Category Archives: inlets and sandbars

Caught between a rock and a hard place

Oregon Inlet is a place notorious for vessels in distress. I’ve seen it through the years, as man has tried to tame the inlet. Today I heard about a fishing vessel stranded on a shoal up there. I don’t know the circumstances, only that it had run aground.

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When I arrived on the scene, northwest winds were blowing a gale and temperatures were below freezing. It was bone chilling just to go out on the catwalk to get a better vantage point. The Coast Guard Station at Oregon Inlet stood by with their 47 foot motor lifeboat.

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This being just another incident of curiosity on the Outer Banks, I hope no one is injured in this mishap. I also am hopeful that this boat can be saved in tact. Commercial fishermen have a tough enough livelihood as it is, without loosing their boat.

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P.S. The “Sheila Rene” was returning to Wanchese with a recent catch of fish, said to be about 10,000 pounds when it ran up on a shoal. The trawler was freed Sunday evening and has been towed back to port.

A Fascination for Flight

 

I grew up in a Navy family that traveled to new tours of duty every couple of years. Many of those stations required transportation in propeller powered military aircraft. So my fascination for flight began at an early age. I always wanted the window seat. As a nine year old, I distinctly remember flying across the Pacific Ocean to the island of Guam. How I loved peering out of the window at the ocean and islands below!

Today I still hold that same fascination for flight with aerial photography. After Hurricane Isabel in 2003, I made seven flights over Hatteras, Ocracoke and Portsmouth Islands. I wasn’t interested in the destructive power of the storm. Instead I wanted to see and document how nature constantly shapes the Outer Banks.

Last year, parts of the beaches of our National Seashore Park were closed due to bird nesting, including the Cape Point of Hatteras Island. I’ve photographed the Point from the air before, but only with off-road vehicles on it. My intention last Summer was to fly and shoot it’s more natural, pristine state, but I procrastinated and suddenly the point was opened to traffic and I missed my chance.

This year I put it off again until July 26th when I called my good friend and pilot Dwight Burrus. Dwight and his wife Debbie operate Burrus Flying Service out of Billy Mitchell Airport in Frisco. I’ve flown in his beautiful red and white 1971 Cessna on numerous occasions, and I can’t say enough about his expertise. I tell him what I’m looking for and he takes me there, every time. It’s almost as if I’m flying the plane myself. Dwight was raised on Hatteras, and knows the coast and it’s steeped history well. I highly recommend the tours of Burrus Flying Service. Call them at (252) 986-2679 or visit the web site for more information. Tell them I sent you.

Let me show you what I saw on this latest flight, looking down on the scenery below.

 

cp-south                      Looking out to Cape Point from the south or “the hook” side.

 

cpnorth                                                         Looking toward the point from the north beach.

 

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cpsoutheast22                                                            Looking toward the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse from over the Point.

 

cppond                                The shoreline of the pond at Cape Point.

 

lighthouse2                                                          No flight is complete without a lighthouse fly-by.

 

isabel-inlet                       This is the site of the inlet that was cut by Hurricane Isabel.

 

marlin-club                          The famous Hatteras Marlin Club in Hatteras Village.

 

hatterasvillage                The south end of Hatteras Village at the ferry terminal to Ocracoke Island.

 

hattsouthpoint                   The south point of Hatteras Island at Hatteras Inlet looking to Pamlico Sound.

 

ocracoke-ferry                 The ferry, Chicamacomico, en route to Ocracoke from Hatteras.

 

uscgstation                     The north end of Ocracoke Island at the site of the former Hatteras Inlet                    Coast Guard Station. The station was destroyed in storms. All that remains                    are the pilings. This illustrates the lack of stability of barrier island systems.

 

oislandbackside                                       Ocracoke Island from the sound side.

 

island-marsh                               An island in the sound behind Ocracoke Island.

 

silver-lake                             Silver Lake surrounded by scenic Ocracoke Village.

 

springers-point                            The beautiful maritime forest at Springer’s Point on Ocracoke.

 

o-beach                                                       The untouched beach at Ocracoke’s South Point.

 

o-inlet-bar                       A sandbar where Ocracoke Inlet meets the Pamlico Sound.

 

o-inletbackridge                                                       An underwater sand ridge extending into Pamlico Sound from Ocracoke Inlet.

 

o-sandbar                            A sandbar in the Pamlico Sound near Ocracoke Inlet.

 

o-inletwing                              Dwight’s Cessna banking over Ocracoke Inlet for a shot at the                                                 untouched South Point.

 

o-inlet-mouth                    The South Point of Ocracoke in a pristine state from 1,000 feet.