A Quiet Day Leads to “Nights in Rodanthe”

Friday, 22 April

It was another beautiful day in the OBX even if the temperature was on the cool side. We woke up to a breezy 54F (12C), and it stayed around that range throughout the day. At least the skies were blue and filled with sunshine.

Around 7:00a, we went for a 5-mile (8 km) stroll on the beach fronting the campground. When we set out on our walk, the beach was completely deserted. It was too early even for the birds that we usually see scavenging for tidbits in the sand. By the time we returned to the coach around 8:30a, we had company on the beach – mostly anglers casting their lines into the wickedly churning ocean … the roughest we’ve seen since our arrival a week ago.

The shoreline is trimmed with sea foam.

I was curious about all the sea foam we were seeing today, so when we returned to the coach, I did a bit of research. Here’s an excerpt from a Q&A that was published in The New York Times:

… “Like a bathtub full of bubbles, sea foam needs two ingredients,” said Dr. Elizabeth L. Venrick, a marine ecologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif., “something to decrease the surface tension of the water, like bubble bath, and something to froth it up, like water running into the tub.”

In the ocean, the “bubble bath” is usually dissolved organic material, she said, and strong surface winds or the breaking of waves on the beach stir up the water with air to make bubbles.

“The organic material comes from a number of sources, usually a concentration of biomass, like the phytoplankton bloom that causes red tide or a fish kill,” Dr. Venrick said. (A bloom is an increase in the numbers of some species or complex of species that then die or are eaten, releasing organic material.) The material can also come from sewer spills and other terrestrial runoff, she said.

In addition, there are a number of mechanisms that concentrate the foam, which is commonly blown up on the beach, for example. …

It's not just sea foam that the waves have brought ashore.

The main reason our walk was so long this morning was because I wanted to reach the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station from the beach side to capture the buildings in the soft, morning light. Since there is an admission charged for the museum, I respected the no trespassing signs and still managed to get a couple of decent photos.

The buildings in the photo on the upper right are (from L to R): The 1911 Station;
the 1874 Station; the 1892 Cook House; and the 1907 Midgett House.

A quick note about the “wreck pole” in the pictures, it was used by the crew to hone their skills for the “Breeches Buoy” rescue. More on that when I post a separate entry about Chicamacomico.

The anglers are out to try their luck.

We debated going sightseeing after breakfast, but decided once again to stay home and relax. That turned out to be the right decision. Because we were at home, we were able to receive some documents that required our signature and fax them back without delay. Ain’t technology great! Of course, dealing with the paperwork meant cutting our afternoon stroll on the beach short, but as hard as the wind was blowing, that was probably for the best anyway.

A lone windsurfer and ...

... a slew of kite flyers take advantage of the strong winds.

Overall, it was a quiet day at home. The one time we ventured out was to get a treat from the only place serving hand dipped ice cream that has opened its doors for pre-season visitors. The place is next door to the campground, so we decided to walk over there. Along the way, however, we were given a tip that changed our plans. Mui grabbed the car and we drove the short distance to get pictures of Serendipity … better known as the Inn at Rodanthe. Yes, the same place featured in Nights in Rodanthe, the movie starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane.

made famous by a movie, I imagine this place is quite popular as a vacation rental.

Scenes from Nights in Rodanthe.
[photos courtesy of various sites on the web]

Serendipity was damaged by an honest-to-goodness storm in the summer of 2008 and was later condemned. In 2010, the property was saved from the wrecking ball. It was moved to a location a little further inland and restored by the new owners. (Center top photo shows the house the day that it was moved.)

If you haven’t seen it, Nights in Rodanthe is a nice romantic movie (perhaps a bit of a tear-jerker, too) … perfect for date night.

By the way … a bit of personal trivia. Rodanthe is the second place we’ve been to where there is a connection to Richard Gere. Coincidentally, we were on another camping trip … of a much different kind (don’t laugh when you see the pictures in the link provided) … when we visited the first place. Click here to read about our “blast from the past” from Fort Worden State Park where scenes for An Officer and a Gentleman were filmed.

And so, our vacation comes to a close. We drive home tomorrow, catch up on stix and brix chores on Sunday, and go back to work on Monday. We had a great time here in the OBX. We enjoyed exploring places of historic significance and strolling on a very small portion of the more than 70 miles (112+ km) of beaches that is the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. We look forward to someday returning here (in the off-season, of course) to visit the wildlife refuges and everything else we missed this time around.

Word of caution to future visitors … especially those driving relatively high-profile vehicles. Drive carefully and be aware of wildlife … feathered and furred. We’ve seen more dead birds and other unidentifiable creatures on and alongside the roads here than we have anywhere else in our travels. In particular, gulls and pelicans fly at near-vehicle levels around the bridge into (and out of) Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. Bear in mind that we’re visitors to the land these creatures call home.

In the Spotlight: Before the Coasties ...

21 April 2011

... there were the Surfmen of the US Life-Saving Service.  We learned about these valiant men and the amazing rescues they were involved in during our afternoon visit to the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site and Museum.

Located in Rodanthe, just over a mile from Camp Hatteras, the site was close enough to walk to, but with the potential for rain in the air, we decided to drive.  After all, who wants to be loaded down with camera equipment and be caught in a deluge?  Not us!

As it turns out, the weather held off, except for a light drizzle.  By timing our visits to the buildings carefully, we managed to scamper from one to the other without getting wet.

We were greeted warmly by the docents at the front desk of the station-turned-museum.  When Mui showed them his USAF ID, they generously gave us the group rate of $5/person ($1/person discount).  The program of the day is included in the admission price, but since they are conducted during the summer months, we made do with a video documenting the history of Chicamacomico and then moved on to a self-guided tour.

illustration of the chicamacomico historic site and museum grounds (A) 1874 Station (B) Wreck Pole (C) 1892 Cook House (D) 1907 Midgett House (E) 1911 Cook House (F) 1911 Station (G) Stable (H) Tractor Shed (I) Small Boathouse [scanned from the museum brochure]

The US Life-Saving Service (USLSS) was founded in 1871 and was managed by the US Treasury Department.  Local men were hired and trained for one primary task: to rescue those in peril from the sea.  Their mission is underscored by the surfman’s motto as stated by a station keeper:

The book says ya gotta go out; it don’t say nothin’ ‘bout coming back!

In 1915, the USLSS merged with the US Revenue Cutter Service to form today's US Coast Guard.

Historic photographs from around the museum.

Left (top to bottom): the breeches buoy was used as late as the 1954 omar babun rescue. the 1874 station with the keeper on the far left; these stations also served as community centers and it was not uncommon to find locals visiting. the wreck of the captain john duke.

right (top to Bottom): the surfboat landing with shipwreck survivors; note the cork life jackets worn by the men. Cape Hatteras was dangerous for sailing ships, yet ships sailed near to get around the cape and to use the lighthouse as a landmark for the quickest route north or south.

Built in 1874, Chicamacomico was the first USLSS station in North Carolina.  It remained in service until it was decommissioned in 1954.  The name comes from the Algonquian family of languages and means, quite appropriately, “land of disappearing sands.”  (Best pronunciation guide I can find … Chic-a-ma-COM-i-co.)

The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site and Museum as seen from the beach.
Left to Right: The 1911 Station; the 1874 Station; the 1892 Cook House and water tank;
the 1907 Midgett House.
[taken the next morning; hence the clear, blue sky.]

We started our tour in the 1911 Station, which replaced the smaller 1874 station.  The building, which contains the majority of the exhibits, is still on its original foundation.  Although the station was designed for no more than 10 men, over 40 were stationed here during WWII.  Having been inside, cramped would be an understatement in describing the conditions at that time.

The 1911 Station with the Cook House to the right.  the bell is not original to the site;
it was removed and brought here from the Chesapeake Bay.

Before moving on from this building, we climbed the ship’s ladder from the second floor up to the tower.  A second story was added inside the tower to ensure that both the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound could be monitored.  A surfman was on watch 24/7, rotating in 4-hour shifts.  Nothing but binoculars, a chart book, and a podium-type desk was allowed in the tower.  In other words, nothing to distract the men from charting the safe passage of vessels traveling up and down the coast, and remaining alert to ships that might be in distress.

The steep ladder leads into the tower from which we can see the 1874 Station,
the 1892 Cook House, and beach homes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Our second stop was at the 1907 Midgett House, which was brought to the site in 2005.  It was originally owned by the brother of Keeper John Allen Midgett Jr., one of several keepers that shared the surname.

Furnished with items appropriate to the period, the 1907 Midgett House is intended to
interpret daily life on Hatteras Island in the early 1900s.

A peek into life in the early 1900s.

Next we walked through the 1874 Station, which was converted to a boathouse in 1919.  The building has been moved five times; its original location is now under water.  Inside we found some fascinating rescue equipment, as well as Surfboat No. 1046, which was used in 1918 to rescue 42 people from the Mirlo, a British tanker that was torpedoed off shore.  (Rescue account here.)

The Gothic style 1874 Station and the wreck pole in the distance.

On the side facing the Atlantic Ocean, the 1874 station looks more like a boathouse.
In the open doorway, you can see a glimpse of Surfboat No. 1406.  Immediately to the
right is the 1892 cook house and water tank, and next to that is the 1907 Midgett house.

Left: Life Cars were used to rescue people from a wreck.
Right (Bottom): surfboat No. 1406 was used to rescue survivors from the mirlo.

(For those interested in how the life car worked [from signage at the museum]: it was hung unto the hawser [thick, heavy line] and sent to the wrecked ship.  Crew and passengers would climb into the hold, seal the hatch, and be hauled to shore by the surfmen.  Even after the breeches buoy was adopted, stations retained their life cars in the event a ship had an injured crewman or small children aboard.  Up to seven adults could fit into the life car.)

Have you heard of the breeches buoy rescue?  We had not until we visited Chicamacomico.  We were fascinated by what was described in the signage as a British-style rescue method.  The way I understand it, a Lyle gun was used to send a hawser from the shore to the wreck.  A wreck victim would then jump into the ‘breeches’, and suspended in the air, he would be pulled ashore by a pulley-block system.  Once ashore, the victim would ‘jump out of his breeches’, and the buoy would be sent back out to the ship to rescue another person.

Breeches Buoy Rescue Equipment with a photo of a mock-up showing how the rescue worked.

From the 1874 station we strolled over to the wreck pole at the far edge of the property.  The pole, which simulates the mast of a ship, was used by the station crew to hone their breeches buoy rescue skills.  They were allotted five minutes to have all their equipment in place and “rescue” a practice victim, usually a fellow surfman.  Sure, the beach cart was on wheels, but can you imagine how difficult it must have been to roll it through the sand to get it positioned before they could shoot the gun?

Collage of images showing the wreck pole and illustrations of how the breeches  buoy
setup was used in shipwreck rescues.  During the summer months, the US Coast Guard conducts
breeches buoy rescue drills at the station.  The photo in the bottom right
shows the drill team from Oregon Inlet.

It was due to the intense training the surfmen did at poles like this one that the USLSS
was able to come to the aid of 177,286 of 178,741 endangered souls.

We stand in awe of the men (and women) who put their lives at risk to save others from the perils of the sea — then and now.

If you’d like to see the full-size versions of the photos used in the collages, visit our online gallery.