North Beach Sun Holiday 2017

holiday 2017

the lost fishing gear recovery project benefits all making music with ruth wyand and chris creighton

for these local wine experts, a lot of work goes into helping people enjoy themselves

volume 123

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2014 2015

2016

Why is Big Buck’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop’s chocolate at the top of everyone’s Christmas list?

To everyone who stopped in for an ice cream sundae, cappucci no or a piece of our homemade chocolate, I’d like to say a gre at, big THANK YOU!

It’s delicious…obviously!

It’s homemade daily right here on the Outer Banks by Europeantrained chocolatiers!

It’s a local gift that you can pick up at any one of their four Outer Banks locations!

It’s been an amazing year—fill ed with wonderful customers an d happy memories—and it’s no t over yet. The holidays are up on us, and that means I’ll be bu sier than ever making chocolatecovered Oreos, creamy pepper mint patties, caramel marshmallow s and other delicious goodies.

Thank you for making Big Bu ck’s a part of your holiday tradit ion!

It’s a gift that people of all ages love getting!

It’s available online to ship anywhere!

Happy holidays! der pre-or te a l o c o h c he t r o f s holiday

Belinda

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holiday EVENTS CALENDAR

arts & entertainment 10 partners: a musical labor of love story

He makes the guitars, she plays them 12 putting the pieces together

Metalsmith and artist Cammie Hall

lifestyle 14 b.s. in parenting

The school of hard knocks

food & beverage 19 amanda's kitchen

I dip, you dip, we dip 20 pasture to plate

These cows take recycling to a new level 23 in every sense

Sommeliers of the Outer Banks

outdoors 28 setting sail

Locals prepare for their winter voyages

community

30 a jaw dropping affair

An unlikely way to learn about wildlife health

16 clearing the waters

The Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project

32 shore science

Plants of prey

18 the storyteller's tale

The beloved Miss Donna

everything else under the sun

REAL ESTATE

34 harsh conditions

The crazy legacy of some Outer Banks storms

about the cover: Sharon Huttemann, TRiO's resident sommelier, studies the aroma of a wine during a blind tasting at Sanctuary Vineyards in Jarvisburg. Photo by Brooke Mayo Photographers. this page: Photos clockwise from top left by Ryan Moser, Rich Coleman, Brooke Mayo Photographers and Lori Douglas Photography.

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NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

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Publishers Adam & Cathy Baldwin EDITOR Amelia Boldaji Art Director Dave Rollins Graphic Design Adam Baldwin Dylan Bush

Writers Cathy Baldwin Amelia Boldaji Dawn Church Lindsey Beasley Dianna Catherine Kozak Fran Marler Laura Martier Amanda McDanel Arabella Saunders Abby Stewart

Photography Rich Coleman Lori Douglas Photography Cory Godwin Productions Brooke Mayo Photographers Ryan Moser Outer Banks History Center K. Wilkins Photography Sales Manager Helen Furr Account Executives Sue Goodrich Tori Peters Distribution Bob & Glen Baldwin

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From the Publisher If there’s one word I over-use when I’m talking to (yelling at?) my kids it’s hustle. As in, “Hustle up! We’re late for _____

[insert sporting event/school function/you name it]!”

Hustle: It’s a word that perfectly sums up summers on the Outer Banks. Everyone’s on the go-go-go all the time — working overtime from sun up to sundown, racing through traffic, speeding through the season. It’s exhausting. I’m exhausted.

So when the shoulder season rolls into the winter, I – for one – am ready for an end to the hustle. Winter gives us a much-needed reprieve from summer’s frenetic pace, but it isn’t just a time to hibernate. Winter’s a time to regroup and take stock of what we’ve done, how far we’ve come, and — perhaps, most importantly — where we’d like to go.

In the practical sense, winter is the time to clean, to take stock, and to prepare for the next busy season. This issue, we delve into the stories of a number of Outer Bankers who are making the most of this “down” time. We met with four local sommeliers who plan to spend their winter sipping, studying and testing one another’s wine acumen; we took a trip out to a nearby cattle farm with the folks from the Outer Banks Brewing Station who have started a collaborative pilot project with a Hertford farmer to raise cows fed on spent grain from their beer in order to offer honest-to-goodness pasture to plate menu items; we set sail with two local couples as they prepare, pack and gear up for their wintertime sailing journeys; and we got all the details on the Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project – now in its fifth year, the project is a joint effort between the North Carolina Coastal Federation and local watermen as they work together to clean up our area’s waterways for the coming season.

We may look like a sleepy town during the winter to outsiders, but the truth is we’re really just shifting gears out of hustle mode and into a more introspective mindset. Here at the North Beach Sun, we’ve got a few new things in the works, too. The magazine turned 30 this year, a milestone that we’re particularly proud of and grateful for in this digital age. We have some exciting changes on the horizon to kick off our fourth decade – but you’ll have to wait until the Spring 2018 issue drops in March to see what they are!

Enjoy this winter, my friends, and all the opportunities to reflect, rejuvenate and reinvent that the season holds.

Happy holidays!

-Cathy Baldwin

spreads Christmas cheer to the good children of the Outer Banks during the holiday season.

Photo courtesy of the Town of Duck.

Another Notable First Every December 17, Outer Bankers faithfully mark the historic moment that the Wright Brothers took the world’s first powered flight back in 1903.

Orville and Wilbur changed the world with their remarkable achievement, which in turn earned the Outer Banks the moniker “First in Flight.” But flight wasn’t the Outer Banks’ only notable “first.” In fact, in 1902, one year before the Wright Brothers revolutionized travel as we know it, the inventor Reginald Fessenden was making history on Roanoke Island – by broadcasting the first clear and understandable wireless voice transmission.

1900: Wooed by the U.S. Weather Bureau with an impressive salary and the promise of financial support for his research, Thomas Edison’s one-time chief chemist, Reginald Fessenden, and his family relocated to the Outer Banks.

1901: Fessenden helped establish three towers for his field experiments: one on the northwestern edge of Roanoke Island, one on Hatteras Island in the village of Buxton and a third in Cape Henry, Virginia.

1902: Fessenden broadcasted the first clear wireless voice transmission. Shortly thereafter, he transmitted the first musical notes ever from Hatteras Island to Roanoke Island using wireless radio waves.

1906, Christmas Eve: A few short years after completing his experiments on the Outer Banks, Fessenden transmitted the first ever radio entertainment broadcast, which was a live recording of him playing “O Holy Night” on the violin and reading Bible passages. The broadcast could be clearly heard up and down the Eastern Seaboard, as well as by ships out in the Atlantic Ocean.

By the time of his death in 1932, Fessenden had acquired hundreds of patents – some of which led to the inventions of the AM radio, sonar, the radio pager, the television receiver, the aircraft radio altimeter and more. This prolific inventor – “The Father of Modern Radio,” as he is often called – changed our world in more ways than most realize, and it all started right here, just a few miles away from two brothers and their flying machine.

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events calendar winter

29th Annual Outer Banks Hotline Festival of Trees December 1 – 2

2017-2018

Tipsy Turkey 1-Mile Beer Run November 22

Kick off the holiday break at this Thanksgiving-themed beer mile that starts and ends at the Outer Banks Brewing Station. theobxrunningcompany.com Thanksgiving Day 5K November 23

Begin Thanksgiving Day with a 5K at Historic Whalehead in the shadow of the Currituck Lighthouse. theobxrunningcompany.com 22nd Annual Advice 5K Turkey Trot November 23

Start your Thanksgiving off by burning calories in the annual 5K Turkey Trot in Duck. Proceeds go toward the Advice 5K Turkey Trot Charitable Endowment. advice5kturkeytrot.com Outer Banks Running Club Gobbler 5K & Fun Run November 23

The Gobbler 5K takes runners on a course through the Village of Nags Head on Thanksgiving morning. outerbanksrunningclub.org Hangin’ with Santa & Kites with Lights November 24 – 25

Take the kids by Kitty Hawk Kites across from Jockey’s Ridge in Nags Head on Friday or Saturday for a visit and pictures with Saint Nick.

And while you’re there, watch the night sky light up as enormous kites with festive lights soar above Jockey’s Ridge. kittyhawk.com 8

WinterLights Presented by Southern Bank November 24 – January 20 (select dates)

Stroll through an illuminated winter wonderland at The Elizabethan Gardens this holiday season. Check their website for dates and times.

The Grand Illumination happens on November 24. elizabethangardens.org Pictures with Santa November 25; December 2, 9, 16

Bring a camera to The Cottage Shop in Duck or Nags Head to catch sweet snaps of Santa and your kids. cottageshop.com The Big Curri-shuck November 25

Enjoy all-you-can-eat local steamed oysters from I Got Your Crabs restaurant, bar-b-que, local wine and live music from 12-5 p.m. at Sanctuary Vineyards in Jarvisburg. sanctuaryvineyards.com First Friday December 1

Downtown Manteo comes alive on the first Friday of each month from April through December from 6 to 8 p.m.

Manteo Christmas Celebrations December 1 – 2

Watch the Grand Illumination in front of the historic Manteo courthouse during First Friday, and then enjoy the Christmas parade through downtown Manteo on Saturday. townofmanteo.com

NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

This multi-day event at the Ramada in Kill Devil Hills includes a visit with Santa, activities for children, a holiday social and an auction of donated and decorated Christmas trees. The Festival of Trees is a fundraiser for Outer Banks Hotline, a local nonprofit organization that aids victims of domestic and sexual abuse. obxfestivaloftrees.com

13th Annual Holiday Tour of Homes December 2

This home tour put on by the Manteo Preservation Trust begins at Outer Banks Distilling on Budleigh Street.

252-473-7336 Duck’s Yuletide Celebration December 2

Enjoy live music from Just Playin’ Dixieland and carols from the First Flight High School choir while waiting for Santa to arrive via fire truck and light the town’s Crab Pot Tree on the Duck Town Green. townofduck.com Holiday Feast & WinterLights Combo December 2

Tour the festive WinterLights and enjoy a delicious holiday feast at The Elizabethan Gardens. elizabethangardens.org 4th Annual Beach Food Pantry Holiday Chefs' Challenge December 8

Top local chefs compete against each other to raise money for the Beach Food Pantry. Enjoy an evening of delicious food, live music, silent auction, raffles and more at Duck Woods Country Club. beachfoodpantry.org Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival December 8 – 10

This encore session of the Wings Over Water Festival focuses primarily on migratory birds and waterfowl. wingsoverwater.org

5th Annual Outer Banks Festivus Road Race 5K/10K, Jingle Jog 1 Mile & The Little Elf ¼ Mile December 9

The OBX Running Company hosts this oceanside run through Southern Shores that includes a morning photo op with Santa. theobxrunningcompany.com Free Fall Saturday Red Wolf Howling December 9

Meet at the Creef Cut Wildlife Trail on the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge to hear red wolves in the only place in the world where they still exist in the wild.

(252) 216-9464 St. Nicholas Arrives at Island Farm December 10

St. Nicholas arrives by ox-drawn wagon to visit and take pictures with children at the farmhouse. theislandfarm.com Dinner with Santa December 16

Join Santa himself for a meal and a tour of WinterLights at The Elizabethan Gardens elizabethangardens.org 114th Annual Celebration of the Wright Brothers First Flight December 17

This milestone will be celebrated at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, the same place the very first flight occurred. firstflight.org New Year in the New World December 31

Ring in the New Year with the biggest firework display in the state—and it's choreographed to music! Enjoy live music, a children's early ball drop and a night of fun in festive downtown Manteo. newyearnewworld.com 2018 Wedding Weekend & Expo January 13 – 14

Meet local wedding professionals, take a tour of venues and restaurants and register to win wedding giveaways, including the chance to win a Dream Wedding at this two-day expo at First Flight High School. obxwa.com Frank Stick Memorial Art Show January 27 – February 23

Local art, ranging from conceptual to realistic, will be on display for public view at this month-long show at the Dare County Arts Council in Manteo.

252-473-5558

Avner the Eccentric January 27

Enjoy an evening with awardwinning Avner the Eccentric, hailed as one of the greatest clowns of all time, who has traveled around the world performing on television and Broadway. outerbanksforum.org Light 2 Light 50 February 3

This 50-mile road race begins at the Currituck Lighthouse and takes runners to Bodie Island Lighthouse, before finishing at Jennette's Pier. outerbanksrunningclub.org March of Dimes Signature Chef’s Auction February 17

Top local chefs compete and offer live auction packages in this black tie optional fundraiser for the March of Dimes at Jennette’s Pier. marchofdimes.org Emile Pandolfi with Dana Russell February 17

Savor the sophisticated sounds of pianist Emile Pandolfi and vocalist Dana Russell as they bring their show full of beautiful ballads and sumptuous medleys to the Outer Banks. outerbanksforum.org Outer Banks Wedding Meet & Greet March 10

Sanderling Resort hosts this wedding meet and greet for brides and local wedding vendors. sanderling-resort.com The Young Irelanders March 10

Relish the sounds of The Young Irelanders, a sensational act of young performers who are world and Irish national champions in music, song and dance. outerbanksforum.org 29th Annual Kelly’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 18

Take part in the largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the state, complete with floats, marching bands and live music. kellysrestaurant.com OBX Taste of the Beach March 22 – 25

This four-day event sponsored by the Dare County Restaurant Association features more than 60 events, inlcuding tapas crawls, wine tastings, cook-offs, brewery tours and much more. The website will begin posting events on December 1. obxtasteofthebeach.com

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Arts & Entertainment

partners a musical labor of love story

Photos by Rich Coleman Story by Lindsey Beasley Dianna

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NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

Ruth Wyand and Chris Creighton have been redefining the meaning of “making music together” in a unique fashion since they met 35 – no, 37 years ago.

“I don’t know, 1980? It feels like a hundred years,” Ruth laughs as the couple indulges in some playful banter while they try to calculate exactly how long they’ve been together. For them, the passage of time is marked not by years and numbers, but by periods of their lives when they reached milestones in terms of honing their crafts – which are conveniently intertwined.

If you’re at all familiar with the Outer Banks music scene in particular, or the blues music scene in general, chances are this isn’t the first time you’re reading about Ruth Wyand.

According to her, she’s been playing guitar and writing songs since…well, forever.

“Twelve, maybe? No, elementary school, maybe 40-something years ago,” Ruth says reflectively. “I guess I’ve just always played. Guitar was always, always major for me.“ Now a singer/songwriter blues guitarist (and all-around badass), Ruth didn’t start singing until she was in high school – and it was with a reluctance that’s hard to imagine if you’ve ever seen her perform. When her high school band’s singer didn’t show up for a paying gig, she already knew all the lyrics to the Fleetwood Mac and Allman Brothers tunes they were going to play. “I guess I started singing because I wanted my thirty dollars,” she recalls with a laugh.

From there, she started to tour while she was in college, and by 1999 she was touring England, France, Canada, Bermuda, New Zealand, Mexico, Kuwait, and, of course, throughout the United States. She started teaching 10 years ago, and she now shares her talent with an ease and depth only a seasoned professional could for audiences, fellow musicians, and students alike.

Ruth’s husband, Chris Creighton, has been building and restoring guitars for 30 years now – and he was first inspired to learn the craft because Ruth’s guitars were always breaking. When Ruth brought home pieces of a 1936 Dobro guitar in a bag in the early ‘80s, he taught himself how to reconstruct it and toiled over it assiduously, piece by piece. He has rebuilt many guitars for her since then, but the first Chris Creighton original she played was a Baritone Telecaster he crafted about eight years ago.

Overall, he feels fortunate to have the space to continue to grow and learn, and to that end they’ve slowly converted the downstairs of their home into Chris’ workspace. “When you have your own studio, you can make plenty of mistakes and have the room to figure them out,” he chuckles. The internet, he marvels, has also been an invaluable resource in learning how to develop the works of art he now cranks out

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only a musician knows: The way a fingerboard feels, carving the body of guitar to match the hip area, designing so that the arm comes in comfortably at the top of the guitar.

“I could copy another person’s ideas, but it’s so much better to put it in Ruth’s hands and ask her to tell me how it feels,” Chris says. “I’m not blowing smoke when I say that I couldn’t do what I do without Ruth.”

It’s clear that he loves his work, saying it’s a rush to see and watch his instruments being played.

“The process of putting together parts that equal something greater than their sum – that’s the reward,” he adds. “It’s those kind of things that make us human.”

Hearing Ruth create incredible tunes on Chris’ beautifully handcrafted instruments, one can’t help but notice that these two extraordinary humans were made for each other – and they’re living their dreams through a labor of love.

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But Chris doesn’t play guitar or any of the other instruments he gives life to. It’s unusual, he says, but then again, Leo Fender didn’t play either. Wearing many hats, Chris also works for the post office, and he does all the engineering work on Ruth’s albums.

He’s even been a stagehand, receiving lots of “on the job training,” as he puts it.

A supporter of renewable resources, he likes using reclaimed materials whenever possible as long it doesn’t detract from the playability of the instrument. He also looks for woods like rosewood that make for “natural eye candy.” (Always quick on the draw, Ruth quips that we’re talking about the wood, and not her husband.)

His favorite completed project is often his latest, which he says is true of pretty much anyone who creates anything. In terms of the ones Ruth plays, his favorite is a 1963 Fender Mustang that he brought back to life after about eight years of searching for all the correct parts to rebuild it authentically – down to the very last piece of hardware. He seems a bit surprised to hear that her favorite pieces of his to play include a six-string cigar box guitar, a Baritone Telecaster, and her all-time favorite, a Melody Maker.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's a lot of crossover in their work together. He does sound for many of her events, and she helps with the tactile elements

Top left: Ruth Wyand and Chris Creighton "make music together" as they hold two of Chris' original pieces: a Melody Maker and a Baritone Telecaster. Above, top to bottom: The six-string cigar box guitar that Chris made for Ruth (used for bottleneck slide playing), and an in-process restoration of an old Gibson Chris is currently working on called "The Paul."

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Arts & Entertainment

Putting the Pieces Together Photos by Lori Douglas Photography Story by Laura Martier

Metalsmith and jewelry artist Cammie Hall loves everything dark. Fossils, bones and skulls play predominate-

ly in her work that she crafts in her home studio in Kitty Hawk – the area where she was born and raised, and is now raising a daughter of her own.

The studio, in a loft above her living space, is open to the room below, but it feels cavelike and cozy. There are skulls on the walls (both real and fabricated) that share space with certificates and art awards, paintings done by her daughter, Tara, and an African fertility mask. A collection of Ann Rice and Stephen King books snuggle with cookbooks and art tomes on a corner shelf next to a quiver of guitars and an overstuffed, pillow-strewn couch. Three worktables are laden with tools, torches, scraps of metal, stones, wire and works-in-progress. It is ordered chaos.

Cammie entered the College of the Albemarle’s (COA) professional jewelry making program in 2007 in order to work under associate professor and world-renowned metalworker, Kathryn Osgood. After eight years of fitting in classes and homework projects while raising Tara, working full-time in restaurants and assisting Osgood in the lab, Cammie graduated.

Since then Cammie’s goal has been to focus on making her living solely from her craft, 12

NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

and over the past few years she has built her inventory, invested in completely outfitting her studio, started a website for online sales and quit her restaurant job – and she is now fulfilling her dream of being a full-time artist.

Cammie describes her work as being inspired by the Victorian era and the sci-fi steampunk-style genre – with a dash of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Her favorite pieces are substantial and sculptural. She incorporates unusual materials such as fossils, petrified bones, arrowheads, river stones and small skulls. Some of her chunky chains hold silver antlers that have been etched or intricately carved into, inset with turquoise and fossilized coral. Elements of nature and a life spent by the sea are reflected in a seahorse pendant, starfish and octopus earrings, and pendants of moons and stars.

A recipient of many awards over the years, Cammie recently won a merit award at the New World Festival of the Arts this past summer – a recognition that was only given to six out of 80 participating artists – and she’s currently working on a series of “mock Victorian” mixed-metal and mixed-media pieces to submit to next year’s Saul Bell Design Award, an international competition for jewelry makers and designers.

Collaboration is also a big part of Cammie’s work ethic, and friends and fellow jewelry makers frequently visit to work with her tools. “If they don't have the equipment they need in their own studios,” Cammie says, “they know they can come over here.”

Cammie models some of her jewelry (far left). Some of her favorite pieces to work on are sculptural, such as this small caged heart and mounted skull, among others (bottom left).

From cuff bracelets (above) to pendants (below right), Cammie's jewelry tends to feature fluid, natureinspired subjects and some often intricate metalwork.

There are about 10 other graduates from the COA program who continue to work together whenever they can. They all have a deep respect for each other’s work and are careful not to duplicate each other. “We keep healthy boundaries,” Cammie says. “A lot of us went to school together, but we all have very different approaches.”

Cammie and her fellow artisans bring those different approaches together as often as possible, creating local art shows to promote each other’s work and often meeting to discuss the best ways to get their art out there. The local shops here have been incredibly supportive as well, and many of them carry a large variety of local jewelry. “Locals are some of my best clients,” Cammie adds. “People want to buy local. They want to see you go far.”

In her mind, all of this creates a climate that encourages a more direct relationship between local makers and the people who purchase their work. Buyers not only become the owners of a unique, one-of-a-kind piece of art, but their patronage also becomes the reason why a young, dynamic entrepreneur like Cammie Hall is able to support herself and her daughter – and continue to pursue her dreams, both now and well into the future.

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13

b.s. in parenting

The School of Hard Knocks

By Lindsey Beasley Dianna

I was in the third grade the first time a teacher called my mother in for a conference to discuss my organizational skills, or lack thereof.

I can’t imagine that my kindergarten through second grade “skills” in this department were that great, but apparently somebody, somewhere, decided that the ripe old age of eight was the official year that organization was important.

Being organized was tricky before I became an adult. Now, with three kids in two different schools, there is just no way in hell we are getting through an entire week without something falling through the cracks.

So far this year I’ve been thrown under the proverbial school bus in countless ways. The first month of school was pure chaos and trial by fire; two hurricanes closed school, canceling what would have been, in my fantasies, a massive gathering of parents with cocktails, child-free beaches and sunshine. I’m still trying to wake up from this dream.

The reality is, it’s nearly impossible to keep track of raffle tickets, school pictures, library books, shoes, lunchboxes, water bottles…not to mention instruments and school-issued Chromebooks, all of which “they” are technically responsible for. But let’s be honest – we are talking about people who still need to be reminded to wipe/flush/wash after using the bathroom, so I would posit that entrusting what equates to thousands of

dollars a year to these little people amounts to what feels like a skillfully designed scam.

(You know how in the movies if someone forgets his wallet and can’t pay for his meal, some benevolent restaurant owner allows them to “work it off” by doing the dishes? Please, make my children do your dishes – or come here and make them do mine!

Better yet, please attach tracking devices to all important items for which they – I mean, WE – are responsible. What’s that, you say? Tracking devices are too expensive? So is lighting a stack of money on fire, but this is essentially what we’re doing when we entrust these things to kids still learning to tie their shoes.)

We send them out the door with food, money, notes, books, pictures, homework and more – but do we follow behind them and make sure all of that isn’t dropped along the way or otherwise forgotten? Of course not, that would be helicopter parenting, right? Clearly that is not I; I’m raising free-thinking, independent children who will learn by doing and making mistakes that their actions (or inactions) have consequences.

That said, I am grateful that people are looking out for my children at school – especially when it comes to lunchtime. I am less than grateful that my kids can look me straight in the eye with an accusatory rant about how I forgot their snack (which is still sitting in the same pocket of their backpack as always), or how I forgot to pack their lunch (when they made the choice to purchase pizza from the cafeteria that day instead of eating what I made).

Not even halfway close to the finish line of this school year, I can only imagine what the rest holds in

store. I have considered penning blanket disclaimers for each child, designed specifically for their ages and their individual propensities – whether that involves feigning innocence over lost lunches or coats or water bottles (you get the picture) – with the hopes of avoiding some unfortunate assumptions.

If everything goes according to plan, we have about twelve years left of this he said/she said nonsense; one giant game of Telephone in which well-intentioned information passes through the sometimes hollow ears of kids. I thank you, teachers, from the bottom of my heart for caring for my children, but also for hopefully understanding that my old-school “learn it the hard way” style of parenting is my attempt to teach them personal responsibility – even if it does sometimes lead to comical results.

Lindsey Beasley Dianna is a full-time mom to three who currently resides in Kitty Hawk. She’d like to be a writer when she grows up.

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community

Clearing the Waters A program to retrieve lost crab pots is proving to be a boon for the environment and watermen alike

By Amelia Boldaji

One of the fishermen involved in the N.C. Coastal Federation's annual Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project searches the local waterways. Photo courtesy of Sara Hallas.

There’s always something going on at the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s northeast office in Wanchese – but on this

particular unseasonably warm fall day, Sara Hallas, one of the federation’s coastal education coordinators, is busy looking months ahead to one of their most ambitious (and relatively new) winter projects.

While not perhaps as widely known among the general public as, say, the federation’s work establishing living shorelines, the Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project is just as important in terms of protecting North Carolina’s waterways – and its roots were firmly established on the Outer Banks.

In a nutshell, the Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project primarily takes place during what’s known as the state-mandated “no-potting” period – a roughly two-week-long stretch of time starting around mid-January when North Carolina’s waterways are closed for crabbing, and therefore, any equipment still found in these waters is deemed lost or unlawfully set and is subsequently subject to removal.

While that might not seem important at face value, the reality is that each commercial waterman can place (on average) between 500 to 1,000 crab pots annually. Depending on how many storms (which can run the gamut from full-force hurricanes to some comparatively benign nor’easters) have occurred in a given year, a number of those pots can unintentionally travel 15 miles or more from their original locations – causing a variety of problems in the long-term.

To counteract that, the federation’s Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project has sought to utilize the local watermen’s vast knowledge of our area waterways by hiring them to identify and recover lost gear during the no-potting period. Not only does the project have a direct economic incentive (commercial fishermen are paid $400 per boat, per day during a time when they would otherwise have a loss of income), it has also allowed the federation to return valuable equipment 16

NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

when ownership can be identified – and during the first two years of the project it was also a means for them to experiment with upcycling unusable pots to create oyster reefs.

“We started the project in 2014 – largely because we were able to secure funding from the North Carolina Sea Grant and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program,” says Sara, who’s currently in charge of overseeing grants and managing the overall budget for the project. “So this winter will be our fifth season, and a lot of the credit for getting this up and running goes to Ladd Bayliss.”

Ladd, an Outer Banks native who spent five years as a coastal advocate for the federation before transitioning to another company, is much more modest about her role in the project, but she’s clearly passionate about doing everything she can to ensure that their efforts continue Depending on how to succeed in the future many storms have – even going as far as to occurred in a given return to the federation year, a number of crab this winter as a contract pots can unintentionally project manager. travel 15 miles or more As Ladd explains, the from their original importance of the Lost locations – causing a Fishing Gear Recovery variety of problems in Project is at least twothe long-term. fold. “For starters, once a pot is lost it can be a navigational hazard and it can also continue to trap a variety of marine life without any oversight,” she says.

“We know that happens, so the question is: How can we stop it? And that’s where the next part comes in to play – which involves recognizing that the local watermen here are the best environmental stewards we have. Not only do they want to

give back, they care deeply about the natural resources here that feed all of us.”

Even the first seeds for the project were homegrown.

Inspired by similar projects that had long been underway in the Chesapeake Bay, a number of key leaders in the Outer Banks’ fishing industry were staunch advocates for establishing a similar program in our local waters.

And once the initial funding was secured, the results were undeniable. In 2014, the first year the project went live on the Outer Banks, a total of nine boats were deployed and 364 lost pots were retrieved. During the next two years of the project (2015 and 2016), 12 boats were involved each year, and the number of recovered pots jumped to 1,004 (in 2015) and 753 (in 2016).

But the most substantial increase occurred in January 2017 when North Carolina supplied an additional $100,000 to expand the project statewide to include the federation’s central and southeast districts – which resulted in a total of 36 active boats that recovered a whopping 4,304 pots across the N.C. coastal waterways in slightly less than two weeks’ time.

“In the beginning it truly was, in every sense of the word, a pilot project,” Ladd says. “But each year I think we’re getting better at it.”

This year, the federation hopes to employ at least the same amount of boats and watermen as last year, to continue improving their data-collecting methods statewide, and to further involve other volunteers on the Outer Banks in an annual coordinated land-based debris cleanup that has typically taken place the weekend before the no-potting period goes into effect.

“It’s so much fun; I could talk about it for days!” Ladd adds enthusiastically. “The whole goal is to involve people in this process, and to continue developing an ethic that already exists in order to protect our natural resources. This project really does that.”

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community

Photo by K. Wilkins Photography Story by By Amanda McDanel

Cue the music.

Storyteller's Tale The

It’s production day at the Kill Devil Hills Library, and the scene is set. Laughter fills the air, goldfish crackers are scattered on the floor, and you can hear the squeals of delight resonating off the walls. Pint-size actors gather around, responding on cue to the story and the songs – and they finish the scene with a comforting hug from Fuzzy Bear.

Fuzzy Bear, a well-loved stuffed bear, was the product of a grant from the State Department more than 20 years ago, and he has held court (and given thousands of hugs) over the years. He’s irreplaceable to the children. As is the woman on whose leg he sits, a woman who has given out even more hugs than Fuzzy Bear over the years. In fact, Donna Roark might be the most hugged person on the Outer Banks.

Known affectionately as Miss Donna, she’s a bit of a local celebrity and a friend to all – from two-year-olds to parents alike.

All the fanfare started when she was a young girl growing up on a farm surrounded by animals. Her family had hunting dogs that she liked to tend to, but she also took in wounded and baby animals, which included deer, rabbits, opossums and even alligators. As the third-oldest girl of 56 cousins, she often found herself in a mothering role when it came to taking care of all the children (according to her, it was either that or the choice to hang out with the old women, and she preferred the former).

In short, those early years helped establish her nature as a nurturer and advocate for the littlest of creatures.

Several moves to areas from Virginia to Baltimore forced her to learn to fit in to avoid being called a “Yankee” or a “hillbilly,” so when the opportunity to take an acting class in middle school presented itself, she jumped at it full force. Theater became like a second family to her, and it allowed her to find confidence and thrive. In fact, in one of her first roles on stage, she played Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan from M*A*S*H – the smart-talking, quick-witted nurse with a big heart.

Miss Donna went on to study speech and language development, behavior management and theater at the collegiate level, and she is currently one year away from finishing her PhD in Leadership for Higher Education.

Yet she still retains some of those Major Houlihan characteristics.

Like the character she played, she’s altruistic. She has had three traumatic brain injuries – and the first occurred when she tried to move a little girl out of harm’s way and ended up taking a blow from a softball bat to her head.

But Miss Donna is tough. From working as a triage clerk in a hospital to running a bar in a college town to dealing with two-year-old tantrums, she has the chops to put anyone in their place. If she can haul a drunk out of a bar, she can handle your toddler (or maybe it’s the other way around!).

Most importantly, she seeks opportunities to enhance the lives of those around her. When she first moved to the beach, she worked as a speech therapist in the Currituck school system. She went on to run the Head Start program in Manteo, served as the director of a private daycare, ran her own home daycare as a single mother, worked for a local church – and she’s now been the Kill Devil Hills children’s librarian for the past 11 years.

Currently, she has another project in the works. She's trying to establish a private school of performance where she can combine her background in speech therapy, children’s advocacy and theater. With the ability to offer theatrical play therapy, Miss Donna can combine all her passions to help little actors adapt to life by infusing confidence, public speaking and social skills. For, as she well knows, you only get one shot to cue the scenes of your own life – and she wants to give everyone the best possible background to succeed.

However, don’t worry, young children and parents: The Kill Devil Hills Library will still be her home – a place where she, and Fuzzy Bear, will continue to give out free hugs daily.

Miss Donna in her natural habitat, the Kill Devil Hills Library.

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NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

amanda’s kitchen

H oliday H acks

I Dip, You Dip, We Dip

By Amanda McDanel

Just like the world of fashion, trends pervade the food world as well. For starters, there is always some newfangled diet: think

Take note: 1. Both recipes are incredibly delicious. Do not expect to take home any leftovers, so make a double batch and leave half of it at home for you to eat afterwards on your couch in pajamas with a glass of wine and Law & Order.

the Grapefruit Detox, Atkins, the Mediterranean diet, eating for your blood type, the ketogenic plan…and the list goes on. Next, you have the other fads. TV dinners kicked it off in the 1950s; jello was next (seriously, who wants mayonnaise and shredded cabbage suspended in 2. You will get multiple requests for the recipe or demands that you bring “that dip” to every function you attend in perpetuity. Be prepared. colored gelatin?); space-age snacks were big in the 1960s with astronaut ice cream and Tang; fondue was groovy in the 1970s; oat bran in the 1980s; and frozen yogurt, bacon, deep fry- 3. Each recipe includes many ingredients you probably already have on hand, ing and cupcakes have rounded out the past decade. You’ve surely had vegans, vegetarians, so you can whip them up and be party-ready in no time. ovo-lacto vegetarians, pescatarians, sometimes-a-tarians and more cross your dinner table.

4. These are dips! Who doesn’t love to dip? You can also pair them with a variety Yet, the one craze that has resonated with me over the years is the “cooking hack” trend. of dippers for endless combinations.

For me, it started with my best friend’s grandmother’s chocolate chip pound cake. Amy’s mom came to visit us while we were living in the dorms at Virginia Tech, bringing with her the 5. I promised not to share the “secret” chocolate chip cake recipe, but the addition of some sour cream and shredded German chocolate makes just about requisite laundry detergent, a Costco-sized container of animal crackers – and her mother’s anything taste homemade. homemade cake. I was in love at first (and probably eighth) slice and begged her to bring us another one. Then, after multiple requests, I finally got my hands on the “secret” recipe, and discovered something unexpected: It called for a yellow (non-pudding) cake mix. A box? That sweet old lady wasn’t covered in flour, sugar and Crisco?

Betty Crocker was behind it all? I was floored.

Later I discovered The Cake Doctor cookbooks, which include more than 50 recipes for 1 (16 ounce) container frozen whipped 1 cup walnut halves, toasted doctoring store-bought cake mix. Sandra Lee foltopping, thawed 1 1/2 cups feta cheese, crumbled lowed with her “Semi-Homemade” cooking con1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla cept that consists of adding a few fresh touches 1/2 cup milk to mainly pre-packaged ingredients. pudding mix 1 teaspoon dried oregano During this especially busy time of year, a 1 (15 ounce) can of solid pack pumpkin cooking hack can be the ace in your back pocket 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley (about a handful of leaves) as you head over to a holiday party or a last-min(not pumpkin pie filling) ute get-together and need to bring a dish. Sure, Freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice you can swing by the store and pick up a premade 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes crudités tray, but we all know that’s just French In a large bowl, mix together the dry for “ends up in the trash 15 minutes after the party 1 large clove garlic, peeled instant vanilla pudding mix, the pumpkin is over.” Here, instead, are two of my staple reciand the pumpkin pie spice. Fold in the pes – one sweet, one savory – that I keep in rotaRoast the walnuts in a dry skillet until they become thawed whipped topping, and chill in tion during the holiday seasons. So pick up a few lightly brown and fragrant. (Seriously: DO NOT store-bought dippers, and hack your way into a the refrigerator until serving. Garnish as skip this step – it only takes five minutes, and it truly stress-free holiday! desired.

Amanda McDanel has lived on the Outer Banks for over 15 years, is married, has two beautiful daughters and a dog that walks backwards. A collector of the unique and different, she has an MS in Child and Family Development, has taught cooking classes and loves to create new recipes.

Roasted Walnut Feta Dip

Pumpkin Fluff Dip

enhances the flavor of the dip!) Combine the walnuts, feta, milk, oregano, parsley, black pepper, red pepper and your garlic clove in a food processor and pulse process until the spread is smooth. Scrape the dip into a serving dish with a spatula, drizzle it with extravirgin olive oil and serve.

Suggested dippers: graham crackers or sticks, cinnamon graham crackers, apple slices, waffle cone pieces, gingersnaps, pretzel sticks

Suggested dippers: pita chips, rye bread crisps, bagel chips, crackers, naan bread, celery, endive leaves, carrot chips

Suggested garnishes: cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cardamom, five-spice powder, whipped cream, honey, pecans, chocolate shavings NORTHBEACHSUN.COM

19

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Recycling is being taken to a whole new level at the Outer

u t r s e a P T o P lat e Photos by Ryan Moser / Story by Catherine Kozak

20

NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

Banks Brewing Station, where – for the first time ever – the latest fresh Angus beef on the menu comes from a steer fattened on the malted barley left over from making the brewpub’s beer.

It’s another way for the Kill Devil Hills establishment to promote its locavore and “farm to fork” ethos while putting the still-nutritious grain to practical use, according to co-owners Eric Reece and Aubrey Davis.

“It’s a beautiful, symbiotic relationship,” says Reece.

“Depending on the type of beer we’re brewing, we can have 1,500 pounds of spent grain left over every week – and during the summer, it can be as much as 3,000 pounds each week.”

In the process of brewing beer, malted barley is steeped in a mash that breaks the complex sugars down to simple sugars, which are then metabolized by yeast during fermentation. Once the liquid is drained, a lot of perfectly good barley is left behind – perfectly good, that is, for cows.

Hertford farmer Russell Cartwright makes the approximately 45-mile drive to the Outer Banks almost every week to pick up the brewing byproduct that’s left in six or so 55-gallon pickle barrels at the back of the restaurant. During the summer, he leaves at dawn to beat the traffic, but in the off-season, he may show up any time his farm schedule allows.

Cartwright, 58, has been farming all his life, and he now shares his family’s more than 500-acre farm with his brothers, who also grow soybeans, wheat, cotton and corn. On Cartwright’s 75-acre portion of the land, he focuses on raising cattle full-time with the assistance of his 16-year-old daughter, Sarah. He loves what he does, but there’s a lot more to it than most people realize.

Cows have four stomachs, he explains, and they eat a lot.

On his farm, their diet also includes hay and soybean hulls, depending on how much spent grain is available from the Brewing Station and the Lost Colony Brewery in Stumpy Point (which has also started donating its grain recently).

“Actually, I wish I had more,” Cartwright says. “The cows love it.”

Feeding brewer’s grain byproduct to animals is not a new idea. In fact, the idea is likely as old as beer brewing. But with the proliferation of microbreweries in the past decade or so, it’s become a common food staple for cattle.

Left: A sample of spent brewing grains in the hands of Hertford farmer Russell Cartwright. Top right, from left to right: Outer Banks Brewing Station's chef Tony Duman and co-owners Aubrey Davis and Eric Reece with Cartwright, Cartwright's five-year-old grandson, Carter, and his teenage daughter, Sarah, at the Cartwright family farm.

Right: Cattle that have been fed a steady diet of spent Brewing Station grains.

“Brewers’ grains are a very valuable byproduct feed ingredient for both cow-calf producers and feedlot operators located relatively closely to breweries,” according to an article by Simon Kern that was published last year in Progressive Cattleman. “[They] can be a highly nutritious and cost-reducing byproduct feed ingredient that should not be overlooked.”

Since the Outer Banks Brewing Station opened in 2001, the brewpub’s spent grain has been either composted or given to several different livestock farmers over the years.

After the last Currituck farmer decided it was too time-consuming to pick up the grain about four years ago, Reece and Davis met Cartwright, who was happy to pick it up regularly.

“They were getting it for free, but they didn’t like the travel,” Reece jokes. “You see, Russ is very Zen-like in his driving.

He doesn’t get quite as upset as other people.”

Meanwhile, Reece says, the restaurant was having some difficulty obtaining enough fresh local beef cuts for its menu offerings. According to Head Chef Tony Duman, the kitchen can go through an average of approximately 30 to 40 pounds of strip loins, 40 to 50 pounds of beef tenderloins, 150 to 200 pounds of rib eye and about 300 pounds of hamburger meat each week during the peak season.

So when Cartwright asked if they would be interested in purchasing a whole cow, they were immediately intrigued.

Not only could they have it processed nearby at the Acre Station Meat Farm in Pinetown, N.C., but they could also use the entire animal for all the different types of cuts they wanted, such as brisket, rib eye, tenderloin and ground – and they could even put the heart, tongue and liver to use.

Best of all? Cartwright could raise a calf from birth on the Brewing Station’s spent grain, and then take everything full circle by having it wind up on their menu.

Two years later, this past fall, Cartwright’s first Brewing Station grain-fed steer reached full size, and Reece and Davis bought the 624-pound “hanging weight” of the animal – that is, the usable meat. The next steer will be available sometime this December.

“I think the main importance of this is that we’re going one step beyond knowing the origin,” Reece says. “We know what it was fed. So we doubly want it to be the best product possible, because it was fed some really good European malt.”

“When you’re drinking one of our beers and eating a Cartwright steak,” Duman adds, “you’re enjoying two products created from the same source.”

Duman, whom Reece calls the eatery’s “creative end,” says that they picked up the meat in person this past October, and immediately started running “Pasture to Plate” specials on the weekends. Over the course of this winter, they’ll continue to run a variety of specials with the Cartwright meat, in addition to experimenting with some creative tapas plates on Thursdays and using some of the ground beef for their Meatloaf Mondays. So far, they’ve even featured the meat at a few local events, such as the Outer Banks Seafood Festival and Brewtäg.

Reece, Davis and Duman also recently spent some downtime at the Cartwright family farm, where they were able to get a more complete sense of the entire operation.

“As a person who cooks and creates with food, it’s nice to be able to see and appreciate the whole process,” Duman says. “And it’s good to bear in mind that the farm’s so close by.

The drive’s only a little over an hour. I want to go back and take some of the guys from the kitchen and the servers. We all eat this food, so we should all know about it – be one with it, so to speak.”

“There is no similar product – there is no beef in nature that was fed our grain,” Reece adds. “This is truly as local as it gets.”

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FOOD & BEVERAGE

In Every

Sense Photos by Brooke Mayo Photographers Story by Amelia Boldaji

It’s an early fall morning, and there’s a light mist hanging over Sanctuary Vineyards in Jarvisburg, North Carolina, just a few miles north of the Wright Memorial Bridge.

A couple of numbered brown-bagged bottles are lined up on a lone picnic table, along with several place settings that include four wine glasses apiece (two whites, two reds), a few printed sheets of paper and a number two pencil.

It could be the scene of a small, booze-fueled academic study group, but it’s not. Or, that is, not quite.

Instead, the bottles are intentionally indistinct, the papers are official tasting grids, and the people sitting around the table are the Outer Banks’ only four certified sommeliers: Simon Kaufmann, John Wright, Dan Lewis and Sharon Huttemann.

And the subject at hand, simply put, is wine.

“I’m getting a lot of apple.”

“A lot of spice, too.”

“I’m getting baked apple. It’s fresher, kind of cooked.”

Top picture, left to right: John Wright, Simon Kaufmann, Dan Lewis and Sharon Huttemann – the Outer Banks’ four Court-certified sommeliers – recently gathered for a blind tasting at Sanctuary Vineyards in Jarvisburg.

“It’s more on the nose than on the palate.”

As part of this blind tasting, each of them take turns calling out short, declarative observations, periodically pausing to swirl the liquid around, take deep inhales to detect the finer aromas and hold their glasses up to the light – before running through the formal tasting grids they have on hand in order to give a final conclusion about what wine they each think is in the glass in front of them. Which includes giving a description of nothing less than the primary grape present, the type of climate it was grown in, its country of origin and the year it was bottled.

“At least we can spit right in the vineyard,” jokes Simon.

“It’s the perfect fertilizer.”

Going Beyond: The Court of Master Sommeliers Technically put, sommelier (pronounced somm-el-yay) is simply a French word that means a wine waiter or waitress – and it could easily be dismissed by the general public as a fancy way of saying that someone knows an awful lot about wine.

But becoming a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers – the premier and most widely (and

internationally) recognized examining body – is quite a bit more involved than that.

The first successful Master Sommelier examination was held in the United Kingdom in 1969, and the Court was officially established in 1977. It now offers four levels of examinations: the Introductory Sommelier Course & Exam, the Certified Sommelier Exam, the Advanced Sommelier Course & Exam, and finally, the Master Sommelier Diploma.

The introductory level is an intensive, two-day course that includes presentations on theory, an introduction to the deductive tasting process, and a service demonstration – and passing it is a basic prerequisite for pursuing the certified levels. (“You need to know a lot of the information before you even show up,” explains Simon. “It’s pretty fastpaced, and it barely scratches the surface of things.”)

According to the Court, passing level two is the point at which someone can rightfully call themselves a sommelier.

This one-day exam consists of three parts (in keeping with the general layout of the next two levels): a blind tasting of four wines (two whites and two reds), a 45-question theory examination, and a practical service examination that tests continued> NORTHBEACHSUN.COM

23

As part of the Master Court of Sommeliers’ deductive (or blind) tasting process, sommeliers are trained to fill out a formal tasting grid when evaluating various wines based on what they can see, smell and taste.

candidates on everything from properly opening and serving a variety of different wines to candidly discussing how well each one might pair with certain foods, cocktail ingredients, spirits or beer.

In comparison with the other levels, the certified level is relatively new. It was created in 2006 in response to just how low the pass rate was for advanced students previously, and it has to be taken within three years of passing the introductory exam (or a maximum of five years with a master sommelier’s recommendation), otherwise potential candidates are required to repeat the intro course. Also in keeping with the advanced level, certified candidates have to achieve a minimum of at least a 60 percent score in each of the three sections in order to qualify.

If those statistics alone seem daunting, consider the fact that only about 60 percent of those who undertake the certified exam actually pass it in full.

From there, things only get harder. The three-day advanced course is only offered twice a year, candidates must pre-apply (and be formally approved) to even undertake it, and the pass rate for the subsequent qualifying exam 24

NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

(which is offered three times a year) is only approximately 25 to 30 percent.

At the Court’s pinnacle – the Master Sommelier Diploma – candidates have to achieve at least a 75 percent score in each of the three sections, and the entire exam must be retaken if all the sections aren't passed within a three-year period (it is only offered once a year at two different locations simultaneously). Only 236 people worldwide have achieved the master sommelier qualification since the Court’s first exam almost 50 years ago, and most candidates take the test an average of five times – with an overall pass rate that’s reportedly in the single digits.

“The difference between each level is exponential,” Simon explains, amid a resounding agreement from the three other local sommeliers. “In a very general way, you can think of it as being similar to an undergraduate degree, a master’s and a PhD – but in this field in particular, the amount of information you need to study and retain fairly quickly is really amplified from step to step.”

The Faces Behind the Glasses John Wright, the manager of Sanctuary Vineyards (one of this area’s four local wineries), takes a rare moment to relax on a couch in the operation’s storefront tasting room.

Between wine selling, distribution and overseeing production with Sanctuary’s resident winemaker, Casey Matthews, John keeps busy year round, and this past season was no exception – especially after several hurricane threats forced them to harvest the remainder of their grapes slightly earlier than normal this past fall.

Of the four current Court-certified local sommeliers, John was the first to take, and pass, both Court levels one and two – back-to-back, no less – in 2014. (An impressive feat, especially considering the fact that the Court recommends at least one year of comprehensive study before even attempting level two.)

“When I was young I used to read maps, encyclopedias and phone books…for fun,” John says with more than a touch of his signature humor. “It was weird, but it might

explain why theory is my thing – and that was really helpful.”

With an undergraduate background in economics, and a certificate of Enology (the study of wines) from the University of California, John is also currently working toward a Level Three Award in Wines from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, which has a program of study that’s less service-oriented than the Court’s.

“It’s a way to keep learning,” John says with a smile. “It keeps reminding me how it all works.”

But studying alone isn’t enough, and he often interacts with the other three local sommeliers, particularly at trade tastings that are regularly held at Sanctuary.

Dan Lewis, chef and owner of Coastal Provisions – a full-service café, oyster and wine bar (which also features an impressively diverse retail wine shop) in Southern Shores – makes it a point to attend those types of trade tastings, in addition to frequently entertaining wine sales reps with

the goal of introducing at least a couple of new, good-value was in the final stretch of preparing to take the certified wines to his restaurant each month. exam for a second time during the winter of 2014.

In 2010, Dan easily passed the Court’s intro exam – “It’s important to take advantage of as many blind tasting opportunities as you can,” Dan explains. “Even though though he found level two much more difficult when he you need to bear in mind that during the actual exam, the first attempted it a year later. conclusion isn’t necessarily the point. It’s more about get“It was really humbling,” he says good-naturedly. “I only ting everything right to get there. You really have to be prepassed the service part of the exam – which is actually my pared and know what you’re talking weakest spot, because, by necessity, the restaurant “It’s a way to keep learning. about.” forces me to focus more As it so happened, Simon on food and being in the It keeps reminding me how Kaufmann, the beverage and bar back of the house. If anymanager at The Blue Point restauit all works.” thing, I think I passed that rant in Duck, was also preparing to -John Wright, Sanctuary Vineyards part because I kept my take the certified exam at about the composure – and that’s a same time. huge thing in service.”

After starting out as a bartender at The Blue Point in 2012 under sommelier John Lenhart, After pulling back for a few years to focus on the daily Simon took an almost immediate interest in pursuing a operations of his business, Dan started working with wellknown advanced sommelier Marc Sauter, who runs strucCourt title.

“It was intimidating, but I took it upon myself to learn,” tured study groups for other aspiring sommeliers at the Virginia Beach-based restaurant Zoës Steak & Seafood.

Simon explains. “For me, it was mainly a career thing. From $30 to $400 bottles, we sell a lot of wine at The Blue Point, Between reading books and studying maps, Dan began and it’s a lot of responsibility to run something like that – but traveling nearly weekly to Zoës for blind tastings when he continued>

Service is one of the three main components of the Court of Master Sommeliers’ training – and it involves everything from maintaining a professional appearance and making recommendations to knowing the correct ways to present and pour various beverages.

NORTHBEACHSUN.COM

25

John, Sharon, Simon and Dan (left to right) have shared knowledge from their sommelier training, but they still enjoy getting together to learn about and taste new wines.

being able to achieve my certification gave me the confidence to take it on after John left.

“And it wasn’t so bad,” he adds lightly. “I got to sit on the beach all day reading books about wine, and then went to work in the evenings. I got a lot of practice in that way!”

Simon passed his intro level in the early part of 2014, and immediately started getting ready to take level two.

After learning about Zoës from Dan, the two began making the weekly trek to Virginia Beach together – and they both passed the Certified Sommelier Exam in April 2015.

In something of a domino effect, Sharon Huttemann, the head wine and sales consultant at TRiO (a full bistro, retail shop, tap house and wine bar in Kitty Hawk) started getting serious about pursuing a sommelier certification during a similar timeframe, and she was able to pick Simon’s brain about the process not long after he earned his title.

A self-proclaimed “geek,” Sharon has a professional background in chemistry, and she’s been a wine enthusiast for as long as she can remember. After retiring to the Outer Banks in 2003, she began working a few days a week for Kenny and Melissa Hyman at their first Outer Banks business, Native Vine, a full-scale wine shop that offered regular tastings with a focus on wines made predominately with North Carolina grapes.

The Hymans and their business partners, John and Jennifer Minnich, opened TRiO in 2011, and it wasn’t long before Sharon became more involved in conducting tastings and managing the retail portion of the new venture – which has grown to feature a substantial variety of beer and cheese from all over the world…and more than 2,500 different wines.

After passing the Court’s intro level in late 2015, Sharon went on to become a certified sommelier in 2016 – which has only reinforced her life-long passion for wine.

“We generally offer at least two educational tastings a 26

NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

week at TRiO, and that allows me to really get into things,” Sharon says. “Plus, we keep a lot of wine in stock, and I can now talk about any wine here, even if I haven’t tried it. That’s what the sommelier training gives you.”

A Different Way of Looking at Things Wine has been around since the beginning of time. In the Old Testament, one of the first things Noah did after the biblical floodwaters receded was plant a vineyard. In Ancient Rome, soldiers were given wine as both a reward and a daily medicine, and Robert Louis Stevenson once famously declared it “bottled poetry.”

So it’s perhaps understandable that any conversation about wine can take an almost unimaginable number of twists and turns – diverging at any point to encompass everything from history and myth to geography, weather, flavor profiles and, well, the practical business side of price points.

“Here on the Outer Banks, the four of us have this shared wine knowledge from our training,” Sharon says simply. “But each of us are using it in very different spaces, and, sometimes, very different ways.”

“It makes sense that we each focus on different things as sommeliers here,” John explains in agreement. “I’m coming at it mainly from the perspective of viticulture and enology. Sharon really needs to know the geography of wine for that primarily retail-focused side, and Dan has to see it as a whole package that includes everything from retail to being a chef and thinking about pairing things with the menus he creates. Simon’s probably the closest to being a sommelier in the most classic sense of the term – he’s on the floor helping people choose wines every single night, serving them and also purchasing wines with the restaurant’s bottom line in mind.

“We all have our strong points,” John adds. “But that’s what studying to get your sommelier certification does –

it forces you to go outside your range. That’s the coolest part.”

And that’s not all. The field of wine connoisseurship has become increasingly competitive over the past decade or so, and our few local sommeliers – in true Outer Banks fashion – haven’t necessarily been content to put their pencils down at the end of any one exam (no matter how prestigious it may be) and call it a day.

At Sanctuary Vineyards, John continues to experiment with the types of wines we can actually produce in this particular area. Similar to John in terms of continuing his more formal education, Dan recently became a Certified Specialist of Wine through the Society of Wine Educators.

Sharon looks forward to developing a structured staff training program at TRiO in order to help their servers feel more comfortable pairing flavors on the floor. And Simon is currently preparing to go to the next level with the Court by taking the Advanced Sommelier Exam this coming year – and has even toyed with possibly going on to become a master sommelier candidate in the future.

“Part of it is comes down to the beauty of what it’s like to live on the Outer Banks,” Simon says as he explains why he looks forward to spending this winter’s downtime immersed in his advanced Court studies. “In a lot of ways it’s a good fit. You’re crazy busy for five months of the year here, and not so much for the other seven – which gives you the time you need to really delve into things in a disciplined way on your own, and yet still get the hands-on, practical work experience that helps you stay current.”

“We’re always in learning mode about wine,” Sharon says thoughtfully about the local group as a whole. “After all, it’s not magic; it’s a beverage. It’s something that’s meant to be enjoyed.

“And no matter what angle you’re coming from, or how you look at it,” she adds. “It’s important to remember that – like people, like all of us – every wine has a story.”

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outdoors

Setting Sail Getting ready for a busy season means something entirely different for these seafaring Outer Bankers

Jonnie and Bill Combs enjoy a shakedown tour of Colington Harbour as they prepare for their annual trip to the Caribbean.

Right: The Combses with their sailboat, the ANEVRLU (the letters were compiled from an inscription in their wedding bands).

28

NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

Lounging in the cockpit of his 41’ Tartan, the Bahamian sun glinting off the surface of his freshly brewed mug of coffee, Outer Banks local and long-term

sailor, Bill Combs, contemplated one of the toughest decisions he’d had to make since arriving in the Abaco Islands – should he sport brown or black flip-flops for the day?

“I had to decide,” Bill says with a laugh. “But my mind was torn.”

Although Bill’s days in the Abacos are nothing short of laid back, reaching his destination isn’t as easy. Two of many Outer Banks locals who opt to escape during the chilly winter months via sailboat, Bill and his wife, Jonnie, began their 2,300-mile round-trip trek from Colington Harbour to the Bahamas last fall.

“We left here the day before Thanksgiving and briefly stayed at the Titusville Marina in Florida in December,” Bill says. “We left there and went down to Lake Worth, made the crossing and visited anyplace and everyplace in the Abacos. We got back, totally back, at the end of May.” A Navy veteran who served for more than 30 years, Bill is no stranger to the water; however, his 2016 journey to the Bahamas was his first long-term sail since moving to the Outer Banks from Virginia Beach in 2004.

“The Navy taught both of us how to prepare for making extended trips,” Bill says. “I had an awful lot of deployments when I was in the service, and that taught me to be organized, to plan ahead and to bank on unexpected stuff happening.”

Similar to the Combses, Colington Harbour residents Bob Carter and Judy Watson have been making extended sails from the Outer Banks to the Bahamas since 2009.

“We looked around about three or four years for a boat,” Bob says. “When we found one, we worked on it for about a year, and we said that we were going as soon as we turned it around. In August of 2009, we started preparing.”

For Bob and Judy, preparation is crucial to transitioning from a 1,000-plus-squarefoot house to their 38’ Shannon Ketch. The Combses share a similar mindset, and last year they planned their trip months in advance.

“Prior to getting on the boat we did extensive measuring, and we made a list of things we wanted – grocery things to take, freezer things to take, spare parts and safety equipment,” Bill says. “We researched just about everything from U.S. Coast Guard notices to

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charts, currents and various locations so we knew exactly what to expect anywhere and everywhere.”

Once the lists were made, the Combses began to collect an array of items needed for their journey. Aside from food and personal products, multi-purpose equipment is not only a plus, but also a necessity when living in close quarters for extended periods of time.

“Everything on a boat has to be dual- and triple-purposed,” Bill says. “A pot has to be able to boil eggs, cook oatmeal and be a spaghetti sauce pan. It’s not just one pan, one pan has got to do myriad things.”

Next on the to-do list was storing the necessities in the most space-conscious manner possible. Bob offers one helpful analogy to convey the meticulous nature of preparing a boat for a six-month sail.

“Picture Jenga in reverse,” he says. “Instead of just pulling stuff out, you gotta be able to put it back. Space is key, and you have to be aware of that.”

While Bob and Judy choose to weave in and out of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), avoiding shallow water and making pit stops to visit family in Wilmington, the Combses prefer to make the 19-day expedition down the ICW, from Colington Island to Lake Worth in Florida.

“Some people think that it’s easy to go down the ICW,” Jonnie says. “But the bottom of the ICW can change drastically after a nor’easter or any major storm. What you see on your chart book might not be exactly what you see during your day-to-day travel. It can get quite nerve-racking at times.”

After a few days’ rest in Florida last year, the Combses made the 50-mile crossing to the Abaco Islands. As their responsibilities grew scarce and wake-up calls extended later and later into the day, the pleasant reality of “island time” began to sink in.

“Once you’re there, you don’t get up at 4:30 or 6 because you have stuff to do; you have absolutely nothing to do,” Bill says cheerfully. “The worst part of your day is figuring out whether to get up before the sun or after.”

Both couples agree that a flexible schedule is paramount to a successful trip.

“When somebody tells me that they want to come down, I say, ‘Well, I’ll give you one of two options: You can tell me where you want me to meet you, or you can tell me when you want me to meet you, but you can't tell me both,’” Bob says with a laugh. “If you want to meet in the Turks and Caicos, I'll be there, but I'll tell you when because I’m not in a hurry to get there.”

In addition to severing the connection between destination and a fixed schedule, Bob stresses the importance of having a balanced crew when taking on a lengthy and demanding sail.

“Preparation is key. No time limit is key.

A relaxed attitude is key,” he says. “And know your partner and crew. Know their capabilities. If they're prima donnas, leave them at the dock. Everyone has to be able to pull their own weight.”

Despite the extensive preparation involved and the brief periods of stress over shoals, squalls and shifting sands, Bob, Judy and the Combses vow that the journey is worth the undertaking. And for others who might be considering making a similar voyage, Bob offers some candid final wisdom.

“It's real simple – untie the lines, go out and turn left,” he says. “Plain and simple. Get out, and start doing it. Don't be afraid. Untie the dock lines.”

And don’t forget your flip-flops.

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29

outdoors

A

Jaw Dropping Affair

Data collection in the Carolinas ensures proper health and maintenance for some of our important native species.

By Fran Marler

The leaves crunch slightly underfoot, and a light frost delicately clings to the brush as the sun prepares to break the horizon. Each exhale is a

tangible cloud of excitement, and perhaps even a little anxiety. The anticipation in the air outweighs the droves of mosquitoes that seem to want to fly away with you on their back.

It’s the thrill of the chase. It’s hunting season.

With more than While hunting may be a controversial topic for some, there are a few state and federally protect17 years years of field ed reserves from the coast of South Carolina all the way up to Corolla that have a deer-hunting seaexperience, it’s quite son every year. And not only that, but biologists and hunters team up each year to ensure that all clear to Chris how imparties – the deer included – maintain healthy standards. portant these samples The first requirements to hunt these reserves? “Registration, a valid permit number and are. “The data that each jawan agreement to report any game harvested,” says Kate Jones, the northern sites manager bone provides gives us a snapfor the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and the National Estuarine Research Reserve. shot,” Chris says. “By examining “Each reserve has their own rules and regulations,” Kate explains. “When it the amount of teeth and how worn comes to reporting, small game may be reported at the end of the season, each of them are, we can not only dewhile large game must be reported immediately.” termine their ages, but also characterisEasy enough, right? Perhaps for those of the more seasoned variety, estics of the entire herd.” pecially in terms of small game. Keep a tally and report your catch at the But collecting and examining the jaws is end of the season, no biggie. But how does one go about reporting only one part of the puzzle. It’s also vital to keep large game after every hunt with so many locations? this information accurate and up-to-date so that it “There’s a box at each reserve office where hunters are asked to can provide the proper guidance. leave the jaw bones of the deer,” Kate says. “The location, estimated “It’s quite evident that there are times when herds need size, weight, rack size, the date harvested and the weapon used must to be managed,” Chris says. “As a species, deer are herbivores, also be provided.” There are even instructional diagrams available that and they can affect their own habitat. The land they live on has a teach hunters how to extract the jaw while keeping the rest of the carrying capacity and can only handle so much.” mount intact.

In other words, Chris explains, deer herds are capable of eating themSound like a precursor to some B-grade horror flick? selves out of house and home. “By working with hunters and landowners,” Maybe to those of us who still own a VHS of Bambi. For folks he adds, “we’re able to modify the rules and regulations so that a healthy herd is such as Chris Turner, it’s actually quite the opposite. As maintained.” a coastal regional biologist for 13 counties in Not only is Chris passionate about his job, he also loves the area where he lives. And while Northeastern North Carolina, these Chris acknowledges that collecting the data that he and his team of biologists needs is always boxes of bones are essential to a challenge, the information that they’re able to gather has a huge impact on the health of the his everyday work. state’s native wildlife.

“From Carova all the way down to South Carolina, the coastal plain is very diverse,” he says. “We just want to have good information so that we can all make informed decisions about our future here.”

The left side of an extracted and cleaned deer jaw.

30

NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

With the help of hunters from all over the state of North Carolina and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, a recent three-year study sampled more than 22,500 deer – and the research results have shed some much-needed light on this region's deer herds.

• Each district in Eastern North Carolina has a distinct breeding season.

which enables interested landowners to more effectively protect yearling bucks.

• Young bucks leave the area they grow up in just before peak breeding in order to establish a permanent home range elsewhere.

• Unequal harvests of bucks and does before peak breeding can lead to unbalanced breeding season sex ratios.

Ideally, the adult sex ratio going into the rut should be close to one buck per doe.

• Limiting buck harvest before peak breeding allows for this exchange of young bucks across the landscape,

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31

SHORE SCIENCE Left: The Spoonleaf Sundew with its characteristic nectar drops. Below: The Yellow Butterwort catches insects along its broad, sticky leaves.

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By Abby Stewart

There’s often more to something than meets the eye. And in the case of Jockey’s Ridge

State Park, images of towering sand dunes are probably the first thing to come to mind – but there is another aspect to the park that adds to its allure.

Contrasting the hot, desert-like conditions found at the top of the ridge, a variety of coastal habitats exist along the park’s Soundside Nature Trail. In this unique environment it’s believed that the only carnivorous plants found on the Outer Banks lay dormant, just beneath the earth.

But while scenes from the Little Shop of Horrors might be amusing to imagine, the truth is that park visitors should soon be able to encounter a variety of carnivorous plants they may not have ever even heard about before – including Pink and Spoonleaf Sundews, Zigzag Bladderworts, and Yellow Butterworts.

“The Natural Resource Inventory Database is a project that began in the late ‘90s, and it now contains more than 245,000 records of the approximately 11,680 known species located within North Carolina’s state parks,” says Ed Corey, the inventory and monitoring biologist for the state park system.

These records indicate that in the 1980s and ‘90s, 32

NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

carnivorous plants were plentiful in the park, but the last recorded sighting of these intriguing beauties occurred in 2004.

Luckily, carnivorous plant seeds can lay dormant in the soil for a good amount of time, and they are known to pop back up quickly under the right conditions – sometimes within as little as six months. So park rangers are optimistic that there will be plenty of new growth this coming spring due to an upcoming project that’s been years in the making on Jockey’s Ridge.

“Carnivorous plants can occupy less nutrient-rich soils because they are able to acquire nutrients through other means than some other plants do,” explains Corey. But, he adds, in order to promote their reemergence, holes must be poked in the canopy along the Jockey’s Ridge Soundside Nature Trail so that sunlight can reach the seedbed once again.

The best way to accomplish that involves initiating a prescribed burn. While cutting holes in the canopy might seem like a less dramatic way to approach things, prescription burns actually reduce invasive species, allow for native fire-tolerant species to thrive, and clear ground vegetation – which ultimately reduces the chance of a potentially more devastating wildfire.

With this in mind, park officials plan to do a controlled burn in parts of approximately 25 acres along the trail early this winter in order to promote the reemergence of the Sundews, Bladderworts and Butterworts.

Deadly Beauties Pink and Spoonleaf Sundews exhibit spoon-shaped leaves arranged in a rosette pattern, and they grow low to the ground. Their botanical name, drosera, is derived from the Greek word drosos, meaning dew or dew drops, and the English common name sundew comes from the Latin words ros solis, meaning “dew of the sun.”

These plants lure insects close via tiny hairs on their leaves that secrete droplets of a sweet, sticky nectar, which then traps them. As the insect struggles, it either succumbs from exhaustion or is asphyxiated in the plant’s liquid.

The plant then secretes enzymes that subsequently break down the insect.

Since these plants are relatively tiny, their prey consists mostly of small insects such as gnats.

While Sundews curl around their victims during the digestive process, the Zigzag Bladderwort sucks its prey up like a vacuum in the blink of an eye.

Albeit also small, the Zigzag Bladderwort is a mighty killer. Noticeable to most only by their bright yellow flowers, they typically don’t grow more than an inch off of the ground. They also have unusual subterranean bladders that stay closed until a tiny wetland soil organism triggers their bristles. At that point, a valve suddenly opens and the organism is sucked inside. Within about 15 to 30 minutes, its trap has been reset for the next victim.

By contrast, Yellow Butterworts are tall, hearty plants that grow up to 20 inches tall, with broad, succulent, sticky leaves. On these plants, insects are trapped by the leaves and are digested by enzymes so that the plant can absorb the animal’s nutrients – similar to the digestive process of the Sundews.

No one is sure why the only known carnivorous plants found on the Outer Banks are located at Jockey’s Ridge State Park, especially since Nags Head Woods has a very similar habitat. The park is, however, home to a lot of plants that can be found on the mainland, but that aren’t typically found anywhere else on the barrier island – as far as anyone knows.

“I’m only aware of the population at the park, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be found in other local areas,” says Corey.

As a whole, the soil conditions in most of Eastern North Carolina are conducive to carnivorous plant growth. But as far as spotting some of these beautiful rarities on the Outer Banks for the first time in more than a decade goes, your best bet is to keep an eye out this spring – as you take a walk just over those giant sandy ridges in Nags Head.

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EVERYTHING ELSE UNDER THE

Sun

Harsh

s ion t Condi

By Dawn Church

The Outer Banks is best known for its glorious summer weather, but living on the edge of the sea brings ALL kinds of weather, including hurricanes, nor’easters and waterspouts.

Here’s a list of some of the weirdest storms we’ve seen hit the Outer Banks in the past few decades.

Freak out!

-name freak In October of 1990, a no off its moorings, storm ripped a dredge C. Bonner Bridge, slammed it into the Herbert d-sized section of and took out a football fiel nd. Along with that the lifeline to Hatteras Isla went phone lines, 370-foot section of bridge y to drive onto wa ly electricity and the on ry service was set the island. Temporary fer of the island and up between the north end Inlet, but dredging the south side of Oregon sn’t allowed, and channels for the ferries wa oss the inlet took acr the resulting zigzag path hours on a good five to anywhere from three even ran aground, day. Sometimes the ferries nd hours – and leaving passengers to spe ard. In their cars. sometimes the night – onbo and half months The bridge reopened three ing delightful pir ins later, but not before : “10/26/1990: The t-shirts with fun slogans like Day the Ship Hit the Span.”

Not your mama’s nor’easter

1 brought a Halloween weekend of 199 . Beginning ngs thi ny storm that was many, ma ally becoming a as a nor’easter, and eventu wn to most as the hurricane, it became kno ter Bankers called “Perfect Storm,” while Ou Gale force winds it the Halloween Storm. ng with 12-foot alo were recorded in Duck, everywhere ing od flo s waves, and there wa uck. The National from Hatteras to Currit n gave the storm Weather Service never eve ver you wanted an official name, but whate in fact, that it ty, to call it, it was nasty. So nas vie starring mo and actually inspired a book ! erg hlb Wa rk Ma George Clooney and

Oops, I did it againmany lo-

tops Hurricane Dennis in 1999 storms. That ng cals’ lists of most annoyi Outer Banks the by pesky hurricane swung o separate tw g sin cau , not once, but TWICE Dennis rolled up evacuations in seven days. gust and headed the banks at the end of Au

a loop and come out to sea – only to make landfall at Cape back to make a second . The week’s 4th Lookout on September k its toll on the worth of stormy ocean too rwash and digbeaches, causing major ove across Highway 12 ging an eight-foot channel on Hatteras Island.

Early bird

dubious honor Hurricane Arthur has the wn hurricane to of being the earliest kno rolina, showing up make landfall in North Ca of July holiday in just in time to ruin the 4th cially runs from offi 2014! Hurricane season t we rarely see a bu , ber June through Novem dude was so early storm before August. This had to reschedto the party that the towns On a happy note, ule their firework displays.

Outer Banks (acif you could get around the oke was restrictrac cess to Hatteras and Oc ed Highway 12), od flo a ed for a bit, due to ee nights in a row: you could see fireworks thr Hills on Saturday, Nags Head and Kill Devil rolla or Avon on Manteo on Sunday and Co Monday!

in n of the Bonner Bridge ce on the damaged spa The t: Lef r). nte Above: Repairs take pla Ce y tor sy of the Outer Banks His late 1990 (photo courte Hurricane Dennis. 's looping track of 1999

e to s locals and visitors alik wn Church. She remind Da al at loc e BX gtim HO lon find of s is the lovechild the bypass. You can Hidden Outer Bank ond the bright lights of anks. al color that exists bey loc ok.com/hiddenouterb and ebo ory fac hist at rich and explore the Twitter as @hiddenobx, and am agr Inst on , hiddenouterbanks.com

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F O L LOW U S O N FAC E B O O K

Great F Excellen ood. t Service.

Relaxed Atmosph ere.

daily lunch specials

Prime Rib Friday

Live Music

Neighborhood BAR & GRILLE (252)261-2243

S A N D T R A P TAV E R N O B X . C O M

3 0 0 W. E C K N E R , K I T T Y H AW K - L O C AT E D AT T H E S E A S C A P E G O L F L I N K S

Serving lunch and dinner daily and breakfast SATURDAY and Sunday

Happy Hour 3-6 Daily

DAILY

lunch SPECIALS

www.simplysouthernkitchen.com 252-491-8100 NORTHBEACHSUN.COM

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No Place Like Mama’s - All Winter Long us o m a F World coS FiSh TA

Kwan’s Authentic

Pad Thai

Lunch &Dinner S P ec iA LS

every ThurSdAy!

SundAy GAme dAy! Mama’s Homemade F r ie d c h ic K e N

FOOTBALL

13 TV’s

Milepost 9.5 • Highway 158 in KDH • 252.441.7889 • MamaKwans.com

Lunch: 11:30 am • Dinner: 4:00 pm • Tiki Bar: 11:30 am – Until • Call for Closing Times!

Follow the FUN on Facebook

Bonzer Breakfast Sundays 11:3 0 am Bushwhacker Sundays with Vintage Quags Cups!

Open for Lunch & Dinner Tues (Until After Thanksgiving)

Sun

Re-Open Around

Feb. 1, 2018

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$8.99 Lunch Specials! Tues - Sun NORTH BEACH SUN HOLIDAY 2017

MP9 on the Beach Rd. • KDH • BonzerShack.com • 252.480.1010