A week on the water Cape Lookout Seashore to Ocracoke

May 12 - 17, I instructed the Outward Bound Sea Kayak Staff Training along the Cape Lookout National Seashore.  Nine instructors participated in the training designed to reintroduce our staff to the course area after a three year hiatus.  The courses  offered by NCOBS are 7 to 14 days long and typically start south at Shackleford Banks and travel northward alone the Core Banks.  The 14 day courses have the option of crossing to Ocracoke and take the ferry back to Cedar Island.  On the training, we only had 6 days to review the area so we launched from Sea Level, NC; crossed Core Sound to South Core Banks; paddled northward to Ocracoke; and caught the ferry back to the mainland.

These islands are strips of sand exposed to the open ocean.  Inlets and shorelines are constantly changing with hurricanes and northeasters capable of causing dramatic, nearly instant geographic alteration. 

Since my last visit to the area the two Drum Inlets have closed. Opheila Inlet is now the only inlet between Cape Lookout and Portsmouth.  Here is a link to a website that tracks the changes to the inlets of the Core Banks since 2005.


Thanks to all the staff that participated in the training.  I enjoyed our week exploring the 'Banks.