THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408260233
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY CHRIS KIDDER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 140 lines
WITHOUT WATER, the Outer Banks and the nearby mainland are nothing.
Endless ocean edged in sand dunes, shallow sounds fringed with salt marsh, shady creeks leading nowhere, blackwater lakes and short, sprawling rivers define work, play and life itself.
Water draws you to its shores. Water invites you to sail over its silver waves, slip into its blue depths or silently skim its surface like a seabird. You can call on the wind to push you along its fluid course or you can mount rowdy machines that run against its tide.
Or, you can paddle your way along unfamiliar shores where the sounds of men and machines make muffled music with the rock-a-bye beat of the water slapping time on your hull.
Whether you choose a canoe or kayak, paddling gives you a chance to see the Outer Banks and its waterways from a new perspective: up close, down low, within paddles' reach.
Paddling has become the hottest water sport since windsurfing. With no fuel to foul the estuaries, no noise to frighten wildlife, kayaks and canoes are environment-friendly craft that combine sport, adventure or leisurely sightseeing.
Paddling can be as easy or as strenuous as you wish, and almost anyone can do it. No great strength or special skills are required, although beginners will probably have a few sore muscles after an hour or two of easy paddling.
With just a few minutes of instruction, paddlers from young to old can be safely on the water, captains of their own ships.
Kayaks are particularly popular. They're being used on whitewater rivers, in ocean surf, for touring inland waterways and at sea. In experienced hands, kayaks can travel deep water as well as shallow, calm seas or rough, in any season, any weather.
Kayaks today bear only slight resemblance to the kayaks built for centuries by the Alaskan Aleuts and Inuits. While enclosed kayaks - the traditional cockpit style - are still preferred for touring because of their comfort, cargo capacity and maneuverability, a new sit-on-top-style kayak is favored for local use.
These new kayaks, molded in plastic, are typically 7 to 10 feet long, several feet shorter than the cockpit models. The distinctive two-bladed paddle and a flotation jacket are the only equipment needed.
Kayaks have always been deceptively stable. The sit-on-tops are even more so. Inexperienced paddlers fret over being caught in an overturned cockpit-style kayak, but when a sit-on-top kayak capsizes, you simply climb back on board.
Outer Banks sounds and mainland waterways favor beginning paddlers. Much of the water is less than 4 feet deep. There are numerous protected bays, creeks and canals, perfect for exploring while you learn.
The advanced paddler will be challenged by the breadth of the territory. There are hundreds of miles of estuarine coastline.
Hatteras Island's soundside shore lies within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore or the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. There are numerous launch sites that put the paddler out on the water and truly alone with nature.
Exploring the shores' many islets and creeks will put you in close contact with sea and shore birds and all the wonders of the salt marsh. It's the ocean's nursery, teeming with tiny life.
At Nags Head, paddlers find ambience as urban as Outer Banks waters get. You're within sight of causeway traffic traveling the two miles to Roanoke Island; homes and businesses line the shore.
The conversations of golfers at Nags Head Links carry across the water. Sportsfishing boats parade back and forth between Manteo's marinas and Oregon Inlet through the west-side channel.
But even surrounded with all that activity, the waters at Nags Head provide some special glimpses of nature. The soundside is dotted with small, undeveloped islands. The shore is an intricate maze of marsh. Jockey's Ridge looms large, reflecting a golden light across the water.
Light and water create a changing panorama for paddlers at Duck and Pine Island. The Currituck Sound is moody. The mainland can lie brightly across its water - every house, every tree, perfectly focused through some unseen spyglass that draws shorelines closer than nature intended.
On other days, there's nothing. Water merges into sky in a milky haze of moist air, making the four-mile crossing look like you're paddling off the edge of the world.
At Pine Island, says Wendy Garpow, director of eco-tourism for Kitty Hawk Kites, ``When the wind's just right, you can hear the ocean.''
Each soundside site is different, Garpow says. ``The salinity of the sound changes, so there are completely different ecosystems.''
Oceanside, thrill-seekers can ride kayaks through waves like surfboards. They can paddle beyond the breakers, hoping to find themselves in the midst of dolphins who include intruders in their play.
Paddling doesn't have to be a solitary sport. Canoe and kayak tours are offered up and down the Outer Banks. Tours run from two hours to full days. Costs range from $30 to $100 per person, including equipment and ground school instruction on how to steer and stay afloat.
``Families get a real kick out of going as a group,'' Garpow says. ``They leave the Outer Banks with a memorable experience, and they've learned something about the area.'' MEMO: Sidebar on page 7.
WHERE TO GO
Kayak and canoe tours and rentals are available from the outfitters
below. Maps of the kayak trails at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge are available from the refuge
headquarters on Route 64/264 in Manteo.
Kitty Hawk Sports offers history tours around Roanoke Island, nature
tours in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and sea kayaking
lessons. Reservations can be made in person at any Kitty Hawk Sports
location or at their WaterSports center, U.S. Route 158, milepost 16,
Nags Head, 441-2756 or 441-6800.
Outer Banks Outdoors (Kitty Hawk Kites) offers kayak tours from six
different locations for its nature tours: Pine Island, Duck, Kitty Hawk
Bay, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Pea Island Wildlife Refuge and
Roanoke Island. Make reservations through Kitty Hawk Kites, U.S. Route
158 at Jockey's Ridge, milepost 13, Nags Head, 441-4124.
Corolla Outback - Guided kayak eco-tours of northern Banks. Rentals.
453-0877 or 453-4484.
North Beach Sailing Center - Kayak and canoe rentals, environmental
tours. N.C. Route 12 at Barrier Island, Duck. 261-7100.
Promenade Water Sports - Kayak and canoe rentals. U.S. Route 158 at
the Wright Memorial Bridge, Kitty Hawk. 261-4900.
The Waterworks - Kayak and canoe rentals. N.C. 12 at Duck Landing,
Duck, 261-SAIL; U.S. Route 158, milepost 16, Nags Head, 441-8875; U.S.
Route 64/264 on the Nags Head-Manteo Causeway, Nags Head, 441-6822.
Wilderness Canoeing - Four-hour guided canoe trips through the
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. 7059 Old Manns Harbor Road,
Manns Harbor. 473-3270.
Hatteras Island Surf Shop - Kayak rentals. N.C. Route 12, south of
Emily's Soundside Restaurant in Waves. 987-2296.
Ride the Wind Surf Shop - Kayak tours. On Silver Lake across from
Community Store. 928-6311. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo on cover by Drew C. Wilson
Paddling along the Outer Banks' many waterways...
Staff photos by DREW C. WILSON
Melvin Twiddy, a canoe guide from Manns Harborm leads a party of
canoers through a canal on the Dare County mainland.
Guide Melvin Twiddy leads a trip through Sawyer's Lake at the
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.
by CNB