Because of temporary suspensions or size and limit restrictions on ferry runs, the Ferry Divion of NCDOT has added two additional departures from both sides of the Swan Quarter-Ocracoke route for this weekend in order to accommodate travelers.

There will be a 7am and 1pm departure from Swan Quarter to Ocracoke, in addition to the regularly scheduled 10am and 4:30 departures. From Ocracoke to Swan Quarter, there will be a 10am and 4pm departure, in addition to the regularly scheduled 7am and 12:45 runs.

The Ferry Division will continue to monitor the channel and could possibly extend extra runs. Reservations must be made for the Swan Quarter-Ocracoke ferry and can be made by calling 800-BY-FERRY and pressing “2″ or by visiting NCDOT on the web.

Updates are available by calling the Hatteras ferry terminal at 252-986-2353 or by following NCDOT Ferry on Twitter.
Safe travels!

Take a trip back in time to the site of the most-highly awarded maritime rescue in American history!

Click here to experience this daring rescue with the surfmen of the USCG!

The schedule for the day is as follows:
10-11am Instructions for flotillas
11-12pm Beach Apparatus Drill performed
12-2pm Cookout and Social

Admission is free with regular site admission. Adults: $6, Seniors 62+ and Youth 6-17: $4.

Be sure to bring your appetite for a delicious $5 hamburger or hotdog plate, which includes sides and a drink!

Don’t miss the boat, folks! Grab a buoy and hold on tight as you experience this amazing performance!

For more information check out:

Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station

Suspensions or Delays Could Continue at Hatteras Ferry Route

RALEIGH — Travelers using the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route could encounter delays, load weight restrictions and possible suspensions due to extreme shoaling of the Hatteras Inlet channel. Brisk northeast winds, lower than normal tides and the narrow channel situation has created a safety issue that requires constant monitoring by the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division.

The shoaling in the channel began post-Hurricane Irene. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to resolve the problem, as the channel falls under federal jurisdiction.

“Visitors to our area need to be apprised of the situation,” stressed Ferry Director Harold Thomas. He is calling upon local residents, businesses, restaurants, motels and vacation home rental agencies to assist in spreading the word.

Sunday evening, May 6, some visitors had to remain on both sides of the route when operations were suspended due to the unsafe conditions. “Getting people where they need to go safely is our top priority and we want to get the word out that conditions at the inlet can change in an instant,” Thomas said.

It’s Fan Photo Friday!

Thank you to Charles B. Richardson for submitting this beautiful rainbow over Salvo on Hatteras Island accompanied by a very touching story. How could we choose another photo over this one?

“For a number of years our entire family has vacationed at OBX. The picture shown here is the first year after my Mother-in-Law Kathy passed away. She loved rainbows and our first day there we got a double rainbow. It showed us that even though she wasn’t with us that year, she really was.” - Charles B. Richardson

What a great idea!! Wouldn’t you like to sit on the deck of that Hatteras Island vacation home with some friends and be able to see the ocean from any direction you look? We would!!

Thank you Liz House Garcia for submitting this photo on our Facebook page.

Did you know that Hatteras Island played a role in the Civil War? Find out about our contribution during the FLAGS OVER HATTERAS Sesquicentennial Event April 26th – April 29th , 2012. There will be nationally known authors and historians speaking each evening along with living history events and historical exhibits at the Graveyard of the Atlantic museum. If you won’t be here during the event this week, the artifacts will be on exhibit at the museum through the end of July.

Three nationally known authors and historians: James McPherson, Ed Bearss and Craig Symonds
April 26, 27, 28

Each evening one of them will give their talk following dinner (included in registration fee) at the Hatteras Village Civic Center in Hatteras.

Attendance is open to the general public by registration only and is limited to 175 attendees on a ‘first come -first serve’ basis. The registration fee is $175 which includes 3 dinners, 3 nationally known speakers, refreshments, additional speakers and power point presentations, Civil War exhibits, collections, ‘Living History’ programs, Civil War music and ‘Monument Dedication’.

Additional speakers include:
Dr. Patricia Click (professor at the University Of Virginia), Harold (Harri) Jones, (Curator of the African American Civil War Memorial & Museum) KaeLi Schurr (Curator of the Outer Banks History Center), Joseph Schwarzer (Director of the N.C. Maritime Museums), Col. Gary Riggs, (CSA Medical Authority), Drew Pullen (local historian), Danny Couch (local historian), Gerald Roxbury (Civil War Confederate cutlasses authority) and Lee Oxford (historian and authority on “The Capture of the Fanny” and “The Chicamacomico Affair”).

Civil War Historical Marker Unveiling and Dedication: April 26 at 4 p.m. at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras

The Flagship USS Minnesota and the Hotel De Afrique will be recognized with the unveiling of a Dare County Heritage Trail / North Carolina Bugle Trails Marker in honor of the leadership, actions, and results during and after seven U.S. Navy warships bombarded Forts Hatteras and Clark, August 28 -29, 1861.

The dedication recalls the USS Minnesota was the flagship for the Atlantic Blockade Squadron commanded by Flag Officer Silas H. Stringham. Using Stringham’s innovative maneuver of having his ships sail in single file oval formation the fleet rained down several thousands of shells. Seven African American sailors who were mustered into service in Boston, Mass. manned the forward gun on the USS Minnesota during this engagement. This was the first time the U.S. Navy employed this tactic.

Dedication will include Ken Howard, Director, N.C. History Museums, LT Jason Rochester, Chaplain USN Elizabeth City/Sector NC, Superintendent Michael Murray, National Park Service, Outer Banks Group, Captain Anthony Popiel, USCG Sector Commander North Carolina, Allen Burrus, Dare County Commissioner, Lee Nettles, Managing Director Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Skipper Hines, President of the Outer Banks Community Foundation, Danny Couch. Chairman of the Friends of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Dave Alberg, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Harry (Hari) Jones, Curator of the African American Civil War Memorial & Museum, Mel Covey, Dare County Heritage Trail and Flags Over Hatteras Committee, and Johnnie Baum, The Hatteras Island Poet will speak briefly.

Placement of wreaths will include a US Coast Guard Color Guard from USCG Sector Cape Hatteras and Bernie Siler, Historian and re-enactor with the 54th Massachusetts. The public is encouraged to attend.

Living History Programs: April 28 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., April 29 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Re-enactors will present artillery demonstrations, encampments, drills and period music. In addition, a civil war era ladies fashion show will be presented as well as a Civil War era battery forge.

All programs are free of charge and are open to the public. A schedule of programs will be provided.

Ole’ Time Civil War Auction: April 28 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. at the Hatteras Village Civic Center in Hatteras

Come early to get your bid number and a front row seat. Donations of any and all auction items are welcome. They do not need to have anything to do with the Civil War. Items already on the auction block for lucky bidders to win range from rental cottage discounts to many other exciting items. Click here for a list of the auction items

All proceeds will go to the Friends of the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum to defray any costs of Flags Over Hatteras activities and the remaining or all will go towards the “Help Us Save the USS Monticello Ensign” Civil War flag restoration project.

Civil War Exhibit: Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras

“War Comes to Hatteras” Exhibit is open at The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, 59200 Museum Dr., Hatteras, NC. This special exhibit is open to the public, free of charge, in connection with the “Flags Over Hatteras” Conference (a ticketed event) and related events. Non-ticketed public will be subject to museum admission.

Exhibit open through July 31, 2012
Museum Hours: April - October
Monday - Saturday 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
November - March
Monday - Friday 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

This exhibit will feature items and documents related to Eastern North Carolina activities and actions during 1861. The exhibit is focused around the Battle of Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark, Aug. 28-29,1861 and will also explore “The Capture of the Fanny” and “The Chicamacomico Races” in October of the same year.

Hatteras Island and the Outer Banks have played a role in many history-making events, but this one might surprise you. Did you know that the first received and recorded distress message sent by the Titanic was received at the Hatteras Weather Bureau Station?

“CQD”, meaning “Come Quickly Distressed” (this was the code used prior to “SOS”), was the telegraph message sent by the RMS Titanic and received in Hatteras Village at 11:25pm on the night of April 14, 1912. Further details in the message included “Have struck iceberg”.

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the log page recording of the telegraph message will be displayed for the first time at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras Village. The log page had been discovered in the walls of the weather station during the building’s renovation in 2005. The building is now being used by the park service and the Outer Banks Visitor’s Bureau as a welcome center.

The log page along with other related items will be on display from April 14 to May 31. For more information about the exhibit, click here to visit the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum’s website.

The magnificent beauty of Hatteras Island is the pot of gold at the end of this beautiful rainbow!

Picture submitted on Facebook by Danielle Hale Flatt