Outer Banks Everyday Magic: Hurricane Wedding

Posted on December 15, 2011

Hurricane Evacuation

Thanks for sharing your OBX magic Elizabeth!

I have my own special OBX magic. My husband and I were married in the Outer Banks in August 1993 at the magistrates office. It was the day that they mandated an evacuation in preparation for Hurricane Emily.

We arrived at the magistrates office after getting our marriage license at the old courthouse in Manteo. When we arrived everyone was leaving and we had no witnesses. The magistrate, went out the door and retrieved two of the employees who stood up for us. After saying “you know there’s an evacuation, don’t you?”, we were married.

Afterwards we headed to the cottage we rented, and packed up not sure what to do next. We drove to Chesapeake, had lunch and talked over what to do next. A family overheard us and offered to let us have our “wedding night” at their house. Feeling a little unsure we graciously declined but felt it was a sign that we should stay nearby.

We ended up in Newport News, where we stayed a few days, and we returned to the Outer Banks when the all clear was given.

We spent the rest of the week at our “honeymoon cottage,” and we come to the Outer Banks every year at the end of August to relive our “magic”.

Such a great story! It’s amazing how much the Outer Banks touches peoples’ lives and how many awesome stories there are.

Please share your Outer Banks Everyday Magic story with us too….we’d love to hear it! You can use the form below to submit it to me.

Outer Banks Surf Update – 9.15.11

Posted on September 15, 2011

The fall has arrived. Well, if we want to be precise, fall doesn’t officially start until September 23. But I’m not looking for precision here, I’m going with look and feel.

The kids are back at school, the days are warm while the nights are cool, the beaches are empty, but the water is warm, the fish are biting, and the surf is up! There’s a change in the air – OBX fall is here…and it’s a great thing!

The 2011 Outer Banks fall season is already living up to all of the hype that us locals give it. (Mother Nature’s way of repaying us for that nasty Irene that wreaked so much havoc?) The weather has been more than we could hope for – sunny, 80′s during the day, 70′s at night, light winds, water in the upper 70′s. The fishing has been great; a plentiful bounty all around – offshore, near shore, piers, bridges, surf, & Sound. And the surf has been bumping.

Hurricane Katia stayed out to sea and sent some gnarly overhead barrels (here’s a great photo gallery from ESPN), and the swell has stuck with us ever since. We’ve been enjoying waist to chest, clean sets all week – did I mention it’s sunny, 80, and the water is as warm as the air?!…oh yeah, and plenty of space to find a wave all yourself! Classic OBX waves. Below is a quick video I shot on Wednesday morning before my sunrise surf session.

Tropical Storm Maria is currently rolling through the Atlantic and starting to send swell towards the OBX. The swell will jump to overhead through the weekend, but we’ll have a strong northeast wind blowing, so not much opportunity for surf. Hopefully we’ll continue our great streak of surf with some fun leftovers early next week. Finger crossed.

Outer Banks Surf Forecast - 9.15.11

In addition to all of this fun for us novice surfers, the fall is bringing in some awesome surf contests.

ESA Finals: Transworld Surf is reporting that the ESA (Eastern Surf Association) finals are on for the Outer Banks. The ESA finals have been held in Hatteras for 30 + years. Awesome, right? Well, Hurricane Irene through a wrench in the planning for this year’s competition. With Hatteras inaccessible due to road damage, the call has been made to move the contest 50 miles north to Nags Head. Starting on September 18, one of the best (and longest running) surf contests on the East Coast will kick of at Jennette’s Pier. Awesome location, and with the potential for some great leftovers from Tropical Storm Maria, this could be a banging contest. I’ll get us some footage next week…you’re on the edge of your seat, I know.

ESA Finals on at Jennette's Pier in Nags Head

Volcom Cooterfish: Once again, Volcom is bringing their totally curstacious grom fest to the OBX, and it’s kicking of this Saturday. Based on the swell forecast, it could be a doozy. Definitely worth checking out. Free lunch, a bunch of prizes, custom trophies, cash prizes for competitors and plenty of divisions to choose from. Top 3 finishers will qualify for the 2012 VQS World Champs. Kicking off at 7 AM 9/17 at the 5th St. beach access…just behind the KMart.

2011 Volcom Cooterfish

Outer Banks Pro: Last, but certainly not least, The Outer Banks Pro is kicking off at Jennette’s Pier from September 23 – 25. Always an awesome surfing display with pros from up and down the East coast. This year the Outer Banks Pro has a prize purse of $30,000, and it’s a trial for the Battle of the Banks (stay tune for more info on this totally rad show!). If you’re from VB or OB not only can you win your portion of the purse but if you’re one of the top finishers from your town you go on to the opening round of the Battle!!

2011 Outer Banks Pro

PS – Here’s a quick video of some highlights from last year’s Battle of the Banks…coming soon to an OBX near you:

Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report – 9.2.11 – Recovering from Hurricane Irene

Posted on September 2, 2011

9.2.11 - Perfect OBX Fall Weather

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

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

Happy September, happy Friday. It’s a gorgeous day, and the northern OBX beaches are wide open for business.

Corolla through Nags Head is open and ready to go; beaches, businesses, attractions, and vacation rental homes. We pulled our entire team together to inspect and clean all of our homes this week following Hurricane Irene, and we are happy to report that our homes our in great shape. With the exception of a few minor maintenance issues, our homes are up and ready, including almost all of our pools. We started welcoming guests back as early Monday, and we are looking forward to welcoming guests this weekend.

And it couldn’t be a better time of year to be here! September and October on the Outer Banks is amazing…perfect conditions. The five day forecast shows bright sun with temps at 80 during the day and 70 at night. The water temp is 75 degrees, and the beaches are pretty empty. In addition, prices for vacation rental homes drop significantly in September. Truly the best time of year to be on the OBX.

As a side note, if you have kids back in school, it still could be a great time to come to the Outer Banks. Not sure if this is the same for every state, but in North Carolina, we can take education vacations that do not count as absent days. You need to give notice to the school and explain the educational activities, but it is a great opportunity to enjoy a vacation and learn along the way.

And the OBX is a perfect spot for an educational vacation. We partnered with www.HomeSchool.com this year, and they have given us their “Seal of Approval.” There is an endless amount of great educational opportunities on the OBX…art, history, nature.

But I digress, back to the report. Unfortunately, no surf to report. An east wind is beating up the swell we have, but Sunday and Monday are looking very good. Swell will be with us throughout next week, but the wind won’t be matching up much…just Sunday and Monday at this point.

Swell could be growing significantly by the end of next week. This could be due to the dreaded “H” word! We’ve had enough already, and it’s way too early to tell the path, but Hurricane Katia is out in the Atlantic and moving west. The projections look like it could stay out to sea, so hopefully it just sends us awesome waves. We’ll keep an eye on it.

OBX fishing is heating up again. Still no reports offshore. The fleet has to get their boats back in the water after Hurricane Irene, and Oregon Inlet needs to repair their damages from Irene. Hopefully they’ll be driving again soon. But the piers, bridges, surf, and Sound are getting consistent again with a wide variety of fish (fall OBX fishing is great!) – spot, croaker, pompano, blue fish, speckled trout, and even some puppy drums (no keepers yet).

Hope to see you soon. Have fun!

Outer Banks: Hurricane Irene – Before, During, & After – 8.28.11

Posted on August 29, 2011

Outer Banks: Hurricane Irene, After. Dad & child take in the devastation.

Hurricane Irene has come and gone. And she left quite a path of destruction in her wake.

There was a lot of hype leading up to Ms. Irene’s arrival. A potential Category 3 or 4 storm eventually landed on the OBX as a Cat 1. We were all very happy to see Irene’s intensity diminish as she drew close to shore, but the realism of a major storm was always in the back of our minds. Unfortunately, even that realism did not prepare us for the destruction that was about to arrive.

Last Friday (Irene arrived late that night), I took a trip to Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head to get a pre-Irene beach report. It was a nice day, but the conditions were worsening, and it was clear some funky weather was on the way. So, I asked a professional OBX photographer to tag along to capture some of Outer Banks: Hurricane Irene, “Before.” Luckily, Whitney of Whitney Norko Photography agreed to come, and we got some amazing before pictures.

Our plan was do to a “before” and “after” shoot of the same OBX landmarks. In a typical Outer Banks hurricane a before and after route along the “Beach Road” would make sense. But Hurricane Irene was not the typical OBX hurricane. This beast decided to attack the Sound instead of the ocean.

Around midnight on Friday the winds and rain began to pick up, and it was clear Ms. Irene had arrived. The winds and rain remained high throughout the night, but not overwhelmingly so. Around lunch time, my family and I decided to take a trip to the beach to see how things were, and to be honest, they were not terrible. The wind was whipping, and the sand felt like it was piercing my skin, but the beach and “Beach Road” were not seeing too much damage…some siding and shingles coming off homes, but not much significant damage. Here’s a link to my UStream video of the beach…not much to see, but you can get the effect of the wind.

After the trip, we adjourned home to take in the sites and sounds of the afternoon hurricane on the Sound. And the sites and sounds were eerily quiet. Foreshadowing of what was to come?

We took a walk out to the Sound, and it was amazingly empty! When Hurricane Irene began, here winds were blowing hard out of the East, and as a result, she blew almost ALL of the water out of the Sound. We walked 200 – 300 yards past the normal water line and THERE WAS NO WATER!

Here’s a link to my UStream video on the Sound. Unreal is all I can say.

Within a couple hours after I shot that video, everything changed for the worse. Fast! And with force!

Once the eye moved passed, the winds switched to the west/northwest, and all of that Sound water that was pushed out came back, with a vengeance.

Sound-side on the Outer Banks took a beating for about 6-8 hours before the water – and 4-6 foot waves – started to recede. As a result, there is extensive damage on the Sound-side.

Here’s my UStream video of some of the relentless water (storm surge) attacking the OBX…unfortunately, it cuts off, but you’ll get the point.

As a result of the Sound-side destruction from Hurricane Irene, our plans for a “before” and “after” photo shoot needed to be adjusted. Luckily, Whitney Norko Photography agreed to tag along again, and we were able to capture a lot of the OBX damage and devastation first hand.

I’ll warn you upfront, it’s ugly. Let the healing begin!

Outer Banks: Hurricane Irene Update – 8.24.11, 9:00 PM

Posted on August 24, 2011

Hurricane Irene Projected Path - 8.24.11 - 9 PM

It sure is gorgeous on the Outer Banks right now. Perfect end of summer beach weather.

Unfortunately, that could all change very soon. Hurricanes tend to be pretty erratic. Their path can change drastically, and computer models tend to have a wide range of error. However, as the storm draws closer, the models get stronger, and Hurricane Irene is getting pretty consistent.

At this point, Hurricane Irene is a category 3 hurricane, and the projected path brings it to Ocracoke late Saturday night and into Sunday.

However, it’s too early to know for sure. We are starting to implement emergency plans. As of tomorrow (Thursday, 8.25.11) at 8:00 AM, all Dare County guests are required to evacuate.

From Dare County:

The Dare County Control Group has ordered a mandatory evacuation for all visitors throughout all of Dare County effective 8:00 a.m., Thursday, August 25.

All visitors are urged to make preparations and leave the area. Dare County Emergency Management urges visitors to take all personal belongings with them during evacuation. Other preparation steps are available at www.ReadyNC.org and www.darenc.com

Although the mandatory evacuation order is for all Dare County visitors, residents are advised to take proper precautions and make general storm preparations. This effort should include securing all loose items outdoors. Monitor local news outlets for further advisories from the National Weather Service and state and local emergency management officials.

The Dare County Control Group will meet again on Thursday, August 25 after the 5:00 p.m. storm advisory has been issued by the National Hurricane Center. Further evacuations should be anticipated as Irene moves closer to the Outer Banks.

At this time there are no new reentry stickers being issued. The previously issued stickers, for 2008/2009, are still valid. Residents can also use a North Carolina driver’s license showing a Dare County address. Property owners may use a Dare County tax bill with proper identification for reentry.

Updates and bulletins will be issued on an as needed basis and will be available on www.darenc.com and Government Access Channel 20.

From The Weather Channel:
Hurricane Irene, a large, powerful Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, continues to plow through the Bahamas, with more impacts in its sights.

As you can see on our projected path map above, Hurricane Irene will track towards the East Coast this weekend. It is still too early to determine the exact path and the potential impact to the Outer Banks.

OBX Pic O’ the Day: Peaceful Summer Day. Calm Before Hurricane Irene?

Posted on August 23, 2011

Outer Banks: 8.23.11 - Peaceful in Kitty Hawk

Such a great summer day. August is winding down, but we still have plenty of great OBX summer days ahead. September and October are amazing on the Outer Banks – warm air, warm water, empty beaches, great fishing, fun surf…welcome to the OBX “shoulder season.”

Today is picture perfect. Sun, 80′s, light onshore breeze out of the east. No surf, but the fish are biting.

Despite the perfect day today, the question on everyone’s mind is: what will Hurricane Irene do? Is this just the calm before the storm?

It is still far too early to know if/when the Outer Banks will be affected by Hurricane Irene. Hurricanes tend to be pretty erratic and unpredictable. It seems like we are still about four or five days from the potential impact from the storm, so there is plenty of time for the beast to change it’s course significantly.

At this point, the forecasts do indicate the OBX could see some impact, but based on the six computer models, only one projects a direct hit. So there is still a lot of hope for limited impact.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for some much needed rain and some fun waves, but hopefully Mother Nature will keep the storm out to sea.

Here are the projected Hurricane Irene tracks:

Outer Banks: Hurricane Irene Projected Path - 8.23.11

Here’s the Outer Banks surf forecast based on the impact from Hurricane Irene:

Outer Banks Surf Forecast - Hurricane Irene - 8.23.11

Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report – 8.22.11 – Calm day. But Hurricane Irene on the way?

Posted on August 22, 2011

Outer Banks: 8.22.11 - Calm in Kill Devil Hills

Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks Beach, Surf, & Fishing Report for Monday, August 22, 2011.

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

Kids start going back to school this week! Ah, where did the time go?! End of August, wrapping up another great OBX summer!

I always have mixed feelings this time of year. It’s tough to see summer slipping away, but this really is the BEST time of year on the Outer Banks. Over the past week or so, the temps have cooled and the humidity has dropped. Temps have cooled form the 90′s to the mid 80′s. Ideal beach weather, warm during the day and getting cool at night. And this great weather will last for the next couple months! Warm air, warm water, empty beaches, great fishing, great surf. Fall on the OBX is perfect!

Today we’re seeing sun, temps in the mid 80′s, and light offshore breeze out of the southwest, and this fab weather will stick with us through the week.

Unfortunately, there’s not much surf to report today. There is a tiny bit of swell in the knee high range, and the offshore breeze is keeping it clean, so there’s a longboard wave out there if you find the right spot.

It’s pretty flat today, but the forecast is showing all sorts of activity towards the end of the week. Hurricane Irene officially formed yesterday, and it’s down around Haiti today. Forecasting hurricanes is pretty difficult, they can change drastically pretty quickly. So, it’s far to early to know where this storm is headed, but the current tracks have it coming relatively close to the Outer Banks. Fingers crossed that it drifts back to sea, but we’ll have to wait to find out.

However, in the meantime, it seems pretty certain that we’ll see some significant swell from the storm. This could be large and completely unsurfable, but knowing that swell is on the way is a good thing from the surfing perspective. The best bet for surf from a system like this could be on the backside after it moves past us, so fingers crossed for a storm out to sea and great waves late this week to early next week. Please be kind Mother Nature.

As for OBX fishing, going very strong. Offshore is catching dolphin, whaoo, yellow and black fin tuna, and some bill fish. The piers, bridges, surf, & Sound are very consistent with a wide variety of fish – speckled trout, croaker, blue fish, spot, sea mullet, pompano, flounder, cobia, Spanish mackerel, trigger fish.

Hope to see you soon. Have fun!

Outer Banks Surf All Over the December Issue of Surfer Magazine

Posted on October 22, 2010

Matt Lusk - Chris McDonald Outer Banks Surf

The Outer Banks, and the East Coast in general, enjoyed a pretty active hurricane season. The December issue of Surfer Magazine (on sale November 1) will feature an overview of the action, and the Outer Banks is all over it.

Well, to be specific, photos of local surf photog, Matt Lusk, will be all over it. And to be even more specific, Matt’s photos of a sequence spread of Jesse Hines, a full page of Michael Dunphy from helicopter, half pages of Benny B and Asher Nolan, and a full page of Chris McDonald (Matt’s photo is above) will be featured in the mag.

Congrats to Matt and the surfers. Can’t wait to see OBX surf represented well!

Outer Banks Beach Report 9.20.10 & Hurricane Igor Surf 9.17.10

Posted on September 20, 2010

Good morning. Here’s your Outer Banks beach report for 9.20.10.

This video was shot at 9 AM just south of the Kitty Hawk Pier. Gorgeous day. High 70′s – low 80′s all week with mostly sun.

The ocean is very active from Hurricane Igor off the coast. Unfortunately, the winds don’t match up with the surf, but as a bonus I included some pictures and video from the great OBX surf Igor sent on Friday.

Enjoy.

Outer Banks Beach Report 9/17/10 – Hurricane Igor Swell Arrives

Posted on September 17, 2010

Good morning. Here’s the Outer Banks beach report for 9/17/10.

This video was shot in Kitty Hawk at about 6:30 AM just before the sun popped over the horizon. The clouds were a bit overcast, but clearing off. The beach was empty. The swell from Hurricane Igor is arriving, with light southwest winds, and the OBX surf is looking good.

After shooting the first part I enjoyed a great surf session, and had to show a second portion of the report to give a view of the surf.

It’s a pretty great morning when you get to watch the sunrise from your surfboard!

Enjoy.