N&O Editor Argues for Limiting Beach Access

(from News & Observer)
If there’s fish on the menu, it gets my attention. And while the only fishing I’ve ever done was as a kid, invited from time to time by my well-meaning father and grandfather to sit with them in a boat out in the middle of the Indiana lake where we went each summer – alternately bored and grossed out at the indignities visited on bait and prey alike – I admire the angler’s skill and conservation ethic. Lake fishing, either with a rod and reel or cane pole and bobber, from a boat or a pier, hoping to land a nice bass or bluegill, has its own rituals and its own rewards for the patient and the cunning. The North Carolina angler has many more choices than his Indiana counterpart. Well, you might say so – an ocean will do that for you. And when it comes to rituals, perhaps none is so deeply ingrained than piling all the gear needed for a day’s worth of surf fishing into a truck or SUV and driving down the beach to find a congenial spot. The reward comes when drum, bluefish, flounder or another of their finny compadres is hauled from the waves. On the Outer Banks, once formidably remote, beach driving has a long history. It was part of the package when Cape Hatteras National Seashore was fashioned from Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. And because of the superb fishing, the economy within the string of little communities tucked into the Seashore has tilted toward fishermen’s needs. Motels, cottages, restaurants, gas stations, bait and tackle shops – the fortunes of all have been boosted by the popularity of recreational fishing, specifically the surf fishing that draws sportsmen from far and wide. Anyone is free to venture onto the beach on their own hind legs. But the quintessential Outer Banks surf fishing experience for many has become intertwined with the convenience of a four-wheel-drive vehicle to transport rods, coolers, chairs and all the other accoutrements of a proper outing. So in the face of that tradition, the federal government wants to make beach driving within the Seashore’s 65 miles more the exception than the rule? For the sake of some turtles and birds? Congress to the rescue! Or so many of those fishermen and the business folks who cater to them hope. >> Read More

Keeping it Local

(from Molly Harrison, Outer Banks This Week)
Want to soak up every bit of the Outer Banks? Besides deep-breathing salt air, absorbing the sun and imbibing a little ocean water on a wipe out now and then, you can indulge in even more Outer Banks by eating the locally made and locally grown food. Not only will you be fortifying yourself with the beachy goodness, but you’ll also be helping out the community in a good way. Buying local benefits the Outer Banks-area economy and the people who live here. The most obvious choice for local food is seafood. Shrimp, crabs, scallops, fish, oysters and clams are all harvested on and around the Outer Banks, and there is nothing like the taste of just-caught seafood. You can buy it at seafood markets, grocery stores and fish houses to cook yourself. Or you can have someone cook it for you in a restaurant. But be careful: Just because we’re surrounded by water doesn’t mean that all the seafood served or sold here is local. Imported seafood is more common than you think, and we’re not just talking Alaskan crab legs and salmon! Some restaurants serve imported shrimp (gasp!), even in shrimp season. If you want to be sure that you’re eating local seafood, look for the Outer Banks Catch logo on seafood market and restaurant doors or on the menu or website. Another way to ensure you’re eating local seafood is to ask about what is fresh and in season. You’re not going to get fresh oysters on the Outer Banks in July because they’re not harvested in July, so in July you should stick to shrimp, crabs, clams and certain varieties of fish.

Still Fishing After All These Years

from North Carolina Coastal Federation
(Colington, N.C.) Just as the sun is peeking over the marshes and pine hammocks, Murray Bridges’ small Privateer is inching through murky backwaters towards the open waters of Roanoke Sound, where rows of hot pink buoys mark his crab pots that rest solidly on the bottom. Bridges makes this early trip out to his pots early six mornings every week.  It’s taxing at times but Bridges and mate Lannie “Dolan” Belangia, Jr. see no other substitute for the beauty that comes with working on the water at dawn. A native of Wanchese, Bridges has spent most of his life on the water. Whether it was fishing off the beach from a dory or stringing gillnets in the sounds, Bridges has spent his life immersed in the natural environment. After 22 years as a merchant mariner, the experienced waterman returned to his natal waters and opened Endurance Seafood in Colington in the 1970s. It was here that he became a pioneer for the softshell crab industry in Dare County. His backyard business became a success by marketing North Carolina softshell crabs through expanded markets in the northern states.

OBX Outfitters Marks One Year in Business with 25% Off Sale

(Kitty Hawk, N.C.) Casual apparel and activewear company OBX Outfitters is celebrating its first year of keeping the beach within reach by thanking customers new and old with a storewide sale. Throughout the month of July shoppers visiting the OBX Outfitters Amazon.com store can use the code OBXOBDAY at checkout to receive 25% off their total order off the company's popular Find Your Happy Place casual apparel and Find Your Stride activewear.

OBX Outfitters apparel is available online at Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, Washington offering Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon was chosen as an OBX Outfitters online marketplace for its reliability, security, and easy access for the millions of Outer Banks visitors from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New England, Virginia and North Carolina.

A link to the OBX Outfitters™ store on Amazon.com is available by visiting www.obxtees.com. For more information, email info@obxoutfitters.com.

About OBX Outfitters
OBX Outfitters™ is a casual apparel and activewear company created to provide a way for people who love the Outer Banks to keep a piece of this special place close to their hearts. We are a North Carolina company using North Carolina vendors to produce our products right here, Made in the USA. Every dollar a customer spends on one of our products stays here in the United States and will eventually find its way back to supporting the economic and environmental strength of the Outer Banks. Through this type of support, our customers can rest assured they are helping to preserve this special place for generations to come. We are dedicated to contributing to the economic and environmental strength of our state, supporting the communities in which we do business, donating time and a portion of our profits to local civic groups and nonprofits. Keep the beach within your reach today. For more information visit www.obxtees.com.

Outer Banks Wine Festival for Charity July 12

(Manteo, N.C.) It is with a great deal of pride and pleasure that the Outer Banks Relief Foundation announces the 1st Annual TowneBank Red Nose Wine Festival on Thursday, July 12, 2012. This event will be held on the beautiful waterfront of Marshes’ Light in Manteo. Fabulous wines from around the world and produced by North Carolina Wineries will be available for tasting as well as foods from the Outer Banks finest restaurants.  Live entertainment will be provided by local and regional bands! For those looking to educate themselves on how to identify the finer qualities of wines or to increase their breadth of knowledge of wines, several wine seminars are being planned during the festival as well. This is an Outer Banks Relief Foundation Charity Event (in conjunction with Outer Banks Relief Foundation’s Christmas in July, RED NOSE fundraiser) , and is one of the many fundraisers held by the Foundation as it fills its mission to serve our community whose mission is simple: to financially assist those in our community who are faced with debilitating illness or tragedy. Net funds will be expended to help those on the Outer Banks. Celebrate Christmas in July and come out to support a good cause, have some good wines, listen to some good music, and have fun!

The specifics are:
WHEN: July 12, 2012 / 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm
WHERE: Marshes’ Light on the Manteo Waterfront
PRICE: $35 per individual tickets (includes tastings, access to site and commemorative wine glass). FIRST 250 PEOPLE get wine bags, courtesy of the Outer Banks Real Estate Company! Limited Tickets Available!

For more information visit www.rednosewinefestival.com.