Kayaking

Ocracoke is a beautiful island. Take a stroll along the beach and you are greeted with a panorama of sand, sea, and sky. This time of year sea oats wave in the breeze, and fragments of shells wash up with the tide. Soon, numerous pods of dolphins will grace the water just beyond the breakers.

In the village, white clapboard houses enclosed by picket fences stand along sandy lanes, and more than eighty family graveyards bear witness to a long and colorful history. Neighbors stop along the road to chat, or sit on the Community Store porch to share stories.

Today, David, Lachlan, and I, explored the sound shore in kayaks. The unprotected water was choppy as we pointed our slender boats towards Oyster Creek. After passing boats tied to docks, and houses overlooking canals, we ventured up into narrow channels where needle grass covered the banks and bent down to touch the quiet water. Two magnificent snowy egrets were perched in a windswept cedar tree. We were just feet away from them before they flew off.

On the way back we stopped to swim and chat with Morty, a local teenager who was out in his skiff setting his nets. By then Lachlan was getting chilled, so we headed back before we found out if Morty had caught much. Lachlan stretched out with his feet under the bow and let the sun warm him up. We were back home by noon.

Ocracoke is beautiful from almost any perspective -- ocean beach, Howard Street, or the "back of the island" on Pamlico Sound.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of the wreck of the Victoria S, and Ocracoke's first automobile accident. You can read it here.