e x c u r s i o n s We like to go by kayak, and attach small bright ACR lights to the bow and stern of our boats. In addition, we wear headlamps, which, when the water’s calm, can illuminate the life below. If it’s shallow enough, you’ll see fish, diamondback terrapin, horseshoe crab, and moon snail. One favorite trip of ours is to visit the island on the full moon. We’ll launch from Trail’s End Park on the flood tide, just a bit before sunset, then cross the Intracoastal Waterway and paddle through the marsh. The birds are often out at this time, and red-winged blackbird, blue heron and great egret are a common sight. Occasionally, we’ll spy tricolor and green heron. We’ll take a picnic and, if we’ve paid attention to the times of the sunset and the moonrise, we can watch the sun sink in a pink haze over Wilmington and then turn to watch the moon rises from the ocean and slowly ascend through the clouds. Often, there’s not another person in sight. However, sometimes visitors see the turtles that nest or hatch on the island. Most of the nesting turtles are loggerheads, but hawksbill, Kemp’s Ridley, and leatherback have also been known to visit. The island is also rife with red fox and raccoon, and they prey on the nesting shorebirds. There’s also the chance, if conditions are right, of seeing phosphorescent plankton in the water behind the island. The passage of a boat or a paddle in the water will cause the water to emit a cool blue-green shimmer. The return trip is lovely. The air has cooled, but the water is black and glassy, and waves of warmth radiate upward. The moon shines a path on the water, through the spartina. I find my hearing sharpens. Mullet, unseen, startle me, as they leap from the water. Blue heron bark their strange grok from the marsh. Then, in the distance, the lights of Wilmington shine again. I see the dock, and we wait for several boats to make their way up the Intracoastal Waterway before we make our crossing back to shore. Soon, the nip of fall will arrive. The days will be clearer and more habitable,
and the whine of the air-conditioners will cease. I’ll welcome them, but I’ll miss the velvet water and sky and the quiet splendors of our summer nights. b Virginia Holman teaches creative writing at UNC Wilmington, and kayaks the ocean, rivers and flatwater year-round.
Want to visit Masonboro at night? Kayak Outfitters: Watersmith Kayaking: www.watersmithkayaking.com Kayak Carolina: www.kayakcarolina.com Mahanaim Adventures: mahanaimadventures.com By Boat Wrightsville Beach Scenic Tours: www.wrightsvillebeachscenictours.com Masonboro Water Taxi: www.masonborowatertaxi.com Interested in volunteering to help the turtles? North Carolina Coastal Reserve: www.nccoastalreserve.net/stewardship/8.aspx Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project www.seaturtleproject.org/volunteer.html
Your community bookstore. Carefully selected popular and uncommon titles for readers of all ages. Cards, gifts, and more.
4418 Park Ave. Wilmington, NC 28403 (910) 452-1107 pombooks.net
Resources for a fruitful life. 36
Salt • September 2013
The Art & Soul of Wilmington