Category Archives: Sea

Epilogue Maria

Wednesday morning my barometer was still reading 996 millibars as the center of Maria moved slowly northward offshore over a hundred miles away.

The winds shifted from northeast, north and then northwest. Already high sound tides were getting slightly higher, but not high enough to cause concern. Our neighbors in Hatteras Village and Ocracoke had more storm surge and it flooded some of their streets.

Meanwhile the tumultuous ocean wet the highway through Mirlo Beach.

The artificial dune line north of town was keeping the highway passable.

NCDOT worked frantically to keep the water from washing out the road at the S-Curve…. just barely.

It looks like north Rodanthe survived another one.

Seas were still intense yet I could see it was beginning to show signs of moderating.

The clouds from Maria kept drifting around.

Rodanthe Pier is always a great place to view the excitement.

Eric and I ventured out on the shaky deck as a huge set rolled in and broke right in front of us.

We were astonished to see a couple of teenagers body surfing in the hurricane soup… just craziness.

Having been out on the blowing beach all day, I decided to head home and wash the sand off.

Later I drove to ramp 25 to end my date with Maria. The seas were calming down as the sun set.

Hurricane clouds loomed in the sky.

And I kept shooting the awesome environment around me.

The best hurricanes are the ones that keep their distance.

Closer Call Maria

Thankfully Hurricane Maria is forecast to go by out to sea, east of us. It should be about a hundred miles away early tomorrow morning while weakening to a tropical storm.

Nonetheless it’s a blustery day in the villages, with gigantic seas and northeast winds gusting to 40 and higher. As Maria passes, winds should clock around due north then northwest. The switching wind is usually dramatic.

At noon the ocean off Rodanthe was already in turmoil.

The main concern on Hatteras Island will be flooding from the Pamlico Sound. I’ll post more as conditions allow.

continued…. At sundown, I went to check the north end of town again. That’s where the action is.

This evening the S-Curve is still passable at low tide.

There were some breaks in the cloud cover with intermittent rain squalls.

It was a chore holding the camera steady in wind gusts.

For maximum sky coverage, I used a 20mm lens.

In the quickly fading light, I made sure to get a vertical shot.

Tonight I’ll have my truck parked on higher ground. Tomorrow will be different.

So far, so good!

Shelly Island and the Great Power Outage

When the bridge to Hatteras Island at Oregon Inlet was opened in 1962, it changed the way people live here. Road access and electricity made life easier for the locals and boosted the economy.

The recent power outage reminded me again that we’re living on an island and dependent upon on mainland conveniences. Disruptions in electric service have been commonplace historically, but less common as transmission lines got updated.

After years of living here I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. The recent power outage is a good example. It came as a surprise and unlike numerous other events was due to a manmade error. Once the island was evacuated of visitors there was an immediate quietness from the busy peak-summer noises, and streets became eerily deserted.

For two days, a portable generator kept our freezer and refrigerator from spoilage and kept some lights on, until the electric co-op could bring in the generators to give us needed relief.

Luckily, during the outage we experienced the best weather of the entire summer. Temperatures moderated and humidity was minimal.

On a gorgeous evening, I rode my bike down the center of highway 12 without a car in sight.

To help in the repair, huge bucket trucks were staged on the road to the Rodanthe Pier.

Normally packed with fishermen, the pier was empty.

Throughout the Summer we kept hearing about the newly formed island off of Cape Point. This constantly changing location has always been a geographic phenomenon. There have been island shoals there before, but I haven’t witnessed one as large as the new Shelly Island.

It became wildly popular and made national news. The crowds out there made me want to avoid it. But when the lights went out, and the evacuation order came, I changed my mind.

That’s when I decided it was a perfect time to check it out.

Upon arrival we could see Shelly Island across the waves in the distance. There were a few people out there and perhaps 2 dozen vehicles parked along the Cape Point shoreline.

I saw children and adults frolicking in an ultimate water park. Tide pools created big spas and everyone was clearly having a wonderful time.

I was taken by a little girl happily playing with a doll.

My friends Chris and Chandra were paddling back after exploring the island.

Another paddle boarder was on his way over with his dog behind him.

People walked to and from the island on a shallow sandbar.

Once I waded to the island, I could understand it’s namesake, as a nice small wave rolled along shore.

A surfer cruised by on his long board.

Shelly Island is a shell seeker’s paradise.

Mike Bigney found and old piece of a shipwreck timber.

By some estimates, Shelly Island is a mile long.

In an unscheduled day off, the whole crew from Lisa’s Pizza was on hand to make a good time of it.

At the far end of Shelly is the shoal were north and south swells converge. It’s also been an area of numerous shark sightings. I expect to make more visits to Shelly Island.

End of the Road

Continued from previous entry dated May 4, 2015…

What seemed a scavenger hunt, we knew we were headed in the right direction. Journal entries confirmed a place at the end of the road, near Ke’e Beach. There were references to an area revered by Hawaiians. Known as a Heiau (hey ow), locals told us it was next to the trailhead for the Na Pali Coast, at end of the road.

Robin’s leather-bound journal from 2010 was the key.

The trail entrance to Na Pali is at the end of the road.

We found an overgrown path and walked through lush vegetation.

Approaching a rock wall, I felt elation, and knew this was the right place. The view was remarkable and whales spouted offshore. What an affirmation! Robin’s descriptions, photos and journal entries were a perfect match.

Stones were laid in an orderly fashion by ancient Hawaiians. The site was a temple and served as a school for the Hula. Students would come from surrounding islands. It is said that the goddess Pele came here from the big island after hearing the drum beats.

I tried to imagine what was here hundreds of years ago.

There could have been thatched structures and large carved Tikis.

A shelf in the rock wall looked like an altar where ceremonies could have taken place.

Someone left offerings wrapped in Ti leaves and a beautiful flowered lei.

After finding the location of the Heiau, we explored the beach at Ke’e.

Ha’ena State Park is next to Ke’e.

The waves at Tunnels were big and breaking on the distant reef.

We spent some time on the wide crescent beach at Hanalei.

Surfers love Hanalei.

The following day we began hiking the Kalalau Trail.

There were torrents everywhere.

The first overlook gave a spectacular view of Ke’e Beach.

At times the steep drop-offs were precariously close to the trail.

In a heavy downpour it got so muddy, we had to turn back after going in ¾ mile.

On the way back to our cottage, a man on the roadside sold us a lei made by his wife.

Early next morning we went to the Heiau with Robin’s ashes.

It was a spectacular day, and a few whales breached from the ocean.

We spent an hour contemplating the moment, and the sacredness of the site.

We placed the ashes up against a sheer rock wall, splashed an offering of Hawaiian rum and presented the lei.

lei

Our task was done.

The Journey

In the Fall of 2013, I did some blogging about Robin. He had a rich life but now is gone. We said our goodbyes and have had lots of time to reflect. Robin had directives in place to disperse his possessions. But there was also a last request. He wanted his ashes taken to the island of Kauai.

After he lost his wife Carey, to cancer, he returned to Kauai in 2010 to scatter her remains. Years prior, they made a number of trips to the island. Carey worked as a nurse at the hospital in Lihue and went again in 1993, after Hurricane Inniki ravaged the island. They were both very fond of the place and told captivating stories about it.

Robin wanted his final wish to be carried out by me and Denise. His directions where to go, were not crystal clear. As clues, there were vague vocal descriptions about “the end of the road”. There were also some photographs and a journal that we used, to narrow down the possibilities.

In March we embarked on a journey that ultimately took us to the North Shore of Kauai to carry out our calling. It was an introduction to a gorgeous part of the world. And for me personally, it was inspiration to remember a friend and revitalize my photography.

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