Wild Horses Roaming Freely on the Sands North of Corolla

(from Outer Banks This Week) One of the great joys of being on the Outer Banks is seeing the Corolla wild horses roaming freely on the northern stretches of the Currituck Outer Banks. I’ve seen them several times, and every single time it’s been a thrill and a shock to see unpenned horses frolicking in the surf, walking slowly along the beach or resting in the shade on the interior of the island. The most surreal wild horse sightings I’ve ever seen were in the early 1990s, when the wild horses roamed around in Corolla proper, nosing in trash cans and munching sod. In 1996 folks from the Corolla Wild Horse Fund (CWHF) moved the horses to the 4WD area north of Corolla where fences help protect them from the hazards in Corolla and Sandbridge, Va. But still today you can see the wild horses wandering among the increasing number of rental homes in the 4WD area — a weird sight. About 140 Corolla wild horses — referred to as both Banker horses and Spanish mustangs — live on about 7,500 acres of land from the end of N.C. Highway 12 in Corolla to the Virginia border, which is a stretch of about 11 miles. The herd is protected by the CWHF, but the fund does not feed the animals. The horses survive on their own accord, existing on rainwater and grasses. The horses have a fascinating history. It is believed that their ancestors were brought to the Outer Banks in the 16th century by Spanish explorers and that the descendants of those horses have lived on the Outer Banks for 500 years. The Corolla wild horses carry the distinguishing features of Spanish-type horses, and the Spanish mustang registry is satisfied that the Banker horses are lineally pure to the 16th-century Spanish imports. At one time thousands of wild horses roamed free on the Outer Banks, but now there are only a few hundred north of Corolla and on Shackleford Banks. If you want to see the Spanish wild mustangs of Corolla, the best thing to do is to take a guided tour. Several wild horse tour outfitters in Corolla offer tours — in Jeeps, Hummers and Suburbans, even on Segways and kayaks. These people look for the horses day in and day out – they know their habits and therefore know where to look for them depending on the weather conditions and time of day. A guided tour is your best bet for seeing the horses. >>Read More

Surf Camps Set for June, July

(Nags Head, N.C.) Hukilau Surf Camps, in its 14th season of introducing surfing to young people on the Outer Banks, will conduct the second of four one-day camps for this season on Saturday, June 30. The instructional camp for middle and high school students (grades 6-12) teaches beginners the basics on long board, short board and body board. Hukilau Surf Camp is taught by experienced Outer Banks surfers. The camp runs from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Registration fee is $25 and includes instruction, snacks, drawings for gift certificates and surf wear, and a Hukilau Surf Camp T-shirt. Boards are provided, or bring your own. Camps are also available on July 14, and July 28. Pre-registration is available online for those dates. For more information or to register online, go to www.surfcampobx.com or call Steve at 441-1696. Hukilau Surf Camps are a community service of Nags Head Church.

Kemp's Ridley Turtle Buries Eggs on Outer Banks

(Corolla, N.C.) For the third straight year, a Kemp's ridley sea turtle has buried its eggs along the North Carolina seashore before venturing into the ocean. The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reports that Karen Fitzgerald of the Network for Endangered Sea Turtles (N.E.S.T.) said the nest was discovered on June 14. Kemp's ridley turtles usually nest along the Gulf of Mexico. Fitzgerald said volunteers took pictures of the turtle, which crawled to shore around 10:30 a.m. She said that's a typical nesting time for the species, and helped confirm that it was a Kemp's ridley. Most turtles nesting on the Outer Banks do so at night. N.E.S.T. is currently monitoring eight sea turtle nests along the Outer Banks. On the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the National Park Service is watching 74 nests.

Seas Rising Faster Along Northern Outer Banks

(from the North Carolina Coastal Federation) With state legislators still wading through the issue of rising seas, a new federal report released yesterday seems to further muddy the water. Contrary to what we heard from some legislators the last few weeks, not only does the sea seem to be rising along the state’s northern coast, but it's doing so at a rate three or four times faster than anyplace else in the world. That, at least, is one of the conclusions of a new study of sea-level rise that the U.S. Geological Survey published yesterday in the journal Nature Climate Change. Analyzing information from tide gauges along the north and mid-Atlantic coasts, agency researchers found that sea level along a 600-mile stretch, from Cape Hatteras to north of Boston, has increased 2 to 3.7 millimeters a year, starting around 1990. That’s as much as 2.75 inches during that span. The average global increase over the same period was 0.6 to 1.0 mm. a year, or about three-quarters of an inch total, the study notes. If global temperatures continue to increase this century because of global warming, the Atlantic Ocean in this region is expected to continue to rise at a faster rate than it will elsewhere, the researchers said. The sea along this stretch of coast, which contains some of the country’s largest metropolitan areas and densest coastal landscapes, could rise 8 to more than 11 inches higher than the global average by 2100, the research showed. It's not just a faster rate, but at a faster pace, like a car on a highway “jamming on the accelerator,” Asbury Sallenger Jr., an oceanographer at the agency and the study’s lead author, told the Associated Press. Seas will rise gradually over time, noted Peter Howd, an oceanographer under contract with the USGS and one of the paper’s other authors, but greater flooding from winter storms will be the first signs. >> Read More

First Colony Inn Earns 2012 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

(Nags Head, N.C.) First Colony Inn on the Outer Banks of North Carolina has announced that it has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award. The accolade, which honors hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Approximately 10 percent of accommodations listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award. To qualify for the Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months. "First Colony Inn is pleased to receive a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence,” said Sarah Close, Innkeeper. “We strive to offer our guests a comfortable and memorable experience, and this accolade is evidence that our attention to detail is translating into positive traveler reviews on TripAdvisor.”

Fishing Pier, Ocean Center Planned in Hatteras

(Reprinted from the Island Free Press) Eric Kaplan has been a busy man since last fall when he announced his ambitious plan to build a new fishing pier in Hatteras village – one that would be much more than a fishing pier. Kaplan, who lives in Charlottesville, Va., and is a part-time resident in Frisco, has a name for his project, The Hatteras Island Ocean Center, and by the end of last year, he had a board of directors, two pieces of property under contract and a site plan underway. Kaplan’s idea is that the ocean center will be an island-wide attraction, a place where locals and visitors can go not only for the fishing but also for other forms of recreation, education, dining and shopping. In his description of the project, Kaplan says the Hatteras Island Ocean Center would be “much more than a replacement for the Frisco Pier,” which is in poor condition and has not been open for several years.

Renovation on the Horizon for Old Coast Guard Housing in Buxton

(from the Island Free Press) The Cottages at the Cape project cleared a major hurdle when the Dare County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a zoning change that will permit duplexes and rebuilding of buildings under certain conditions. Formerly housing for Coast Guard families at Group Cape Hatteras, the 45-unit complex has been vacant since 2005 and requires substantial renovation. Lee Pontes, one of the project’s managers, told the board at the June 4 public hearing that the developers expect to spend about $2 million to restore the property, including construction of new stormwater and wastewater systems. “The cottages are currently in a state of disrepair, which increases every day,” Pontes said. Developers had requested to change the zoning at the 8-acre site adjacent to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse from Natural Historic to Buxton Natural Historic. With the new zoning in place, they now plan to ask the Coast Guard for a license to start repair work on the buildings before the closing next month, co-manager James Pereira said after the hearing.

Beach Access Revisited: H.R. 4094 is Headed to the House Floor for Vote

(from the Island Free Press) The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources voted today to send H.R. 4094, a bill that would overturn the Park Service’s new off-road vehicle plan for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, to the House floor. The vote was 24 to 18, pretty much split along party lines, in favor of reporting the bill favorably out of committee.  The committee has 26 Republicans and 19 Democrats. It is now up to the House leadership when  the bill is scheduled for a vote by the full House of Representatives. The bill was introduced by U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., in February and had a hearing before the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands on April 27. H.R. 4094, would overturn the final off-road vehicle plan, end a court-agreed-to consent decree, and return management at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to the 2007 Interim Protected Species Management Plan. The bill would “authorize pedestrian and motorized vehicular access” at the seashore and may also be called the “Preserving Public Access to Cape Hatteras Beaches Act.” If the bill passes, the interim strategy would remain in place until the Park Service devises another long-term plan that is less restrictive. “Hallelujah,” said Allen Burrus of Hatteras, co-chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners, after today’s committee mark-up session of the committee. >> Read More

Ceremony to Honor 'Unsung Hero' of Life-Saving Service

(from the Outer Banks Sentinel) Benjamin Bowser, Jr., who served with the United States Life-Saving Service at the Pea Island Life-Saving Station from 1884 until his death in 1900, will be honored in a ceremony at his gravesite in Jarvisburg on Monday, June 11. Bowser was a surfman serving with the station's crew of six and Station Keeper Richard Etheridge when the rescue of the stricken three-masted schooner E.S. Newman occurred on Oct. 11, 1896. The heroic rescue of the vessel, which had run aground in a hurricane two miles south of the life-saving station, has become legendary in the annals of sea rescues for the crew's courage, determination and ingenuity - as well as for the fact that Life-Saving Station No. 17 was the nation's first and only station with an African American crew and commanding officer or Keeper. >> Read More

USA Beginnings in the Outer Banks

(Manteo, N.C.) Most visitors come for the sun and surf, but a lot of history is packed into the small sliver of sand known as the Outer Banks. Oh, I enjoyed my time at the beach, certainly. During my recent stay, the weather was warm but windy, building big waves that made conditions too rough for swimming but perfect for the dozens of surfers who took advantage of the opportunity. Those who preferred quieter waters could opt for the other side of the barrier islands and Pamlico Sound, which sports beautiful — but far calmer — beaches. But a lot of what really sets the Outer Banks apart lies just inland, at Kitty Hawk and Roanoke Island. And if those place names don’t set your history sense a-tingle, then perhaps you should have been paying more attention in eighth grade. The Outer Banks comprises more than a hundred miles of narrow, sandy barrier islands that serve as a giant breakwater for the North Carolina coast. >> Read More

Irene Cleanup Still Ongoing

(Outer Banks, N.C.) As winds from the second named storm of the 2012 hurricane season picked up speed, the sounds of recovery from the only hurricane to hit last year still echoed through a rural area across the water from North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Buzz saws, nail guns and other power tools competed for attention with birds and frogs as almost 1,700 volunteers from a group called Eight Days of Hope carried out their work in Pamlico County. They pulled out insulation and Sheetrock, put down new flooring and replaced electrical outlets submerged when Hurricane Irene roared through eastern North Carolina in August before tearing a path up the East Coast. While Irene did more damage in the Northeast, states farther south are more likely to take a lashing from tropical weather during the new hurricane season that started June 1. The remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl late last month did little damage in North Carolina but served as a reminder of the urgency to rebuild houses before more storms arrive. Irene caused $15 billion in damage and killed 49 people across an area that stretched from the Carolinas to Vermont. North Carolina took the hardest hit in the Southeast, with at least $1.2 billion in damage, not including uninsured crop losses. “It’s like how I expected,’’ said Charles McKinney, a volunteer who came to Virginia. “When something like this happens, when it first happens, you have all the media attention, you have the FEMAs and the insurance people. And everybody descends upon the area. But three months — this has been close to a year — later, and these people still have no homes.’’ >> Read More

Navy Training Off the NC Coast Draws Little Scrutiny

(Swansboro, N.C.) The Navy on June 12 in Swansboro will hold one of five public meetings on its draft environmental impact statement for continued sonar and explosives training and testing in 2.6 million square miles of the Gulf of Mexico and off the East Coast, including North Carolina. The meeting will be from 4-8 p.m. in the Hampton Inn and Suites at 215 Old Hammock Rd. The Navy will provide information about the plans that will begin in 2014 and extend for five years and will accept public comments. Although a public comment period on the same issue drew extensive comments and some harsh criticism about five years ago before the currently-approved series of training and testing exercises began, there has been little buzz about the EIS and the meeting this time around. Much of the focus in the past has been on sonar’s potential health effects on marine mammals, including whales and dolphins, but the scientists now appear resigned to the Navy’s activities in area waters. “The Navy has been doing this in waters all around the continental U.S. and Hawaii for a few years now,” said Dr. Vicky Thayer, a marine mammal network coordinator for the central area of the N.C. coast and a marine biologist at the N.C. Center for Marine Science and Technology in Morehead City. “I am pretty sure this will continue because it is so widespread, and well, it’s the Navy.” >> Read More

OBX Outfitters Offering 10% Discount Via New Village VIPs Program from Village Realty

(Kitty Hawk, N.C.) OBX Outfitters (TM) is kicking off summer 2012 with a 10% discount on their fun, quality, Made-in-the-USA Outer Banks tees as part of Village Realty's Village VIPs program. The discount applies to all OBX Outfitters casual apparel and activewear purchased online with an exclusive savings code available at the Village VIPs website, www.villagerealtyobx.com/OuterBanks/VillageVIPs. "Village Realty has been around for over 20 years and is the kind of customer-oriented, locally owned business we love to work with," OBX Outfitters President Stacy Menzies said, adding, "We're thrilled to be part of their innovative Village VIPs program to help fans of the Outer Banks keep the beach within their reach." The new program from Village Realty provides quality offers, fun things, and good deals from select local businesses including arrangements for deck parties, discounts on tickets to The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama, free wine tastings, merchandise discounts, free pizza and more for their guests this summer.

Village Realty OBX Announces Village VIPs

(Nags Head, N.C.) While preparing for the summer season on the Outer Banks of NC, Village Realty implemented a new program called Village VIPs. Partnering with select local businesses, Village Realty has made arrangements for deck parties, discounts on tickets to The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama, free wine tastings, free pizza and more for their guests this summer. The idea came to fruition at the recent 2012 Vacation Rental Managers Association convention in Atlantic City, NJ where one of the focuses was on retaining guests and making them feel special. "As with any vacation rental company you always hope to gain new guests but it is just as important to keep the ones you have...and letting them know you truly apprecaite them." While Village Realty is still adding to the VIP list here are some details about a few of their current offers. The goal is "quality offers, fun things, and good deals...not quantity," stresses Jeannie Maynard, Social Media Manager.