This image of Ocracoke shows the areas of nesting birds on the beach and the closure areas marked off in red. NPS image
By Connie Leinbach
A recent increase in nesting Least Terns on Ocracoke’s South Point prompted National Park Service staff to close that section of the beach from near to the entrance at Ramp 72 to the end of the island.
The closure, in effect July 3, begins just .11 miles south of the ramp entrance, said Meaghan Johnson, chief of resource management and science, for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
“You can’t turn right and it’s the July 4 holiday,” one islander said about the closed off area, adding he’d never seen it closed off so close to the ramp before.
But Mike Barber, public affairs officer for the Seashore, said this year’s closure at South Point was about consistent with last year’s.
Last year, the closure began a little farther south, or .43 miles south of the ramp, he said.
Johnson said the closure should continue into August.
That’s because there’s a 20-day incubation period before the chicks hatch, she said, and then about another 20 or more days before they fledge.
“Through August this area is active with nesting and chicks,” she said. “It’s the highest density of colonial waterbirds on Ocracoke.”
As of now, there are 147 active colonial waterbird nests, she said, including 86 Least Tern nests, 20 Black Skimmer nests, American Oyster Catchers and a few Gull Bill Tern nests.
Least Terns are the primary colonial nesting birds at South Point and is a species of concern for the state, Johnson said.
Last year the beach nesting birds at South Point had a massive failure due to a combination of heavy rain, overwash, high winds and mammalian predation.
“This is the furthest north they’ve nested,” Barber said about this year, but the island has several other open beach access areas.
“Overall, along the entire island, there’s more than 7.22 miles of Off-Road Vehicle areas open,” he said. “There’s over five miles open for pedestrians. So added together, there’s more than 13 miles of beach open.”
The Park Service protects all nesting wildlife, Johnson said.
When the staff find a Least Tern nest, they place a 100-meter buffer around the colony as wells as any chicks they find, Johnson said. Some Least Tern nests were found close to the beach entrance at Ramp 72, prompting the closure.
The buffer for Black Skimmer nests is 180 meters.
“With all of this nesting activity there’s no way to allow beach access,” Barber said. He added that Cape Point at Cape Hatteras also is closed to vehicles and pedestrians.
Barber said beach access and nesting bird information is updated weekly on the following pages on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore webpage:
Beach Access Table & Mileage Summary: http://go.nps.gov/beachaccess. The mileage summary is updated every Thursday during the nesting season.
New children’s books are among the new items in the refurbished Ocracoke Community Library, which also will hold the first Used Book Sale since 2017. It begins at 9 am Thursday, July 13.
Monday, July 10 Hyde County Commissioners, 6 pm. Community Center and on Facebook at Hyde County Public Information. See agenda below. See more information here.
Ocracoke Oyster Company(music at 7 pm): Ray Murray
Tuesday, July 11 NPS morning bird walk, 8:30 am. Meet at the NPS campground parking lot.
Pop-up art show with artist Sarah Searight at Down Creek Gallery, noon to 4 pm.
1718 Brewing Ocracoke (music at 7 pm): Barefoot Wade
Ocracoke Oyster Company(music at 7 pm): Bryan Mayer
Wednesday, July, July 12 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): DJ Yes!!
Ocracoke Oyster Company(music at 7 pm): Bryan Mayer
DAJIO (all music at 7:30 pm): Ray Murray
Deepwater Theater: Ocrafolk Opry, 8 pm
The Breeze (all music at 9 pm): The Funky Truth
Thursday, July 13 Used Book Sale. Ocracoke Community Library, 225 Back Road. Begins at 9 a.m. Friends of the Library (FOL) members get early access to the used books at 8:30 a.m. Anyone may join FOL at that time and enter the sale early.
Open to the public weekdays from 3 to 7 pm and 9 am to 1 pm Saturdays.
Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): Brooke & Nick
Ocracoke Oyster Company(music at 7 pm): Kate McNally
The Breeze (all music at 9 pm): The Funky Truth
Friday, July 14 Ocracoke Tourism Development Authority: 9 am. Community Center.
Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): Kate McNally
1718 Brewing Ocracoke (music at 7 pm): Brooke & Nick
Ocracoke Oyster Company(music at 7 pm): Nick & Adam
The Breeze (all music at 9 pm): Gary Dudley & the Maxtones
Saturday, July 15 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): TBD
The Breeze (all music at 9 pm): Gary Dudley & the Maxtones
Sunday, July 16 1718 Brewing Ocracoke (music at 7 pm): Open mic
The Ocracoke Express passenger ferry in Ocracoke’s Silver Lake. Photo: C. Leinbach
By Sam Walker, WOBX. Reprinted by permission
What appears to be persistent mechanical issues with the state-owned passenger ferry that runs during the summer between Hatteras and Ocracoke villages has cropped up, and the Ocracoke Express will not be running until further notice.
The passenger ferry service was created to alleviate summertime congestion on the popular Hatteras-Ocracoke vehicle ferry route.
“The Passenger ferry has an issue with the starboard hydraulic steering pump,” said NCDOT spokesperson Tim Hass. “Hatteras Field Maintenance has been working on the issue, but they haven’t been able to resolve the issue as of right now.”
According to an alert from the N.C. Department of Transportation sent Thursday morning, all departures on the passenger ferry have been canceled until further notice.
Wednesday afternoon’s passenger runs were canceled, and the passenger ferry had been unable to run several days over the last two weeks.
Funding issues at NCDOT have also been to blame for the vehicle ferries having to operate on the shoulder-season schedule, with departures from each side only hourly, rather than the usual departures every half hour used in previous summers.
Vessels are also kept on stand-by to meet vehicular demand with additional runs as needed.
Those issues have spurred huge outcry from Ocracoke residents and businesses, including a float in this year’s Independence Day parade.
Originally scheduled to be completed in 2018, the construction of the Ocracoke passenger ferry encountered multiple delays, and the NCDOT leased a vessel for its first three seasons of operation, beginning in 2019.
The vessel owned by the state and launched last year is a 100-passenger, catamaran-style ferry with 96 interior seats, an upper deck with 26 additional seats, two wheelchair tie-downs, 16 bicycle racks, wireless internet access, and a concession area.
The trip between Hatteras Harbor and Silver Lake Harbor takes about 70 minutes where a free tram operated by Hyde County is available to carry anyone around the village to shops, restaurants, accommodations and attractions.
The passenger ferry service performed well last year, with more than 25,000 people having used the Ocracoke Express that operated between May 17 and Sept. 29.
That included a roughly week-long period around the end of July when problems with the electrical and propulsion system cropped up.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in two issues of the print paper in the summer of 2023.
By Patty Huston-Holm
One of the benefits of living on Ocracoke is that one has an opportunity to do things that are often not possible to do elsewhere.
Hosting a radio show is one of them.
Ocracoke’s community radio station, WOVV 90.1 FM, has a cadre of local and off-island broadcasters.
Except for What’s Happening on Ocracoke, a news/cultural program broadcast Friday morning at 11:30 a.m., these are primarily music shows comprising a variety of genres and themes.
Typical of most of the nonprofit community organizations, these DJs are unpaid volunteers. Before getting on the air, they build a playlist, create talking points about the songs they choose and sprinkle comments on the weather or island activities. Sometimes they will have guests. These shows run for one or two hours.
WOVV is on air 24/7. Even when bad weather causes power outages, the station continues to broadcast using a generator funded by the Ocracoke Occupancy Tax Board. When there are no shows, music comes from its library jukebox consisting of a variety of songs. “When listening to WOVV, you never know what will be next” is a compliment made by many of the station’s fans.
Since 2016, its studio has been located on the second floor of the former Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department firehouse on Back Road and is part of the Ocracoke School campus. Prior to that, its digs were a small kiosk on Silver Lake Harbor.
For years, the station has broadcast the school’s basketball games with Bill Cole being the Voice of the Dolphins, supplemented by play calling and commentary by Chad Macek and Peter Vankevich.
This spring the station began calling the school’s home baseball games at the Ocracoke Community Park featuring sixth grader Duncan McLain calling the balls and strikes.
Three part-time paid staff members supplement the volunteer operation by handling the technical, programing and financial duties.
WOVV founded the Scallywag 5K/10K/half-marathon foot race each April. Proceeds after expenses benefit the station, the Ocracoke School Athletic Boosters and Ocracoke Community Park.
Additional funding for the station comes from donations, membership and the occasional requests to the Occupancy Tax Board for equipment upgrades.
The Observer caught up with most of the DJs to learn about who they are and their music choices.
Starting with Vankevich, who on one spring night excitedly turned his regular show over to Haley Willis, a young woman visiting the island where she grew up and who did a show with him in 2015, their shows, air times and other information are summarized below.
Tommy Hutcherson Volunteer Length: 10 years Show Name: Rockin’ Radio Show (shared with Larry Ihle), 4 p.m. Tuesdays Genre: Rock ‘n’ roll blended with Cajun and jazz
Tommy Hutcherson
Why and How: Tommy, the owner of the island’s Variety Store, has been playing drums since he got a Beatles kit at age five. His passion for music continued through high-school band in Virginia Beach up to today, which finds him serving as a DJ for destination weddings and other island events as well as at the radio station. He likes finding and playing “tracks that others haven’t heard” while spending time with his longtime friend, Larry Ihle.
Tommy also broadcasts the boys Dolphins basketball games
Added Thoughts: “I’ve played drums my entire life,” he said. “I’ve played with bands like the Ocracoke Rockers and the Ray McAllister Band, which is really the Ray Murray Band, but we started calling it McAllister and it stuck.” He laughingly shared that a writer-lecturer Ray McAllister wrote a blog joking that “I have my own band.”
Larry Ihle Volunteer Length: Four years Show Name: Rockin’ Radio Show (Shared with Tommy Hutcherson), 4 p.m. Tuesdays Genre: Jazz and blues blended with Hutcherson’s love of rock ‘n’ roll
Larry Ihle
Why and How: “I like to share the B-side of albums,” he said. “And I use Shazam a lot to tell me what a song is about and then share that with listeners.” When Ihle moved to Ocracoke at age 20, he lived with Hutcherson and exposed him to jazz that he grew up with in Chicago. Unlike Hutcherson, Ihle had no musical talent but shared a passion and respect for music, especially the sounds of drums and a saxophone.
Added Thoughts: A general building contractor and pilot for island helicopter tours, Ihle recalls the days when he and Hutcherson paid the bills by “cutting grass” and “cleaning up after music events.” His favorite times at the radio studio is when friends and family members come along to bring their songs and talk on air with “sometimes 8 to 10 people crammed in there dancing.”
Chad Macek Volunteer Length: 10 years (also one of the two paid employees for his eight hours a week as program manager) Show Name: Outdoor Shower Power Hour Genre: 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s at 6 p.m. Mondays
Chad Macek. Photo: Patty Huston-Holm
Why and How: “I moved here in 2013 and got to know Pete who hooked me in,” Macek said. “I like to use the show name with some fun language like ‘lather you up with song tunes’ and ‘give you some music to clean up to.’ We think we have listeners as far away as England but with VPNs (virtual private network), we aren’t sure, but we know people are listening.”
Added Thoughts: “I have no musical background. I grew up as a sports kid. My full-time job is as a business analyst with United Health Care. My playlist is random, taking me three to four hours a week to do each show. I like to do word plays like tonight I have 22 songs and I’ll take the last word of a song and match it with the first word of the next song – like the Police So Lonely song followed by Billy Squier’s Lonely Is the Night and then Bob Seger’s Night Moves.
Matthew Tolson (on-air name “Catbird”) Volunteer Length: Nine years Show Name: Full Throttle, 11 p.m. Saturdays Genre: Punk rock
Matt Tolson
Why and How: “There is no rhyme or reason about how I create my playlists, but I try to play some new releases each week,” Tolson said. “I do punk because I felt it was being shunned. Both as a WOVV DJ and board member, I receive the utmost, soul nourishing, endorphin-charging satisfaction from my participation.”
Added Thoughts: “There is something about random guests and random listeners on this isle of misfit toys. One thing I am proud of is the two-year campaign that resulted in an internationally known punk band, Authority Zero, coming and playing a live show here on Ocracoke.”
Pete Vankevich Volunteer length: 12 years Show name: What’s Happening on Ocracoke interviews: 11:30 a.m. Fridays Show name: Just Good Music from the Second Floor of the Old Fire House, 8 p.m. Mondays Genre: 60s rock, blues, folk and Indie music. The shows often have a world tour four or more songs, especially Scandinavian, Canadian and Latin-flavored music.
Pete Vankevich
Why and how: “Back in 2011, when I owned a house but had not yet moved to the island, I got into an online discussion with a couple of nonresident property owners trying to see how the island was doing as Hurricane Irene was heading straight to the island,” Vankevich said. “I had heard about WOVV and decided to log in. I heard who I later learned was Nathan Modlin say, ‘The water is now covering the dock outside the studio [back then the studio was in a kiosk on the harbor] and I’m not going to be able to continue broadcasting much longer.” He then played In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, the 17-minute 60s song by Iron Butterfly. Both the news and the song impressed me. I sent a donation. Soon after, I received a nice thank you and an invite to volunteer when I moved here.”
What’s Happening on Ocracoke is a news/culture show, most Fridays at 11:30 a.m. It includes periodic updates from the county commissioner, the Health Center, and the National Park Service and interviews with artists and writers including two North Carolina Poet Laureates, a Pulitzer Prize reporter and even the state’s governor.
Beatle Haddad Volunteer Length: Nine years Show Name: Beats with Beats, 9 a.m. Thursdays Genre: Theme songs like duos, trios, songs with colors mentioned and songs that many people sing the wrong words to.
Beatle Haddad
Why and How: With a bachelor’s degree in communications from Salisbury University, Salisbury, Md., and despite two or three other jobs she holds, when Haddad was asked to take over another DJ spot, she agreed. Sometimes, she puts her show together after a night of bartending at the Back Porch. Other times, she thinks about it for days prior. Customers and friends tell her she has a natural radio voice. “I wondered if I should do it because I leave here in the winter, but many others do, too,” she said.
Added Thoughts: “My given name is Ashleigh, but my brother started calling me ‘Beat’ and ‘Beatle’ at age two,” she said. She recalled her most memorable show was in 2018 when her sister called near the end of her shift and during her program on the theme of death to share that her father had had a stroke. She treasures a recording of that show.
John Simpson Volunteer Length: 10 years Show Name: Classic Cuts & Such, 6 p.m. Saturdays Genre: 70s & 80s rock and roll plus Etta James and Frank Sinatra
John Simpson
Why and How: “I guess you could say I’m a native because I graduated high school here as one of seven in 1978,” Simpson said. “But my dad was in the military, so we lived different places. My great-grandfather was a lighthouse keeper. I worked with the postal service for years. Regarding music, I loved Wolfman Jack and his radio voice, and I saw Charlie Pride. To see real performers is better than listening to an album, but listening is better than no listening. When I play something, I hope I touch somebody. It could be something they haven’t heard in 20 years. When I was asked to do this, I got to work and had 15 shows planned out before my first one.”
Added Thoughts: “I like putting together my tracks. It would be random, like something from Bonnie Raitt with Huey Lewis and the News and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The other night, I decided to play all songs that started with an R like Refugee by Tom Petty and Rooms on Fire by Stevie Nicks.”
Gary Mitchell Volunteer Length: Since October 2022 Show Name: Ocracoke Music Sampler, 8 p.m. Tuesdays Genre: Original music, 50s rock and roll, nautical music, “whatever strikes my fancy.”
on Aug. 12, 2019 at Howard Street in Ocracoke, N.C. (Photo by Eakin Howard)
Why and How: “I moved here in 1978, teaching shop at the school,” Mitchell said. “My wife, Kitty, also was an art teacher and musician and now has an art gallery. For 30 years, I’ve recorded music. Our band, Molasses Creek, has about a dozen albums – folk and bluegrass. I volunteered at the station because I thought it would be a fun way to share the music I like. For the station, I often play whatever strikes my fancy… Martin Garish, an Ocracoke native, is a very talented guitarist. I would like to see more younger people take to music here – like Dallas Mason, a wonderful drummer.”
Added Thoughts: “I have a personal connection to Ocracoke Island. The most important thing about my show is that all of the music was either recorded by me right here on Ocracoke at Soundside Studio, or a few recordings of Ocracoke musicians that were recorded at a studio off the island. So, it’s not just music I like, it’s local and regional musicians I love, respect and have personally recorded.”
Sara Teaster Volunteer Length: Since October 2021 Show Name: Tunes with Teaster, 6 p.m. Wednesdays Genre: Eclectic – a wide-ranging mix with themes
Sara Teaster
Why and How: “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and perhaps may not have had the chance in a bigger city,” she wrote via email from Ireland in mid-May 2023. “Pete Vankevich invited me to be a guest on his show, and I loved it. Then I filled in for him while he was away and then got my own time slot. I spent so much of my 20s following live music and got away from it as I finished two degrees and worked on my career in my 30s. No matter what’s going on in my life or in the world, for those two hours it’s just me and the music.”
Added Thoughts: Teaster, who also serves on the station board, mentors Ocracoke middle-school students in producing their own shows. The Afterschool Radio Club (5 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays), she says, is her favorite part of engagement at the station. She recalled a radio DJ from the 1990s TV show “Northern Exposure” and how he ended each program with an inspirational quote – something she tries to do at WOVV.
Anne Becker Volunteer Length: Since March 2023 Show Name: Anne Show, 7 p.m. Thursdays Genre: Rock, New Age, Progressive
Why and How: Anne did a radio show in Gettysburg, Pa., when in college and grew up listening to community radio. “I like that music is not selected by a robot and that it’s played by somebody in your community,” she said. “Being a DJ is a wonderful way to get to know other people on the island and to share with them.”
Anne Beacker
Added Thoughts: Having worked as the assistant administrator at the Ocracoke Preservation Society, Anne knows a lot about island history. These facts and related events as well as international human rights information, which grew to a passion as a political science/international relations major at Mt. St. Mary’s University in Maryland — are woven into her program that could include Talking Heads and other progressive artists. “I have friends in England and Australia who listen,” she said. “One of the neatest things about the radio station is how they cover high school sports.”
Tom Schettino Volunteer Length: Under one year Show Name: Shoal Searching, 9 p.m. Tuesdays Genre: Alternative and country
Tom Schettino
Why and How: “Peter Vankevich and his wife, Mary, are my backdoor neighbors,” Schettino said. “He’s also on the fire department, and I think he asked me to do this when we met at a call when someone lit a tree on fire with a cigarette. . . I only had to learn about three buttons and Peter reassured me that we all make mistakes. . . Chad (program manager) said no profanity…It takes me about five hours a week to put together my two-hour playlist.”
Added Thoughts: “I had a hard time finding a name, but the day before my first show, I was on the ferry and the word ‘shoal’ (sandbar) came up. I’m not so good with trivia but I’ve been coming to the island for 30 years so I can talk about balloons on the beach (not allowed) and that my golf cart can drive faster than the mosquitoes.”
Tom Cain Since publishing this feature, Tom Cain joined the prestigious ranks of WOVV Broadcasters Emeritus.
One of the station’s first local DJs, Cain was part of WOVV for 13 years and recently stepped down from doing his Down Creek Blues at9 p.m. on Saturdays. After moving to Ocracoke, having retired from a telecom career, he began selling cigars (Ocracoke Cigars) and did a radio show to share his passion for African American folk/blues artists, such as BB King and Dr. John of New Orleans. A selection of blues music plays in Cain’s former spot at 9 p.m. Saturdays.
‘Budgetzilla’ by Ride the Wind Surf Shop captures Best in Show for the Ocracoke July 4 parade. Photo: C. Leinbach
Observer staff report
The July Fourth holiday on Ocracoke was all that the Appling-Fields family expected and more.
“Oh my gosh, you guys had the best fireworks,” said Claire Appling.
The family, who hails from Wilmington, was among the thousands on Ocracoke over the three days Independence Day holiday was celebrated on the island.
Her brother, Ian Appling, echoed many about the quality of the fireworks display put on by Pyrotecnico on July 2, launched from the end of the NPS parking lot at the south end of the island.
“They, honestly, rivaled Washington, D.C.,” he said.
The family also helped their cousin, S. Ross Browne, an artist from Richmond, Va., with his sand sculpture of a “magical, mysterious sea creature,” he told the Observer.
Browne was among the 32 individuals and groups that built sand sculptures on July 4 at the Lifeguard Beach.
‘Red, White & Bluey’ by the Barbour family of Charlottesville, Va., wins Best in Show of the sand sculpture contest. Photo by Kristal Young.
“There were so many good ones,” noted one of the judges. “There were so many great octopuses and turtles. They were all amazing.”
The judges chose the best of the four categories and everyone on the beach voted for Best in Show.
The judges noted the attention to detail in Browne’s creation and creativity shown in a large, green mermaid. Had there been such a category, they would have given “Best Original Concept” to the Reverse Mermaid created by Daisy O’Neal and her group.
Later in the day, 30 wheels, floats and walkers lined up for the Old Time Ocracoke parade, featuring 10-year-old island boy Dallas Mason as the Grand Marshal.
The rising fifth grader has been wowing crowds since his public debut at the Ocracoke Health Center Seafood Festival fundraiser in 2019 at which the Rockers capped a successful event.
Now, Dallas is the group’s drummer since its prior drummer, Tommy Hutcherson, is now a regular with the Ray McAllister Band.
On Monday night, more than 100 visitors and islanders joined in the traditional Ocracoke square dance in the Berkley Barn, featuring music by Molasses Creek and calling and instruction by Philip Howard and Desiree Christa Adams.
The Appling-Fields group participated in just about every event.
“It had a lovely, small-town feel,” Claire said.
The following were the winners of the contested events:
Sand Sculpture winners:
Individual 12 & Under: #8 Crab, James Husted, Charlotte, NC
Group 12 & under: #20 The Life of the Sea, Goldie Volotovskaia & Ford Sumner, Ocracoke, NC
Individual 13 & over: Iguana Peace, Dave Manthey, Monroe Falls, Ohio
Pony penning was an activity on July 4 on Ocracoke. Photo of July 4, 1953 courtesy of Village Craftsmen
This article appeared in the Wilmington Morning Star, July 6, 1914. We can’t vouch for all of the facts in this article, but we have no doubt there were not any delinquent children among the school population.
OCRACOKE BREAKS INTO THE LIMELIGHT ON THE 4TH
Little Banks Village Celebrates Independence Day First Time (Special Star Correspondence.) Kinston, N.C. July 5–
Ocracoke broke into the limelight yesterday.
The little banks town held its first celebration of Independence Day.
There were no fireworks, nor was there a brass band to ply patriotic airs. Ocracoke celebrated the occasion distinctly after Ocracoke’s own fashion.
The population at Ocracoke has a right to celebrate the Fourth, for it excels nearly every other place of like population in the country in historic interest.
A couple of the real big stunts in America were pulled off there, for the first white men who stepped foot on the North American continent mounted its sand dunes and gazed out over Pamlico Sound, and William Teach, the notorious Blackbeard, was beheaded within gunshot of Ocracoke light by Maynard, a gallant English naval officer.
The population is practically of the same breed as the first settlers, for few settlers ever squatted upon Ocracoke beach, with its tiny loam patch, village, lighthouse and dilapidated wind mill. And the unmixed inhabitants are the finest set of men in North Carolina, with mates in keeping.
Nearly every adult male has been to sea. The most important event of the day was a motor boat race.
The winners are unknown, for here is no telegraphic communication and it will be many hours before a slow sailor crosses the sound with the list of prize winners, and by that time the victories will have no news value.
The entries, though, were mostly fishing craft-–of all sizes, horsepower of engines, and with but one handicap. The craft under 30 feet long were given an advantage over those longer than 30 feet.
The next number on the program was the penning of ponies. The little banker horses are herded up once in a while to brand the colts. Today the newcomers in the wild equine tribe were branded, and vaqueros of the beach–sailormen in white dungarees and little tarpaulin hats–gave an exhibition of the roundup that would have surprised many a cowboy on the plains. Of course, it is risky and only a small boy who pulled a small pony’s tail, discovered it, but usually luck attends the herders, and it is safe to say that nothing untoward marked today’s events. An auction sale followed the penning.
Ocracoke has a school, and a good one, and there are no delinquent children among the school population. So, appropriately enough, the program was ended with an “educational rally.”
July 4 events continue today (July 3) through Tuesday. Photo by Erin Oleski
Monday, July 3 Book signing and fig cake sale Kelley Shinn’s “The Wounds That Bind Us” and Trudy Austin’s fig cake. 1 to 4 p.m. at Books to Be Red.
Fund raising Fish Fry at the Community Center to benefit the Island Inn Commons landscaping project. 4 pm until sold out. $15 per plate; $5 for desserts.
Old Fashioned Ocracoke Square Dance: Berkley Barn: 6:30 to 8:30 pm. $5 adults 13 and over. Music by Molasses Creek.
1718 Brewing Ocracoke (music at 7 pm): Dune Dogs
Ocracoke Oyster Company (music at 7 pm): Kate McNally
The Breeze (all music at 9 pm): Morgan & Company
Tuesday, July 4:
Bird Walk: Meet at NPS Campground parking lot, 8:30 am Sand Sculpture Contest: 9:30 am to noon. Lifeguard Beach. Peoples’ choice judging for best in show begins at noon.
Ocracoke Lighthouse base open: 10:30 am to 12:20 pm
3 to 5 pm: Ocracoke Pool Association sells fundraising T-shirts in the Ocracoke Lightship Realty parking lot, 3 to 5 pm.
Old Time Independence Day Parade: 4 pm. Begins at Wheelie Fun. Signup across from Wheelie Fun beginning at 3 pm.
Awards & singing of national anthem: 5:30 pm, Books to Be Red stage.
Community Beach Fire: Lifeguard Beach, 7 to 10 pm. BYO seating, marshmallows, roasting sticks.
The Breeze (all music at 9 pm): The Ray McAllister Band
Wednesday, July 5 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): Team Trivia
Deepwater Theater: Ocracoke Opry, 8 pm
The Breeze (all music at 9 pm): The Bill Lyerly Band
Thursday July 6
Ocracoke Preservation Society Porch Talk: Al Scarborough July 4 on Ocracoke, 1 pm. Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): Brooke & Nick
Community Center: Ocracoke Decoy Carvers Guild, 7 pm.
The Breeze (all music at 9 pm): The Bill Lyerly Band
Friday, July 7 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): Kate McNally
1718 Brewing Ocracoke (music at 7 pm): Whisky Business
The Breeze (all music at 9 pm): The Daniel Jordan Band
Ocracoke Oyster Company(music at 7 pm): Nick & Adam
Saturday, July 8 Mini Bar at Ocracoke Coffee (6-8 pm): TBD
The Breeze (all music at 9 pm): The Daniel Jordan Band
Ocracoke Oyster Company(music at 7 pm): Ray Murray
A summer view of Ocracoke’s Silver Lake harbor. Photo: C. Leinbach
Ocracoke is fortunate to host many visitors who return year after year. As a result, many long-time friendships are made between them and locals. How many vacation sites can claim that special feature?
When new visitors learn that you live here, a common discussion such as this unfolds:
“You really live here?”
“What’s it like, especially in the winter?”
“It’s a fantasy of ours to live here.”
Then, there is the long pause as the possible reality of the dream takes a serious turn,
“So, what’s health care like?”
In answer to the last question, our Ocracoke Health Center is doing well with a high-quality staff that has recently increased. The Hyde County Emergency Service, consisting of paramedics and emergency management technicians and separate from the Health Center, is getting more funding to support the ambulance service.
Yes, there is the romantic image of living on Ocracoke: The walks on the beach, hearing the wind and not trains, jets or sirens, few lights, spectacular views of the night sky and, increasingly, satellites passing overhead.
One gets the opportunity to experience powerful unnamed storms that at times drills home that we are truly living on the edge on so many levels.
The island can be a source of inspiration for writers and artists and the rest of us as well.
For many who would love to live here, they find they cannot due to the lack of affordable housing that matches pay scales for the jobs available here.
But for those who can turn their fantasy into a reality, they eventually come down from their pink cloud and see what daily life and not a vacation is really like.
For some, it is what they expected, and they accept that. They are aware of some of the island’s unique inconveniences. A trip to large stores and special medical services are a ferry ride and long drive away to Nags Head to the north, Morehead City to the south and Washington, Greenville and elsewhere to the west.
East? Well, the closest services are on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Ocracoke, like most places, is undergoing change.
Some of it is positive. The island’s first pharmacy will open soon with an improved health center with more staff, as will a brand new, state-of-the-art school in September. The island’s first Catholic chapel is almost complete.
On the other hand, some lament the loss of green space in the village. The ferry service —lifeline to the island — has faced budget restraints this year causing a cutback in service that is having a ripple effect on the island’s businesses and tries the patience for visitors having long waits to get onto the island.
It’s frustrating to them to see one or more ferries loading up vehicles and departing while still waiting in a stacking lane at the Hatteras dock.
As for stormy weather, Ocracoke seems like much of the rest of the country, living with an angst that a major weather event will strike. Although we may weather the storm — literally and figuratively — we still must confront the aftereffects of suspended ferry service, overwash and damaged roads that impede easily getting off and on the island, one of those “unique inconveniences.”
As the N.C. General Assembly continues to debate the 2023-2024 budget, possibly into July and beyond, islanders and local officials have been advocating for adequate, if not, more funding for these moving highways.
For our livelihoods, ourselves and our visitors who love our island, we hope the N.C. General Assembly understands this and passes a budget that will at least let the ferries run their typical summer and fall schedules.
Wind is a constant on the Outer Banks and while it may scuttle the plans of kayakers or ferries, kite surfers relish a windy day.
At those times, motorists at a spot on the sound side of Hatteras Island called Canadian Hole will see dozens of multi-colored kites with people attached.
This informal name derives from seeing so many vehicles parked there with Canadian license plates. For kite surfers in the north, this spot is a mecca due to the warm water, shallow depths and the wind.
On a smaller scale, beach goers will see the same just off the Ocracoke Island beaches – kiters skimming across the water, catching a wave to fly up in the air, or swerving into and out of the surf.
For these rush seekers, it’s all about the wind.
While residents and tourists not indulging in water sports might prefer a gentle breeze, kite surfers want more.
“It’s got to be over 15 miles per hour but not over 60,” said Keith Croghan, an islander who has instructed and kite surfed for 15 years. By contrast, although it is the captain’s decision, ferries often will not run when winds run 25 mph and higher.
These kites are made of Dacron, a strong polyester fiber that is designed to fly people.
Kiting, or kite surfing or kite boarding, is not especially new.
A British man, Samuel Cody, is credited with the concept as he crossed the English Channel in a kite-driven, canvas boat in 1903.
Dan Zapotok goes airborn. Photos by Patty Huston-Holm
Two brothers, Bruno and Dominique Legaignoux, from France took it another step in 1984 when they patented an inflatable kite design. Kites and wind have driven their riders in buggies on land and on tandem snow skis.
The sport became a mainstream sport in Hawaii in 1998 and it will be judged as a racing event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
As with many sports, learning kite surfing takes lots of time and equipment is expensive.
“The only way to learn safely is to complete a course (nine to 12 hours in three- to four-hour lessons),” Croghan said. “The investment is worth it. You’ll have years of adrenalin, joy and vitality.”
Randal Mathews, the Hyde County commissioner for Ocracoke, an island resident of 40 years and a surfer for 50 years, agrees.
“Kiteboarding makes windsurfing or surfing feel like you are dragging a bucket,” he said. “The transition to kiteboarding was natural.”
Mathews and Croghan are among a group of island residents on a constant watch of wind patterns that are the main predictor for ideal kiting.
On a 30-mph Saturday in April, starting beachside off ramp 70, the two were joined by Dan Zapotok for several miles of carving water and aerials while hooked to harnesses connected to their kites.
Keith Croghan. Photo by Patty Huston-Holm
“This is the kind of sport you can do all day,” Croghan said. “You are using your core, your glutes, your shoulders, but if you do it right, the kite does the work.”
Born on Michigan’s Mackinac Island, Croghan grew up flying kites. He was in his mid-20s when he realized a kite could fly him.
In addition to Ocracoke, he’s kited in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Mexico and across the Caribbean.
Kiting is less strenuous than surf boarding and cheaper than foiling (an electric board with a fin).
Water kiters use a single board and a kite.
Wetsuits are optional and, for many, determined by the water temperature.
Equipment size depends on the wind. Smaller kites manage better on days of more wind and gusts.
Beginners stay in and on top of the water. Advanced kiters do jumps, summersaults and other tricks.
To Mathews, kiting is about being with nature, “sharing space with birds” and “cracking open a beer with friends. It’s best if the wind blows southwest,” he said after a run. “Today it was exhilarating.”
The National Weather Service out of Newport/Morehead City today (July 1) issued an advisory about dangerous heat and humidity across eastern North Carolina through Independence Day except the Outer Banks.
The primary threat is minimum heat indices of 105 each afternoon, with values in excess of 110 degrees possible on Monday. However, Ocracoke’s forecast is expected to be 97 degrees.
The hottest times will be around 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, starting Sunday and extending into Wednesday.
The intense heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities.
Beach goers are cautioned about taking dogs on the beach where the sand gets very hot. Any temperature above 80 degrees is hard on dogs, says island vet Dr. Laura Trent. See story here about summer dangers for dogs.
