The lights at the Island Inn Commons were designed and installed by Trudy Austin. Photo: C. Leinbach
Tuesday, Dec. 12 Ocracoke School holiday play “Grandma’s Always Right,” written by Charles Temple 1:30 pm. See flyer below
Wednesday, Dec. 13 Ocracoke School JV & varsity basketball @ Southside, 4 pm 1718 Brewing Ocracoke: Island Trivia, 6-8 pm
Thursday, Dec. 14 Ocracoke School Middle School basketball vs Columbia, 4 pm The Joyful Band of Singers in a Christmas concert at the Ocracoke United Methodist Church, 7:30 pm. Free admission.
Friday, Dec. 15: Ocracoke School JV & varsity basketball @ Perquimans, 4 pm Christmas caroling, 4:30 pm. Meet at the Ocracoke United Methodist Church. Judging for the OCBA’s Island Celebration holiday lights competition. 5:30 pm
Saturday, Dec. 16: 1718 Brewing Ocracoke: Paint & Sip with Donna, 6 to 8:39 pm. $45. All supplies and instruction included.
Officials break ground on renovating the Ocracoke Light Station complex on Dec. 7. Photo: C. Leinbach
Observer staff report
Calling it perhaps the most innovative project the National Park Service has done since moving of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, David E. Hallac, superintendent, National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, led a groundbreaking for renovating the Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Ocracoke Light Station.
After three years of planning, Hallac and other officials put shovels to the ground Dec. 7 to ceremoniously begin the $3.6 million in renovations to the Double Keepers’ Quarters and other structures on the grounds.
Work on the duplex-style house is expected to begin in January, Hallac said, and take 12 months. Terra Site Contractors LLC of Front Royal, Virginia, is the contractor for the 200-year-old complex.
“Having the opportunity to implement this coastal adaptation project is really amazing,” he said. “When it comes to the treasures that the park service manages, we always have to implement a balance between trying to preserve the integrity of these structures but also adapt them to a changing world.”
The quarters received about 18 inches of water during Hurricane Dorian on Sept. 6, 2019. So, after receiving input from the Ocracoke community, the plan was to raise the quarters up five feet, which would protect it from rising waters but also retain its historic characteristics.
“The whole structure will receive a full rehabilitation and we’ll try to aim for making it as flood resilient as possible, keeping most of our mechanical units in the attic and using materials that are complementary to the historic materials that are in the site right now,” said George Jaramillo, historical architect for the Outer Banks Group of the National Park Service.
Dave Hallac. Photo: P. Vankevich
He said the outbuildings will be raised as well but not as high as the Double Keepers’ Quarters.
Robin Snyder, deputy superintendent, said after the formal actions that the renovation of the lighthouse will require a separate appropriation.
Ramona Bartos. Photo: P. Vankevich
Ramona Bartos, director of the Division of historic Resources for the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources paid tribute to the National Park Service, Hyde County and the village of Ocracoke for the teamwork for what she described as a very complex project.
“The Historic Preservation Office is very dedicated to trying to make North Carolina the most resilient state in the nation,” she said, noting that her division has recently partnered with the School of Government University in North Carolina at Chapel Hill for something that they are calling the Historic Resilience Project.
Hyde County Manager Kris Noble invoked a bit of history.
“ When I stand here, I almost feel like I go back to a treasured time. If you close your eyes, you can still envision the lightkeeper emerging from this structure and walking across this yard to continue his daily work that kept this light shining,” she said. “And you can still see children in or running out underneath the trees to play.
“We can also imagine a time not so long ago, but embedded just as deeply in our minds. And that’s the day that Hurricane Dorian swept through this house and filled many of our homes and loved structures full of flood water. The decision to elevate, repair and restore our lightkeepers quarters represents the adaptable and resilient nature of the people of this island.”
The Ocracoke Light Station. Photo: C. Leinbach
Ghosts of the Ocracoke Light Station watch the ground breaking restoration. Photo: P. Vankevich
In one of the many fundraisers on Ocracoke, Ocracoke Island Realty is raffling off a Holiday Cheer basket of items valued at about $500. Drawing is Dec. 18 and $10 tickets can be purchased at the Variety Store. Proceeds will go to a variety of needs on Ocracoke. Photo: C. Leinbach
“Giving Tuesday,” the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and as a counter to the frenzy of buying on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is touted as a “global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.”
While we applaud this effort, there’s no reason we all can’t continue the thought and practice giving throughout the year.
This year the Ocracoke Invitational Surf Fishing Tournament gave some of their net proceeds from the 38th annual event in May to several organizations in the community:
Ocracoke School – $500 for a sign, $500 to the Booster Club, $300 to the Beta Club and $500 to the arts program;
Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department, $400;
Ocracats Inc., $100;
Island Inn Park project (a program of the Ocracoke Preservation Society): $500;
Food for Folks (a meal project of the Ocracoke United Methodist Church), $600;
Ocracoke Alive for the Festival Latino de Ocracoke, $300;
Ocracoke School Scholarship Fund: $2,000;
Over the years, thisthis fun and often zany tournament with its clever team names and accoutrements has donated more than $125,000 to the community, said Sharon Miller, one of the local tournament organizers.
These amounts may look like small and insignificant change to many whose communities like to talk in six-figure fundraising numbers.
But on Ocracoke, a community that thrives because of its many volunteers, these donations have a major, positive impact, are well-appreciated and go a long way.
We thank the fishing tournament for its generosity. We note that islanders seem to be very generous in general, supporting all the various fundraisers throughout the year by offering items for raffles and purchasing tickets as well.
Ocracoke has a number of worthy groups, some of which are mentioned in these pages, to which you can give if you feel so inclined and be assured that the money will be put to good use.
The following include the school, nonprofits and churches with their P.O. box numbers.
Add Ocracoke, NC 27960 to the rest of the address, except for the new Stella Maris Chapel, a part of Our Lady of the Seas in Buxton.
Ocracoke School, P.O. Box 189. If you wish, you give just to the school to help pay for classroom needs or you can identify any of the various programs for your donation such as the Beta Club, Ocracoke Boosters, the PTA, the Alumni Club, and the Running Club, to name a few.
Ocracats Inc. P.O Box 993
Ocracoke Alive Inc. P.O Box 604
Ocracoke Community Pool Association, P.O Box 1371
Ocracoke Community Radio WOVV. 90.1 FM, P.O Box 1447
Ocracoke Decoy Carvers Guild, P.O Box 238
Ocracoke Foundation, P.O Box 1689
Ocracoke Health Center, P.O Box 543
Ocracoke Island Running Club, P.O. Box 189
Ocracoke Preservation Society P.O Box 1240
Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department, P.O Box 332
Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Association P.O Box 1165
This weather news update has been updated, Dec. 9, 9 a.m.
The National Weather Service is monitoring a strong cold front that will move through Eastern North Carolina Sunday into early Monday morning.
The storm system bringing heavy rainfall, possible severe thunderstorms and high winds is expected to bring minor impacts for land areas, along with hazardous marine conditions.
A gale force warning is in effect for the Pamlico Sound from Sunday evening into early Monday with southwest winds of 25 to 30 mph and gusts up to mid 40 mph.
Mariners should consider altering plans to avoid possible hazardous conditions. Remain in port, seek safe harbor or secure the vessel for severe wind and seas.
This graphic from 2022 shows where the Rollinson Channel is located.
From our news services
Ocracoke-Hatteras ferries will use a longer route starting Tuesday, Dec. 7, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) conducts emergency dredging in the Barney Slough section of the current route.
While the ACE is dredging the slough, ferries using the deeper and safer Rollinson Channel, which is 1.5 miles longer, will add roughly 20 minutes to each one-way trip.
Because of the longer crossing times, the number of ferry departures will be reduced. The schedule, beginning Dec. 7, will be as follows:
Shoaling in this slough no longer allows the Ferry Division’s vessels to safely navigate the current channel, which has become dangerously shallow, leading to several instances in which ferries bumped the bottom of the channel and needed costly repairs to fix damage to the vessels, according to a press release.
“This is not something we take lightly,’ said Interim Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon. “But the safety of our passengers and crews is our top priority, and conditions in Barney Slough have deteriorated such that it is no longer possible to continue operating there.”
The ACE said it will dredge for seven days, weather permitting.
When the ACE leaves the channel, the Ferry Division will revisit conditions in Barney Slough to determine whether it can safely resume operations there.
Travelers seeking alternate routes to and from Ocracoke Island can use the Cedar Island or Swan Quarter routes, which both operate three round trips daily and accept reservations.
Croatan ferry crossing Hatteras Inlet in early evening. Photo: P. Vankevich
Santa arrives at the Ocracoke Variety Store at 4:30 pm Thursday, Dec. 7. Photo by Trudy Austin
Tuesday, Dec. 5: Holiday Wassail Party & quilt raffle drawing at Ocracoke Preservation Society, 4:30 pm
Hyde County Schools Board of Education meets at 5 pm in the O.A. Peay administrative offices, Swan Quarter.
Updated: Change of date. Ocracoke Decoy Carvers Guild,7 pm. Community Center.
Wednesday, Dec. 6 United Women of Faith Potluck, 6:30 pm. Community Center. If you wish to participate in the gift exchange, bring a small gift. Donations will go to the N.C. Children’s Home.
Thursday, Dec. 7: Santa Claus arrives at the Variety Store, 4:30-6:30 pm
Saturday, Dec. 9: Community Cookie Exchange, 1 pm. Ocracoke Community Library
Sunday, Dec. 10: Community Christmas Concert, 7 pm. Community Center
By Sam Walker, courtesy of WOBX Published November 28, 2023
The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season that came to an end Nov. 30 will be remembered for two late-summer storms that left their legacies on eastern North Carolina in what was one of the busiest seasons in the last eight decades.
The above-average year of activity was characterized by record-warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures, and for producing the most named storms in what is considered a strong El Nino year, according to federal forecasters.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released their summary of activity in the Atlantic basin for 2023, which saw 20 named storms, ranking fourth for the most in a year since 1950.
Seven storms were hurricanes and three intensified to major hurricanes. An average season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes.
Hurricane Idalia was the only U.S. landfalling hurricane in 2023. It made landfall as a category-3 hurricane on Aug. 30 near Keaton Beach, Florida, causing storm surge inundation of 7 to 12 feet and widespread rainfall flooding in Florida and throughout the southeast.
The following week, three people died in the span of three days while swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, which was still churned up from waves caused by both Idalia and distant Hurricane Franklin.
And waves from the two storms led to the closing of a stretch of beach north of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse due to apparent fuel leaking from the sand at the site of former Navy/Coast Guard facilities in Buxton.
Beach erosion from Franklin and Idalia off Buxton exposed structures from the former Coast Guard base north of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on Sept. 1, 2023. NPS photo
The worst of the storm surge flooding was along the south and western shores of Pamlico Sound and tributaries in Carteret, Craven, Pamlico and Beaufort counties.
Hurricane Lee made landfall as a post-tropical cyclone in Nova Scotia, Canada, on Sept. 16. Swells generated by Lee caused dangerous surf and rip currents along the entire U.S. Atlantic coast. Strong winds with hurricane‑force gusts from Lee caused extensive power outages in Maine and in parts of Canada.
The rest of September was also marked by storms passing offshore that generated large swells and dangerous rip currents, with numerous high risk of rip currents days along the beaches.
“The Atlantic basin produced the most named storms of any El Nino influenced year in the modern record,” said Matthew Rosencrans, lead hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center — a division of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “The record-warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic provided a strong counterbalance to the traditional El Nino impacts.”
The eastern Pacific basin hurricane season was also above normal with 17 named storms, of which 10 were hurricanes and eight of those major hurricanes. Hurricane season activity for the eastern Pacific fell within predicted ranges.
“Another active hurricane season comes to a close where hazards from the storms extended well inland from the landfall location,” said NOAA National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan, Ph.D. “This underscores the importance of having a plan to stay safe whether you’re at the coast or inland.”
NOAA’s new Hurricane Analysis and Forecast System helped National Hurricane Center forecasters improve intensity predictions this season. NOAA’s intensity forecasts showed Hurricane Idalia as a major hurricane impacting the coast of Florida as early as Aug. 28.
The agency said this lead time gave those in threatened areas more time to prepare and respond, and there were no storm surge fatalities from Idalia despite storm surge inundation of as much as 12 feet above ground level in some areas.
Further, extending the National Hurricane Center’s tropical weather outlook product from five to seven days, this season provided emergency managers more time to prepare and stage resources before a storm.
NOAA’s hurricane research and response
This season, NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft flew 468 mission hours to collect atmospheric data that is critical to hurricane forecasting and research, passing through the eye of a hurricane 120 times and deploying over 1,400 scientific instruments. Since 2020 through this 2023 season, NOAA’s two Lockheed WP-3D Orion have flown 40% more hurricane mission flights than the preceding four years (2016-2019).
NOAA celebrated the first operational launch of a Black Swift drone from a NOAA WP-3D Orion to gather atmospheric data in and around Hurricane Tammy. Further, the first successful coordination of a low-flying drone (Anduril’s Altius 600), atmospheric profilers (dropsondes), and ocean profilers (bathythermographs) also launched from a NOAA WP-3D Orion. Observations and information from these deployments are being evaluated to determine the feasibility of using the data to help with hurricane forecasting in the future.
NOAA’s Beechcraft King Air flew 28 mission hours to collect aerial imagery used for emergency response after Hurricanes Idalia and Lee. Following Hurricane Idalia, NOAA’s National Ocean Service provided support to enable safe maritime navigation, gathering survey data for 36.8 linear nautical miles and identifying 29 potential obstructions along Florida’s coastal waterways. NOAA also worked to identify hazards caused by capsized vessels, damaged docks and piers, parts of homes and other types of marine debris, and shared findings with Florida’s debris task force following Hurricane Idalia.
NOAA’s geostationary and polar-orbiting weather satellites provided vital information for monitoring and forecasting the hurricanes and tropical weather that threatened our lives and property this season. Forecasters used one-minute geostationary satellite imagery to assess structure changes during the rapid intensity of storms such as Idalia, Lee and Otis.
NOAA’s polar-orbiting satellites orbit the Earth from pole to pole 14 times a day, providing full global coverage twice daily. Throughout the hurricane season, these satellites made sophisticated and precise observations of the atmosphere, ocean and land, which were critical to developing daily and 3-5 day forecasts.
The National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Reports for 2023, including synoptic history, meteorological statistics, casualties and damages, and the post-analysis best track, will be published on the 2023 Tropical Cyclone Report site in March 2024.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, will issue its 2024 hurricane seasonal outlook in May 2024. The hurricane season officially begins on June 1.
Ocracoke Islander Duncan McClain is the first youthful runner to cross the Turkey Trot finish line. His mom, Laura, is at right with her arms up.
Text and photos by Connie Leinbach
The fun was apparent on Thanksgiving morning as runners and walkers from on and off Ocracoke assembled outside 1718 Brewing Ocracoke for the 9th annual Turkey Trot.
Some wore matching shirts, some wore funny holiday hats, a few ran with their dogs. One islander dressed as a cob of corn.
This year, the most ever, at 193, signed up to run the 5K through Ocracoke Village, said Angie Todd, race director, but only 152 finished.
Dashing over the finish line first was Shea Woods, 18, of Huntington Valley, Pa., with a time of 16:57 minutes.
Denis Dominguez of Ocracoke followed close behind at 17:07 minutes.
Samuel Loyack of Durham came in third overall at 19:56.
Race Director Angie Todd reads the winners. Andy Todd, who assists her, is at right.
Katja Weber, 22, of Durham, was the top female runner and 15th overall with a time of 24:52.
This was her fourth year running to try to keep pace with her brother, Alexander, 18, who finished ninth at 22:39.
“It’s been super fun watching it grow,” Katja said as she caught her breath.
Duncan McClain, 12, was the first kid to cross the finish line, and 11th overall, with a time of 23:40.
Corbin Futrell, 5, was among the youths participating and finished with a time of 43:18.
“My legs feel so tired,” he yelled as he went with his twin brother and mother Chelsea to recover. “Why did I do that?”
Others, like Rachael Chestnut, who wore the corn-cob costume and walked along with her husband, Robert, were not in it for the competition.
Her time?
“Fun time!” she said.
Rachael and Robert Chestnut.
Charlotte Sussman, 58, of Durham was in the race for the ninth time, although her first time, which was the first race nine years ago, wasn’t official.
She was just out for a morning run on Thanksgiving nine years ago.
“People were clapping and yelling at me that I was doing great,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Wow. This is a really friendly place.’”
The first several trots were true fun runs and three years ago they began to employ race professionals Run the East, the same company that times the Scallywag 5K/10K/half-marathon in April, to make the trot times official.
Prizes for the winners are various holiday pies, a tradition that began with the first trot.
“It’s incredible what it’s grown into,” Todd said. “Last year was the first year we made this into a fundraiser.”
Proceeds of the event, in which runners paid $35 each, will go toward replacing the Ocracoke School gym floor, Todd, who is also chair of the Hyde County Schools Board of Education, said.
But at this rate, it will take decades to pay for a new floor, which will cost about $100,000, she said.
The current floor was installed after the Hurricane Dorian flood Sept. 6, 2019, and it suffices, but it has a lot of dead spaces, she said.
“Those affect how the basketball bounces,” she said. “Basketball is just a big part of the community. You want to have a good floor for the kids to play on.”
Anyone wishing to donate can send checks payable to Ocracoke Island Running Club, c/o Ocracoke School, P.O. Box 189, Ocracoke, NC 27960.
Shea Woods, 18, of Huntington Valley, Pa., wins with a time of 16:57 minutes.
The old style of Ocracoke decoys will be featured at the Core Sound Decoy Festival & Waterfowl Weekend at Harkers Island Friday, Dec. 1, to Sunday, Dec. 3.
The festival, which celebrates the history, craftsmanship and cultural importance of vintage decoys from prominent collections locally and region wide, will be held in two places. The marketplace of vendors will be in the Harkers Island Elementary School and displays by members of the Carolina Decoy Collectors Association will be held in the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center, 1785 Island Road, Harkers Island.
Shuttles will run Saturday and Sunday from the elementary school to the Core Sound museum.
Jesse Sorrell, of Carolina Decoy Collectors, explained that said the club focuses on antique decoys. They tell members what the featured carver or style will be and ask members to bring samples that fit that style. This year, Ocracoke decoys and shorebirds are the feature.
The focus is on Ocracoke working decoys made in the late 1800s early 1900s used in hunting clubs during the heyday of duck hunting of duck hunting, Sorrell said.
“Decoys out of Ocracoke had a similar style and characteristic to them,” he said. “Decoys out of Ocracoke are totally different from those out of the Core Sound and are different from those from lower Virginia and Chesapeake.”
Decoy historians will be present throughout the weekend to help collectors learn more about their own collections.
The 9th annual Vintage Decoy Competition by the Carolina Decoy Collectors will center on the authenticity, historic and the cultural values of the old decoys and will be held Saturday, Dec. 2.
Collectors are invited to bring their own Ocracoke decoys for evaluation and identification as part of this tribute to Ocracoke’s water-fowling heritage.
Entries in the contest will be accepted at the museum at the CDCA Exhibit until noon, with judging to begin at 1 p.m.
Categories include the following: Core Sound Diver Decoys Knotts Island Decoy Ocracoke Duck Decoy Joe Hayman Decoy NC Beach Robin Decoy NC Canvas Decoy NC Ruddy Duck Decoy
Visitors to the CDCA’s display will be allowed one vote for the Peoples’ Choice Vintage Decoy which will be announced late Saturday afternoon.
Anyone is eligible to enter and there are no entry fees. For details on the competition rules, please contact Jesse Sorrell at 919-427 8918 or jesse@rhynemanagement.com. All winners will be featured in Decoy Magazine in the first edition of 2024.
Rendering of a raised Double Keepers’ Quarters at the Ocracoke Light Station.
MANTEO — The public is invited to attend a groundbreaking event at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, for the $3.6 million project to raise and make repairs to the Double Keepers’ Quarters and other structures at Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Ocracoke Light Station.
The 15-minute event, which caps off the year-long celebration of the Ocracoke Light Station’s 200th anniversary, will occur in front of the Double Keepers’ Quarters.
“Double” refers to the fact that the house is like a duplex, or built for two families.
Hosted by the National Park Service, the special event will include brief remarks followed by the breaking of ground by representatives from the National Park Service, Hyde County, the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office and the contractor, Terra Site Constructors LLC.
Additionally, the Double Keepers’ Quarters will be open for public viewing immediately after the groundbreaking event for one hour and the base of the Ocracoke Lighthouse for will be open from 11:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
During the 12-month project, Terra Site Constructors will perform the following work:
Raise the Double Keepers’ Quarters more than 4-feet to protect against storm surge.
Raise the Store House, Carpenter’s Shop, Generator House and Privy by approximately 2-feet on concrete masonry piers with concrete footers.
Repair interior and exterior storm damage and repaint all structures.
Remediate all structures for mold, lead based paint and asbestos containing material.
Install a pathway from the existing boardwalk to a custom lift to the Double Keepers’ Quarters. The pathway and custom lift will meet Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) accessibility standards.
Groundbreaking event attendees are encouraged to park at the nearby Ocracoke Township Tourism Development Authority or the Lifesaving Church’s parking lots due to limited parking at the Ocracoke Light Station.
