I used to go to Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina about 2-3 times a year when I lived in NC (many posts on this blog from years past trips). Now having been in Charleston full time for the last few years, it's been a while since I've been back. My wife and I passed through there on the way back from a road trip to visit family last fall and I got in a couple days of windsurfing then but it made me want to return for a longer stay.
So when some old friends from NC put together a group trip, I was all in. We stayed on Hatteras Island the first week of June and had a great week of windsurfing, SUP surfing, beach time, food & camaraderie. Following are some photos from that trip plus commentary.
I had a long drive from Charleston, so I strategically drove up early in order to arrive at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge close to dusk in order to possibly see some wildlife and capture some photos. As it turns out, the Albemarle/Pamlico peninsula (in which the refuge resides) in eastern NC has the highest black bear concentration in the world, according to the NC Wildlife Federation.
After about an hour of driving around the dirt roads of the refuge and seeing a water moccasin, aka "cottonmouth", on the road that refused to move and made faces at me (see below), a big black bear appeared by the side of the road and hung around for a while, enabling me to capture these photos. I had a good zoom lens so was able to keep a good distance away and be inside or close to my vehicle.
a big boy
On the way out of the refuge, I spotted a mama bear and yearling (pictured) in a field.
Bodie Island Lighthouse
Snapping turtle & other turtles at Pea Island Wildlife Refuge
After the wildlife and scenic tours along the way, it was finally time to hit the water.
Ralph getting the last light of the day on the water
Avon Pier, which just sold and changed hands from the Thompson family to another local OBX family
Rigged up at Canadian Hole
Short video of Rob & I chasing each other around sound-side
Yours truly, mid jump
Rob
We had some really good SUP surfing conditions throughout the week and had to drive our 4WD vehicles on the beach (with NPS permit of course) in search of the waves. We found some waves on both the south and east facing beaches throughout the week. The search is part of the fun and when we found a good wave spot, then we just set up shop for the day and hung out, having it all to ourselves.
Jace
Ken
Dave
Ken
A friend from Charleston, Gerald, also happened to be in town and coincidentally was at the next break over from us foil surfing.
Jace
Jace
Ralph
me - photo by Jace
me - photo by Jace
Our soundfront house for the week had a nice hot tub
The sunsets here never get old
Jace fishing
Another day, another hang at the beach in front of uncrowded waves
Rob on a mellow one
My son William flew up for the afternoon. Here he is landing at the Frisco Airfield.
I picked he and his friend Cam up and drove them out to the beach (then we had a nice lunch at Pops)
the gang + William & Cam
William & Cam before taking off again
Love driving my 4Runner on the beach (photo by Jace)
Apple Uglies at Orange Blossom
Rob & Ralph party wave
me - photo by Jace
me - photo by Jace
Shrimp boil with the gang
Rob & I sporting our old '07 HIHO windsurfing jerseys
The following 9 photos of me were taken by Dave with Jace's camera. What a day this was...best waves of the week after a longer search via 4x4 by our wave whisperer, Jace. Can you tell I like rights? I'm really enjoying my new Infinity Surf BlurrV2 SUP surfboard.
We had some other excitement during this session. JT saw it first and called out to me as I was nearby waiting for the next set to arrive,"Hey, you see that big shadow in the water?"
"Where?"
"Over there, right there!" as he points.
I couldn't see it. Oh well, maybe just a turtle or a ray...I'll just keep my eyes peeled, I thought. I caught a nice wave & was paddling back out when I saw it. The dorsal fin appeared taller & wider than a 5 gallon bucket. 5-6 ft separated the back of the dorsal fin and tail fin (putting total length maybe 10-12 ft).
The "warden" had paid us a visit. We watched that big mama swim further away from us to the south. Ok, good…she’s gone…the waves are firing so we’ll keep surfing. And we did…for another hour & a half or so.
Then she returned. The wave size had started to drop but were still pretty dang good. We were tired however & saw her return as a sign that maybe now was a good time to exit the water. Anyway…in all the years I’ve been paddling/surfing/windsurfing, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a shark & don’t recall ever seeing one in the OBX in all these years. Our crew compared notes later confirming we all saw the same thing. The dorsal fin was tall so maybe a big hammerhead? Not sure, but that was the biggest shark I’ve ever seen.
A beautiful day of surf
Ralph
Dave enjoying some wing foil time sound-side
Our sound front rental house
Ralph - photo by Jace
'Til next time. Hatteras Island is still one of my favorite places even to this day. Definitely going to try and make it an annual trip again.
