Day 14, 15, and 16: Cape Hatteras Beachbreaks Pump, Fresh Seafood is Abundant, and I Work to Clean Up an Oil Spill

This place was empty
when I was there and I
guess they want to keep
it that way...snobs!!

I woke up on Tuesday feeling refreshed from a good nights sleep in the car.  I was about 30 miles out of Cape Hatteras aka The Outer Banks, a long string of barrier islands that protect North Carolina's coast.  To a surfer, barrier islands also bring to mind exposed coast line's that catch every bit of swell that's in the area. 

I had no real plan other than to surf and camp there so when I reached the island and headed north I was a bit discouraged.  Signs like the one posted to the left cover the exclusive northern getaway to protect these multi-home owners' precious beaches from the throngs of common folk that flock there in the summer.  At the time of my visit however, over 80% of the houses were vacant.  The bottom line is, don't go there looking for surfing or you may get your car towed; after all, freedom ain't free.



One of many fishing piers along
the cape's endless beaches.

 After I figured out what the northern part of the island was about I headed south past Kitty Hawk (Wright Bros.) to Nags Head.  I didn't see anyone else out surfing so I decided to get camp set up and search around a little more.  I camped at the Oregon Inlet and paid $20!!! for a camp site with a BBQ, shared bathrooms and cold showers. It was a nice spot despite the thistle barbs that constantly got caught between the soles of my feet and shoe beds, and although the waves weren't good there, about 15 minutes down the road they were.



About 80 meters past those dunes
is the Atlantic Ocean.

 The cross shore winds were strong on the Outer Banks but I did find one place that seemed significantly bigger than other spots.  I later found out at a near by surf shop that this place was called S Turns (after the way the road turns) and is quite a popular spot.  I went out alone with no one out, but only had it that way for about an hour.  The waves were at head high to over head on the big sets and I surfed till it was nearly dark before heading back to camp. 

Earlier in the day I had stopped and picked up a fillet of Tile Grouper, which is a local fish.  I cooked it up on the BBQ in a foil pack with some of Robert's seemingly endless supply of awesome potatoes and admired the star-filled sky and prominent Milky Way. 



The surf this day was nearly perfect



The wave breaks so fast that there's
hardly any time to make a turn



The next morning, I made some pancakes, packed up and was on the road in less than an hour.  Back at S Turns the surf was absolutely pumping and had about 25 guys spread along 4 or 5 peaks.  It was a barrel fest and the wind had shifted off shore to create makeable tubes.  I shared a peak with two other locals and surfed until low tide around 1:30.



Beautiful colors in the
sky for the sunset
behind the Lighthouse



I continued to another area that had $20 camping (the private campgrounds were pushing $40 a night!) called Frisco, which is just south of the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.  I choose my site and set up camp quickly hoping to catch the tail end of the swell at a small jetty near the light house.  There was some kayak surf club in the water so for my own safety I paddle over to another peak on the other side of the jetty.  The surf had really died down with a few OK sets rolling in.  After the dusk session I picked up a Mahi Mahi fillet and took it back to the campsite for another BBQ. 



Mahi Mahi, beets, and potatoes,
never knew camp food could taste
so good!

The next day I still had a few "things to do" before leaving the outer banks.  1) Find out if a Nissan Pathfinder is beach worthy and 2) use the ferry system to exit the Cape without having to back track.  All along the main road (rt. 12) are ramps that lead to the beach.  They are primarily used by fishermen who cast out in the surf and reel in surprisingly large fish.  My plan was to take the free ferry from Hatteras to Ocracoke and drive some of the way along the beach. 

 I deflated the pressure in the tires to about 22 psi and got on the first ramp I found.  Luckily that ramp led to a stretch of the beach with firm sand and since it was low tide, the driving are greatly increased.  However, as I soon found out, 'you can't really use the beach like its a highway' (so that's what the guy in the surf shop meant).  Closings between the ramps for sea turtles blocked my attempt to cruise uninhabited along the miles of beach.  I still had a few hours to kill so I went down a couple of other trails and to another part of the beach where the sand was much deeper and I was actually a bit worried because the clearance on the Pathfinder isn't much.  It was all good and soon I was back on rt. 12 and searching for a place to cook lunch before I boarded the ferry back to the mainland. 

While I was cooking lunch, I had an oil spill, olive oil that is.  I spent some time cleaning the car and made it to the ferry with plenty of time to spare.  After the 2 hour and 15 minute trip, I had arrived on Cedar island and then headed to Genie and Allen's house for a great dinner and conversation. 

The NC ferries were
well organized and a lot
better than driving