Outer Banks

Ocracoke and Hatteras

The Outer Banks consist of a 125 mile string of narrow islands and peninsulas between the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound.

Our route to these islands started with a long ferry ride from Swan Quarter, a quaint, sleepy community on southern Pamlico Sound, to Ocracoke.

   

Outer Banks                                                                      Ferry to Ocracoke

           Arriving in Ocracoke                                                 Sunset over Pamlico Sound

Although the distance from Ocracoke ferry dock to Hatteras ferry dock is 5 miles, due to shallows and drifting debris, the ferry route between then is over 30 miles.

    
Drifting dunes                                                           Ocean action Click picture to see this video

Ferry to Hatteras

 

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

“Graveyard of the Atlantic”

The Cape Hatteras Light Station protests one of the most hazardous sections of the Atlantic Coast where the Gulf Stream collides with a branch of the Labrador Current. At 208 feet tall the light can be seen up to 20 miles at sea.

After a winter storm in 1980 caused significant dune erosion, the light house was now only 50 to 70 feet from the shoreline. In 1999, after years of study, the lighthouse was moved 2900 feet in 23 days so that it now lies 1500 feet from the shore line.

Bodie Light Station on the Roanoke Sound side of the national seashore is utilized by southbound ships to fix their position for navigating the dangerous cape. At 156 feet tall the light can be seen about 19 miles at sea. 

Ocracoke Light Station was built to assist mariner’s through the Ocracoke Inlet, the deepest inlet channel between shallow Pamlico Sound and the ocean. Completed in 1823, it is thought to be the oldest continually operating lighthouse on the North Carolina coast. At 75 feet tall the light can be seen 14 miles at sea.

Ocracoke Light Station    

   

Bodie  Island Light Station                                          Cape Hatteras Light Station

 

Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk 

Wright Brothers National Memorial – a moment in history

To test their gliders, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina was selected by the Wright Brothers for its flat terrain, constant winds, sand for softer landing and lack of obstructions. In addition the area was isolated and remote, providing privacy as they experimented with glider lateral and longitudinal control.

On December 17,1903 the first flight of a power-driven glider lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. The fourth flight that day lasted 59 seconds and covered 852 feet.

Mathematics problem: What was the average miles per hour of this flight?

 
Wright Brothers Flyer

\
First flight

 
Carolyn watches "First Flight" take off

 

After a short visit with cousins Diane and Jim Walker in Virginia, we concluded our winter adventures back home in NJ.

Return to HOME page