Lunch in the dunes on the western end of Shackleford
Don's pix
Clint's pix
Michele's pix
I apologize. Perhaps because I was having too much fun in 2003, I didn't get a detailed account of this trip written up while it was still fresh in my mind. But better late than never.
Despite the beautiful sunny picture above, this trip started out with cold rain. We tried to find a reasonably priced campground in the area near Beaufort or Atlantic Beach, but were unsuccessful. That remains a challenge to be solved. Instead, we opted to get a couple of rooms in a motel. Not a typical start to one of our Adventures, but hey, we can be flexible!
After stuffing ourselves with a seafood restaurant dinner, hanging out in the motel rooms for the evening, and a damp night walk on the beach, we were ready for the kayaking part of our trip.
AB Kayaks (Adventure Beyond Kayaks, no less) in Beaufort outfitted those of us who needed kayaks. We launched from Dave's dock and head out to the inlet. The sun was shining, the sea was relatively calm, and the interesting waves shooting straight up where the sea met the sound drew us toward the inlet.
As we neared the end of Shackleford Banks island, we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of the rogue waves that appear out of nowhere and roll around in the inlet. They were 32.5 feet in height, according to the stories that were told later. It was a neat/shocking/alarming experience to be 10 feet away from the next kayak and lose sight of them as one or the other of you dropped into a trough between waves.
For everyone who stayed parallel to the wave crests, this passage was mostly an up and down ride. For me, who turned perpendicular to the waves, it was a bit more of a seat puckering experience. I knew the waves were big when I noticed my kayak skiing down the wave faces towards the bottom of the troughs. All I could see was the bow burying itself into the base of the next wave, and then where would I be? Submarining again? Visions of Chattooga flashed through my mind.
But fortunately, none of us had any serious problems. COG was having fun bobbing in the rogue waves, but we wanted to get lunch going, so I was sent back out into the fray to tow him to shore so we could eat. We later learned that a passing boat had radioed Dave and told he had kayaks "in the inlet again". Dave only asked if we were still in the kayaks. Apparently Dave only gets concerned about rescuing kayaks, not kayakers?
Once we were all safely ashore, we settled into the edge of the dunes for a wonderful hot lunch. The Warriors fixed jerk-spice chicken with sauteed vegetables over rice. Very nice. We relaxed inthe sun for a while before paddling on.
We camped at the big tree again, just west of the cemetary. Instead of going further down the island towards the lighthouse again, we decided to stay on the western end of the island and do more exploring on foot. COP led half of the crew in a seated exploration, opting to stay behind and hold the campsite down while telling pirate lies.
The other half of the group ventured across the island on foot, following pony trails, until we reached the oceanside, where we had the beach all to ourselves.
As we paddled back to the take out, we were visited by two pods of dolphins and a curious sea turtle. One of the dolphins made some spectacular leaps very close to us, which I managed to catch on film.
May the Adventure continue !!!!!
The Adventurers on this trip: COP, COG, the Warriors, BS, Flex and Infoman.
(posted 1/26/04)
