Blogs from Kill Devil Hill, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, United States, North America

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Today I explore the Outer Banks of North Carolina. At first glance, they look like the barrier islands on the east coast of Florida: long stretches of beach sand on the Atlantic, backed by swamps. They even have the same sort of beach development (and over-development). That is where the comparisons end, however. Beyond the swamps in Florida are narrow rivers and then the mainland. Behind the swamps in the Outer Banks are wide bays known as Sounds. These lead to a very different type of environment. One notices the difference driving in. Getting to the Outer Banks requires crossing multiple long causeways, with nothing in sight but water and distant land. The bridges have high cross wind warnings. Those winds sculpted the environment. Most have been ... read more
Wright wind tunnel
Distance of first flight
Wright Brothers Memorial


Destination - Allegator River in NC Departed Coinjock 8:00 AM Arrived at Deep Point ancorage at 3:45PM I was worried about crossing AlbamarleSound because of all the stories I have heard. It is basically a 16 foot deep ocean so when there is a strong south wind waves cankick up to 6 or 7 feet and slam boats around. When I started off there was a 15 knjot wind form the south. When I got into it the winds changed to almost west and the waves calmed down and it was not that unpleasant. I was making 6.1 with the motor and it took three hours to cross. The last quarter I unfulled the jib and was making almost 7knots. I ran aground at the mouth of the Allegator river by following my Chart Plotter which ... read more
Alligator-Pongo River Canal


On a recent trip to dine with NTA Board members at The Clarion Oceanfront Hotel on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, I was surprised to find a lobby FULL of Pirates! Sure, those of us looking on sort of guessed that they were actors portraying pirates, but these guys never broke character. Ever. We hung out with them for much of the evening at the hotel's lobby bar. Turns out it was Pirate Week in the Outer Banks. These guys had come down from Virginia to perform at a couple of events slated that night in Kill Devil Hills, and travel all over the place to share their brand of piracy. While the company is called url=http://www.blackbe... read more


After Orlando we started our trip northwards towards Washington DC, through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. During one of our stops we got into conversation with a couple of Fire Officers who advised us to take the ferry over from Cedar Island and make our way North via the outer islands. This added a bit more time to our trip, but it was well worth it - the scenery was beautiful, with Sounds on one side of us and the Atlantic on the other. The houses on the islands were a bit different from what we’ve seen too - all painted in bright pastels and looking like beach huts. It was also nice to break up the travel a bit with a couple of ferry crossings, 2.5 hours and 40 minutes respectively. One of the ... read more
The actual plane flown by the Wright brothers in 1903
The outer islands have some colourful history!
Faith on the Okracoke ferry


Yeppers, the first "successful" flight at Kittyhawk was only 12 seconds. Of course by the end of the day they made it a whole 59 seconds and a couple hundred yards. My roommate Hoi and I took off for North Carolina after much thought and avoidance of most New Years Eve celebrations. Kitty hawk is a small town. It just looks like every other East Coast beach town that I've seen. Kinda odd, if you ask me. Somehow I see it as a premade setup and everyone that starts a town gets some premade houses that look alike, same shubbery, and same mixture of kids with Jeeps and yuppies in fancypants cars. Yes, I drive a fancypants car; but it's old and worn down. After touring the exhibit (the Wright Bros. actually hand made the 200lb ... read more


"Isn't it astonishing that these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so that we could discover them?" - Orville Wright The Wright brother's museum was quite an experience. It gave one lots of food for thought. There i was, standing on the track where Orvill successfully attempted man's first flight. Three times, as i stood there, a plane flew over the field, almost as if to say, "From that to this." Then i started thinking of all the advances that have been made in the past hundred years. Exactly 100 years ago, we had the first flight. 20 years later, we used planes as primitive bombers. 20 years after that, we had passenger planes and a sophisticated air force. 20 years after that, we had a man on the moon. Now look at ... read more




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