Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report – 6.2.11 – Streak of gorgeous weather continues…

Posted on June 2, 2011

Outer Banks - 6.2.11 - Great Weather in Kill Devil Hills

Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Thursday, June 2, 2011.

This video was shot at the Sutton Ave. beach access in Kill Devil Hills at 9:00 AM.

Happy June! The streak of gorgeous weather continues. We’re going on about three weeks of perfect weather; temps in the upper 80′s and sun. The plants are thirsty, but it has been great motivation to get out and enjoy the Outer Banks…perfect vacation weather. The streak of great weather continues today, and through the weekend. I looked at the 10 day forecast this morning, and there are only two chances for isolated thunder storms! Looks like the plants will have to go thirsty, but we’ll sure enjoy the weather!

We’ve also been having a great streak of fun surf. We’ve enjoyed waist to chest swell and consistent offshore winds out of the southwest for about a week and a half. The wind switched to the north yesterday for a while, but it is back to the southwest this morning. There is a fun wave coming through for the morning, but the swell will start fading this afternoon, and the wind will switch back to the north this afternoon.

So, today is probably the best bet for surf for the next few days. No surf for a few days, but the good news is that the north wind is starting to warm the water. When we have a consistent west/southwest wind for a few days, the warm surface water tends to get blown out to sea, and cooler water rises up. But the wind shift will bring in some warmer water. After one day of north wind yesterday, we already saw temps jump back into the 60′s. The next few days should keep the warming trend going.

Outer Banks fishing is going strong, and the warmer water will just keep the improvements coming. Offshore is seeing consistent dolphin and yellow fin tuna catches. The piers, bridges, and Sound are seeing a wide variety of catches – spot, speckled trout, sea mullet, blue fish, flounder, cobia, Spanish mackerel.

Have fun!

Outer Banks Treasures: Kitty Hawk Kayaks & Surf School

Posted on June 1, 2011

Outer Banks Treasures: Kitty Hawk Kayaks & Surf School

I once heard the Outer Banks described as the “Mecca of outdoor activities.” This description seems pretty fitting.

The OBX offers so much to see and do outside – a pristine natural environment filled with an amazing amount of wildlife, gorgeous scenery, endless beaches, world-class fishing, surfing, kiteboarding, and windsurfing, wild horses, a landscape that is in constant flux, all with some unique historical significance mixed in. The perfect spot to get some sweat on your brow and sand between your toes.

I often find a feeling of guilt creeping in if I’m stuck inside for too long. There are just SO many reasons to be out soaking up the sun and enjoying the “Mecca of outdoor activities!”

It is easy to get tunnel vision by the gorgeous Outer Banks beaches, but there’s a lot to see and do beyond the sand.

In our endless quest to seek out the treasures the Outer Banks has to offer, we determined we absolutely needed to include a local OBX business that captures the essence of the OBX outdoor vibe, and there’s no better choice than Kitty Hawk Kayaks & Surf School.

Kitty Hawk Kayaks offers the opportunity to soak up the OBX outdoors in a wide variety of ways…many way off the beaten path. They specialize in kayaking, surfing, and standup paddleboarding (SUP), and all three of these options offer a huge amount of opportunity to have some fun, learn a new hobby, and explore the Outer Banks. I guess the best description is Outer Banks eco-tourism.

To get a first-hand look at the action, I tagged along with a group of eager, first-time paddleboarders over to Kitty Hawk Kayaks for a SUP lesson with the owner, Herman Hall.

The location is perfect; just over the Wright Memorial Bridge on the right side as you first get on the OBX. There is a canal next to the store that gives immediate access to fun on the water. The equipment and facility are top-notch, and the Kitty Hawk Kayak’s crew is great to work with – experienced, professional and certified staff.

After a quick lesson with Herman to cover the basics, we hit the water and enjoyed a leisurely paddle for about an hour. To my dismay, no one even fell in the water! As fun as that would have been to watch, I guess that says a lot about the quality of instruction that the KHK crew gave us in a short time.

Such a fun way to spend an afternoon! And a SUP lesson only scratches the surface of what KHK has to offer; SUP, surfing, kayaking, Sound, ocean, Alligator River, sunrise, sunset, full moon, evening luminescence, summer camps, kayak rentals, board rentals…the options seem endless.

Truly an Outer Banks Treasure.

Stop by and say hi to Herman and his crew…you won’t be disappointed. Have fun…and tell them Seaside Vacations sent you.

PS – Seaside Vacations guests have the opportunity to enjoy a complimentary SUP lesson with the Kitty Hawk Kayaks crew through our Club Seaside events.

OBX Pic O’ the Day: Foggy Start in Kitty Hawk

Posted on June 1, 2011

Outer Banks - 6.1.11 - Foggy Start in Kitty Hawk

Foggy start on the Outer Banks this morning. But the sun is pushing its way out, and burning the fog off. Sun & 80′s today. There are waves, but there’s a light north wind, so the surf isn’t as clean as could be. Although, the wind switch has helped the water warm up a bit. Temps have jumped back to the 60′s!. Fish are biting offshore, near shore, piers, bridges, and Sound.

Hooray for Arrr-cheology! More articles from Blackbeard’s ship recovered

Posted on June 1, 2011

Blackbeard- Edward Teach

Yo, ho, ho a Pirates life for me! Its always awesome to see pieces of history pulled from the bottom of the Atlantic. Underwater archaeologists continue to search for wreckage of Blackbeard’s famous ship the Queen Anne’s Revenge, believed to have run aground in the shallow waters of Beaufort, North Carolina over 300 years ago. Days ago in just 20 feet of water divers found the 3,000 pound anchor, belonging to the Queen Anne’s Revenge. The site has already yielded more than 250,000 artifacts, including cannons, gold, platters, glass, beads, shackles and rope, according to the state.

The ship is giving up more than just treasure, it is also revealing many of Blackbeard’s terrorizing tactics and arrays of improvised weapons. The wreckage has yielded multiple cannons believed to have shot canvas bags full of glass, nails, spikes and bolts. Blackbeard was believed to have tried to win battles without fighting at all. In true pirate fashion, he wanted to take over vessels by eliminating the crew while keeping the boat from being damaged.

Conservation of the anchor and other artifacts may take years but for now it is just a great day in history and hopefully there will be many more. We are excited about the discovery but we ran across theghostofblackbeard on twitter and he didn’t seem to happy about it. Funny, he has been running around the OBX lately.