We went
over to Cape Lookout on Oct. 24th just as Hurricane Sandy
was coming ashore in Cuba.
The Sound was slick cam and the beach on the east side was
the prettiest I've ever seen it.
One pretty hole after another and tons of sand fleas on the
beach. Looking to the west on the afternoon of the 25th we
noticed ominous Sun Dogs around the sun in late afternoon
which are never a good sign.
A ranger from the park service came by about dark and told
us everyone who wanted off the island should go to the ferry
dock and leave as the ferries would stop running the next
day. I called park headquarters the next morning and got
permission to stay on the island and camp in the old long
term lot down in the village area. I'd stayed there through
many storms and knew we'd be safe as it's located at one of
the widest parts of the island and has several feet of rise
over sea level. Water never came near us from the ocean but
it did creep up the back road from the sound at high tide.
Still the wind was knocked down by the cedars and pines in
that area and we all got a good rest and read a couple good
books while waiting for the storm to pass.
The park service and the Davis Island ferry people called and checked on
us daily through the storm.
We watched the Barometer drop to 29 inches and the wind
topped out about 50 knots.
Super Storm Sandy was no big deal on Lookout, it did leave
behind many unusual sights and a beautiful sunset.
We were
told to stay with our tucks and not leave the lot until the
day before the park was to open, then we were told we could
walk. So, Tom and I and Big Dog walked out to the cape three
miles away. The beach had been swept clean and allot of
shells had been thrown up on the beach, also a lot of
Studebakers, Nashs, Desotos and Packereds and other junk had
been uncovered on the beach. Don't forget almost all the
dunes on Cape Lookout are man made and most have old junk
cars as a foundation.
When the Ferries started running again on Nov. 1st we were
allowed to drive again, there were lot's of small puppies at
the Jetty which was the only side of the beach you could
fish, little did we know, it was going to stay that way the
rest of the month.
On Nov. 5th the wind laid down to only N15-20 and our crew
had a great day on the West beach with
false albacore catching 14 in only a couple hours.
On the 8 & 9th the wind once again laid down to N 15-20 and
we had a couple great days with speckle trout, unlike most
years when the first to show are small then they get bigger,
this year was just the opposite.
As always it was a great time even if it did blow more than
I can ever remember, during the 28 days we were there it
blew over 20 knots 21 days. Still great friends like Ragman
bringing his awesome Sushi spread for the gang
and others who fished with us made it a great and
unforgettable trip.
Here are
a few of those sights you can only find on a wild island
like Cape Lookout.
Here is what the East beach looked like as we drove north to
Great Island Camp to head
home which is very much what it looked like after Isabel and
Irene.
Hopefully with a calm winter and summer it will build back
and those beautiful holes, bars and slews will be there
again next spring.
Thanks
again to the NPS, the Davis Island Ferry service, and Tom
for making all this possible.
Tiderunner
(Thanks to TR for letting us post/host his story here!! tom@dw)
