Unusual Debris

Beachcombing continues to fascinate islanders as well as visitors to Ocracoke Island. An abundance of seashells can usually be found after a storm or hurricane. Other items occasionally wash up. I discovered the following account in a mid-twentieth century newspaper article, "Outer Banks: Explorers' Anchorage" by Kenneth Bates, Jr.: 

"On a recent stroll down the beach, I saw, among other things, a Florida coconut, a piece of wood painted with Chinese or Japanese characters, several full cans of emergency drinking water used on Coast Guard life rafts, a bottle inscribed with the words “Republica Dominicana, Rentas Internas,” two unopened gallon tins of sauerkraut and lima beans, an abundance of shells and driftwood, a large hunk of coral and a transparent glass net float, about the size of a cantaloupe, the kind Florida fishermen use. Like the coconut, it probably traveled north via the Gulf Stream since glass floats of this type are not used in fishing off the Carolinas."

Glass Net Float Found at Ocracoke

Modern-day beachcombers are unlikely to find glass net floats, but other treasures often wash ashore. Even if you don't find a net float, a scotch bonnet or a hunk of coral, a stroll along Ocracoke's beach is always a good way to calm the soul.

This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is Lachlan Howard's essay about the Fresnel Lens and its use in theater, solar ovens, cameras, and industry, as well as lighthouse illumination. You can read it here: https://www.villagecraftsmen.com/the-fresnel-lens/.