite #2, Elizabeth City, NC 27909.
Twiford Funeral Homes is assisting the family and condolences and memories may be shared at http://www.TwifordFH.com.
Although the brunt of Tropical Storm Debby is inland and moving northward, it is having an impact on the Outer Banks that is expected to last for the next several days.
Heavy rains are causing overwash in the low-lying areas on Hatteras Island and may impact Ocracoke. Travelers should use caution or postpone driving if possible.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the ferries are running.
The Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) has urged caution on roads and beaches over the next two to three days. All Seashore campgrounds are open at this time, but campers may experience flooding around the low-elevation campsites. The National Weather Service has issued a High Surf Advisory for eastern North Carolina through 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9.
Dangerous rip currents are forecast to be a threat through this weekend. Swimming is not recommended until conditions improve.
Showers, heavy rain, thunderstorms and a possible tornado are expected on the Outer Banks at least into Sunday. Sustained winds at time in the mid-20s range and gusts up to 40 mph are possible.
Temperatures will remain in the mid-80s during the day.
Fig Fest cake bake-off judges await the start of their cake-tasting duty. Photo: P. Vankevich
By Connie Leinbach
Ocracoke visitors captured fig cake-baking glory on Saturday when they won the Fig Cake bake-off during the Ocracoke Fig Festival in the Berkley Barn.
A large crowd assembled inside the barn to watch the signature event unfold as the judges sampled the seven traditional, 14 innovative and three youth entries.
The cakes are numbered for the “blind” tasting and the winners’ names are revealed after the judges have chosen.
Kerstin Nygard of Durham won in the traditional category and Penny Cobb of Wilson was the runner up.
In this category, bakers must use only ingredients in the traditional recipe (found in local cookbooks): 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. A traditional Ocracoke Fig Cake Recipe also is available online at the Ocracoke Preservation Society’s webpage: www.ocracokepreservation.org.
“The judges had to fight it out to pick the winner,” Sundae Horn, event organizer, said about the quality of the cakes.
In the innovative category, in which any dessert goes as long as it contains figs, Michelle Thornell of Emerald Isle with her “Skyscraper” cake, featuring layers of traditional fig cake between layers of cheesecake, covered with cheesecake icing, topped with spiced fig candied walnuts and brown turkey figs, captured first place along with co-winner Kristi Reichard of York Springs, Pa., with her lemon honey fig preserves, toasted almond, diplomat cream decorated with fresh blue figs.
Judges rated the entries on presentation, flavors and “figginess,” Horn said. After the judging, it’s a “fig for all” in which everyone gets to taste the entries.
Michelle Thornell’s No. 1 innovative fig cake composed of fig cake and cheesecake layers. Photo: C. Leinbach
Some of the innovative fig cakes with the co-No. 1 winner by Kristi Reichard in the foreground. Photo: C. Leinbach
Amanda O’Shaughnessy and James Hall were runners up with their version of a Smith Island cake with figs and oranges, topped with a chocolate glaze.
Sheri Castle, the host of “The Key Ingredient,” an Emmy-winning cooking show from PBS North Carolina that airs across the country, was the celebrity chef and also a judge for the innovative entries.
Sheri Castle talks about cooking and her cookbook. The festival held a brunch, which was also a cooking class, with Castle and a fig dinner in which Castle created a main course: grilled chicken with fig compote. Photo: C. Leinbach
“I was impressed by the technical level of competency and creativity,” she said about the cakes. “No two were alike.”
After visiting Chef Ricky Moore’s Salt Box restaurant where she saw that he’d been the celebrity chef at the 2022 Fig Festival, first-time bake-off contestant Rachel Moreschi of Durham decided to enter four small rosemary honey fig cakes in the shapes of skulls. It was her first time entering a baking competition after having completed the Ballymore Cooking School in Cork, Ireland.
Of the three youth entries, Noah Folliard won with his fig cake with buttercream icing with raspberries and mint.
“All three judges quickly came to a consensus,” said first-time judge Matt Jansen about the youth entries. “But we appreciated all the efforts.”
Polliard’s entry bested first-time entrant Presley Lipscomb, 11, of Holly Springs, who brought homemade fig ice cream.
Islander Debbie Leonard, who also volunteered as a cake cutter, submitted a peanut butter and jelly fig cake complete with a tiny PB&J sandwich decoration.
“Every part of it was edible,” she said.
On Friday, festival goers lined up out the barn door to taste the 35 entries for the traditional and innovative fig preserves contest, the winters of which are chosen by popular vote.
Lisa Richardson of Richmond, Va., had no problem tasting all of the entries and differentiating them.
“I love figs,” she said between bites, “and I’ve got my favorites.”
“They’re very different, even the traditional,” noted Laura McClain, who organized the tasting.
Capturing the innovative category with her jalapeno preserves was first-time entrant Angela Cox of Darlington. That was one of three preserves for this first-time entrant.
Islander John Simpson (this year’s Fig Festival poster and T-shirt artist) was runner-up with his bourbon fig barbecue sauce.
Kathy Griffin won for best traditional preserves and islander Marlene Mathews was the runner-up.
Martin Garrish & Friends entertain the crowd. Photo: P. Vankevich
The Ocracoke Fig Festival is presented by the nonprofit Ocracoke Preservation Society. All funds raised after expenses go to Ocracoke Preservation Society to support their mission.
OPS Administrator Andrea Tolson noted the great turnout for the event.
“As far as fundraisers, it was a huge success for us,” she said. “We’re very appreciative of all the people that come out and the volunteers.”
Horn noted that a number of attendees were first timers along with repeat visitors.
“But almost everyone I talked to had planned their vacation around the Fig Festival and were intentional about being there even if it was the first time they came,” she said.
Entertainment included Martin Garrish & Friends, Molasses Creek, Raygun Ruby and the Ocracoke Rockers.
Next year’s festival will be Aug. 1 and 2.
Chester Lynn on Saturday morning discussed “Fig Cultivation & Culture” with Sundae Horn. Photo: P. Vankevich
Andy and Marianne Whitehead, proprietors of FigBrew offered tastings of their products which are now available at Moonraker Tea Shop. Photo: C. Leinbach
Angela Cox of Darlington is the peoples’ choice winner of the fig preserves contest. Photo: C. Leinbach
The cake in the left foreground by Kerstin Nygard bests the six others in the traditional category. Photo: C. Leinbach
A line to taste the 35 entries in the fig preserves contest. Photo: C. Leinbach
Presley Lipscomb entered her homemade fig ice cream in the youth category. Photo: C. Leinbach
Artist Hannah Smith, right, sells her fig-themed artwork at the festival with her sister Bethany. Photo: C. Leinbach
A helium balloon on the Ocracoke beach. Photo: P. Vankevich
Released helium balloons with their strings attached continue to appear on Ocracoke’s beaches. Picked up by the Cape Hatteras National Seashore staff throughout the year, their numbers are staggering: 1,786 balloons in 2023 and, no doubt, exponentially more are blown out to sea.
Tragedy strikes when sea animals, such as 50-year-old, 500-pound loggerhead turtles that have survived incalculable threats over their lives under the most challenging environmental circumstances, are killed by eating balloons.
To these magnificent creatures, deflated balloons resemble jellyfish or squid, common prey for them as well as for dolphins and whales. Necropsies have shown that balloons can block digestive tracts, leading to malnutrition, starvation and internal injuries causing complications leading to death.
Balloon strings can wrap around all sorts of animals, restricting their movements causing slow, agonizing deaths.
It is not just wildlife that has been negatively impacted. Utility companies complain that balloons made of mylar are responsible for many utility power outages when they connect with power lines. Their silvery coating serves as a conductor for electricity and can short transformers just by coming near high-voltage lines.
As balloons decompose, they release harmful chemicals and pollute the environment with microplastics. Anyone who loves fishing knows how harmful these are.
Then there is the issue of inflating balloons with helium. This gas with unique properties, is a finite resource and crucial for medical tests such as an MRI and for treating respiratory conditions like asthma and COPD. Helium is needed for lots of scientific research.
There have been shortages of this important gas over the years. So, we need to manage this precious resource wisely and ensure its availability for essential uses. The bottom of its list of uses should be recreational, that is, balloons.
Environmental organizations have warned about these dangers and have tried to educate about alternatives to balloon releases.
Now local governments are taking action.
In April, the Duck Town Council became the first on the Outer Banks to enact an ordinance prohibiting the release of inflated balloons within the town limits. Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head subsequently banned balloon releases.
After a July 16 public meeting, the Dare County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a balloon release ban for the unincorporated areas of the county. Now that the rule is in place, it is illegal to release balloons anywhere along the Outer Banks shoreline, from Duck to Hatteras Village.
The success in getting these bans in place can largely be attributed to Debbie Swick of Southern Shores, the creator of Ban Balloon Releases NC.
Similar ordinances are in effect in Wrightsville Beach, Topsail Beach, North Topsail Beach and Surf City.
A ban on released balloons can serve as an educational tool making people realize about how balloons can harm wildlife, particularly marine animals and birds and can foster a sense of responsibility and empathy towards the environment. It can help people in Indiana or Ohio learn how far these balloons released locally can travel and kill animals they love.
We urge the Hyde County Commissioners to take similar action to that of the Dare County commissioners. It will send a message that Hyde County supports efforts to help its wildlife, as aspect of the county that attracts thousands of visitors.
Such an act would not harm businesses as there are plenty of other ways to commemorate events.
Hyde County Commissioners have monthly meetings that take place in Swan Quarter and can be viewed at the Ocracoke Community Center as well as online on the Hyde County Public Information Facebook page.
They welcome public comments. Those who support an ordinance can attend a meeting commissioner meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, or Wednesday, Sept. 4, in the Ocracoke Community Center and voice their support.
