All Proceeds Benefit the Old Baldy Foundation Preservation Projects

For nearly 200 years, North Carolina’s oldest standing lighthouse, Old Baldy, has marked the mouth of the historic Cape Fear River. Today, thousands of visitors make the exciting journey each year to beautiful Bald Head Island to learn about the island’s rich maritime past at the Smith Island Museum of History and experience Old Baldy up close – including the climb to the top for a breathtaking view of the surrounding area’s outstanding natural beauty.

PIRATES ARE COMING AUGUST 6-8, 2010

Friday August 6th, 2010

Lighthouse Grounds Open

Lighthouse Gift Shop opens at 9am, Grounds open 1-4pm

Adults$5/Youth (3-12), Infants 2 and under Free. Visit the pirates camp, shop and climb the lighthouse.

Scalawag School

Pre-registration required, space limited

1:30pm – 2:45pm (4 – 7 year olds)

3pm – 4:15pm (8 – 12 year olds)

$20/child

Learn to walk talk and act like a pirate. Fee includes all day admission to the lighthouse grounds, a T-Shirt, eye patch, tatoos and certificate.

Island Wide Treasure Hunt

Pre-registration required, space limited

Friday 3pm – Saturday 3 pm

All ages

Registaration: 2;30pm Old Baldy Lighthouse

Cost $20/team

Test your skills in this pirate challenge designed for families. The challenge must be completed by a team of 4-6 members and the challenges span all ages from creating art to singing pirate songs, to following the clues to finding hidden treasure. The trick is you only have 24 hours to complete the challenge in order to maximize time and resources and get the most points to win.

Pirates Invade Bald Head Island

5:30pm

Free

West Beach Access #1 Turks Head Court and #2 Row Boat Row

Pirate Pub Night: Grub and Grog at the Harbour Pavillion Tent at Bald Head Island Marina: 6pm -10pm $40/Adult, $15/Youth 3-12, Infants 2 and under Free -Dine with pirates, dance to music of Rusty Cutlass direct from Disney World and bid on booty at the Auction – games for kids and cash bar for adults.

Saturday August 7st, 2010

National Lighthouse Day on the grounds of Old Baldy Lighthouse Grounds

10am -9pm $7/Adult, $5/Youth (3-12), Infants 2 and under Free.

Events Include:

• Children’s Activities
• Live Music
• Pirate Skits and Presentations
• Pirate Encampment
• Pirate Presentations
• Pirate Costume Contest 2:30pm
• Food Available 11am – 2pm and 5pm – 9pm
• Beer and Wine 5pm – 9pm
• Bring your lawn chairs for a movie on the lighthouse at 9pm

I’m A Pirate Artist

Pre-registration required, space limited

9:30am – 11am (8 – 14 year olds)

4pm – 5:30pm (7 – 12 year olds)

$15/child (fee includes drawing materials)

Michael Noles (aka Captain Red Ned Lynch) graduate of Ringling School of Art and Design, Sr. Art Director for Walt Disney Enterprises and artisits of this years pirate weekend poster will be the drawing instructor. Learn about his work, draw a pirateusing a live model and get tips from a real pirate artist.

Build and decorate your very own pirate boat, learn ship vocabulary and test your sailing skills. Fee includes boat kit, admission to the grounds all day Saturday.

Scalawag School

Pre-registration required, space limited

11:00am – 12:15am (4 – 7 year olds)

12:30pm – 1:45pm (4 – 7 year olds)

2pm – 3:15pm (8 – 12 year olds)

$20/child

Learn to walk talk and act like a pirate. Fee includes all day admission to the lighthouse grounds, a T-Shirt, eye patch, tatoos and certificate.

Sunday August8th 2010

Pirates and Pancakes
(Pre-registration required. Space limited)
10:30 AM at the Bald Head Island Club
$25/adult, $15/youth 4-12, $5/infant 3 and under.
Join the pirates as they have their last meal on Bald
Head Island at this lavish breakfast buffet. Menu:
waffles, biscuits and gravy, grits, fruit, has browns
and of course pancakes!
The Pirates Arggg Coming!!!

This Post Sponsored By:

Sea turtle laying 209 eggs:

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Sea Turtles Hatching at Sunset Beach,NC during August, 2009 near midnight:

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A Sea Turtle makes his (or her) way to the ocean!:

You can help the turtles when you visit Sunset Beach by following a few simple guidelines:

Do Not Disturb: If you see an adult sea turtle coming on shore, stay quiet and keep your distance! Otherwise she may get scared and go back into the ocean without nesting. They are an endangered species and it is a federal offense to harass them.

Turn Off All Flashlights! Lights may scare or confuse the adult female and cause her to leave without nesting.

Lights Cause Hatchlings To Go In the Wrong Direction: Please turn off all outside lights each night. Also if there are curtains or blinds use them so your indoor lights do not lead the hatchlings away from the ocean.

Never Pick Up A Hatchling. It is critical that they crawl on their own.
Do Not Disturb The Nest Area. Watch for the nest markers.

Stay Off Sand Dunes & Do Not Pick Sea Oats. Sand dunes provide critical habitat for sea turtles and help prevent flooding during times of extreme tides and storms. Foot traffic kills plants and severely damages the sand dunes. The penalty for failure to adhere to this requirement is a $100 fine.

Help Us Keep Our Beaches Clean -Sea turtles may mistake a plastic bag or other forms of litter for a jellyfish (they eat them). All personal items and equipment must be removed from the beach each day- these items may trap a sea turtle.

Please Fill In All Holes On The Beach When Done Playing.- Holes can trap sea turtles and are a safety hazard to humans.

Keep Dogs On Leashes At All Times!- No dogs shall be permitted on the beach strand between the hours of 9:00am and 6:00pm during period of Memorial Day through Labor Day regardless of whether they are leashed or not.
Fireworks can scare off nesting sea turtles and leave behind trash that may be mistaken for food by marine wildlife.- Discharge of fireworks is not permitted per North Carolina state laws.

Please Report all sightings of nesting turtles, dead turtles, unmarked nests or crawls (looks like a bulldozer came out of the water).Call the Holden Beach Turtle Watch 24 Hour Pager at 910-754-0766

Keep up with the Turtle Watch by clicking here

Confessions of a Madman

A life lived through the years of the greatest change in human history, a tale of the Camelot period among the canyons of Madison Ave. and the publishing world in New York and Boston through the eyes of an illustrator.

A story that spans eighty years beginning in the Appalachian hills of Tennessee and evolving into the fast-paced world of art and advertising on Madison Avenue. Follow along and experience life in the upper strata of New York City society during the days when the Martini lunch ruled.

Soft Cover $16.95

“From Madison Avenue to Island Sands” is one of those rare, thoroughly entertaining autobiographies that works because, unlike many autobiographies, it isn’t about a celebrity or a politician, but about a regular guy who has lived life to the fullest and then some.

In some respects, it’s a tale of two islands: Manhattan and a little place off the coast of North Carolina called Ocean Isle.” Lynn Jessup – The Wilmington Star News

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Tales of the Silver Coast

A Secret History Of Brunswick County – From the earliest days of European exploration to the golf courses and beach resorts in this fascinating and fast-growing region, Brunswick County has attracted settlers, invaders, and visitors of all descriptions.

In these pages you’ll read about Steve Bonnet, the “Gentleman Pirate,” who hid his ships in Brunswick’s moss-draped creeks but unfortunately underestimated the ebbing tide; “Mrs. Calabash,” who’s said to have lent her name to the famous sign-off for Jimmy Durante’s classic radio shows; and Topsy the Elephant, who swam for the Brunswick riverbank after breaking loose from circus handlers in the 1920s.

Follow the struggles and victories that shaped Brunswick County, from the first contact of Europeans with native Americans, to successive administrations of the Lords Proprietors, the royal governors, the British crown, and the leaders of a new nation—many at whom hailed from this small but influential corner of North Carolina. Discover Brunswick’s rich Civil War history, scenic roadways and waterways and current-day towns and townships.

Tales of the Silver Coast, recounts the tales of privateers and plantation owners, politicians and Prohibition rum-runners and the many colorful people and diverse places of southeastern North Carolina.

“Miller has done an exceptional job keeping the tone light while still being informative. Each story is only two to three pages long, with illustrations liberally spread throughout, making it perfect for children. Young and old will love the story of the Barefoot Felon, where a captain uses a simple trick to save his ship from pirates.”

- Brunswick Alive! Magazine

Hard Cover $24.95

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Miller Pope’s Book of Pirates

From Captain Kidd to Blackbeard to the pirates of the orient . . .
From bloody battles to walking the plank-
from blunderbusses to cutlasses,
With nearly 150 original illustrations, this volume is sure to please and inform pirate fans of all ages.

• Race for Riches: a history of the origins of piracy
• Greed and Gold: a pirate’s life aboard ship and in battle
• Tools of the Trade: weapons, vessels, and pirate culture
• Rogues and Raiders: profiles of pirates through history
• Other Pirates, Other Times: the past and future of piracy
• A Roster of Infamy: a list of pirates and their vessels

Hard Cover $14.95

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Infamous Pirates and Their Incredible Lives

Hot off the presses — Read all about the incredible lives of some of history’s most infamous pirates. In his latest pirate book Miller Pope recounts the exploits of these outlaws of the seven seas. Enjoy profiles of pirates through history.

From the pirates at the dawn of civilization through the pirates of the middle ages and the most famous pirates of piracy’s golden age right through to the present day. .. this book tracks the infamous rogues of the seas.

Each pirate ’s story features a unique illustration of the pirate. Other Pirates, Other Times: the past and future of piracy. A Roster of Infamy: a list of pirates and their vessels

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Drawing BC-Before Computers

This hot off the press book describes and illustrates the techniques of illustration during the mid-century days before the reign of color television and computers when great short story magazines ruled.

In these pages artists may find inspiration and those who remember the simpler times of the decades following the second World War will find nostalgia for a bygone time.

Younger people who were born into the world of color television and computers may discover in these pages a glimpse into the past.

Drawing techniques of Illustration’s Golden Age. Miller Pope relates the techniques and mediums used by some of the finest illustrators before the rise of computers in the world of publishing.

“Before moving to Ocean Isle Beach, Miller Pope (”Tales of the Silver Coast,” “Miller Pope’s Book of Pirates”) was a top illustrator in New York publishing, working for advertising agencies in the “Mad Men” era and creating artwork for The Saturday Evening Post, Reader’s Digest and other publications, as well as a number of textbooks.

He recalls those days in “Drawing B.C.” as in Before Computers (Island Press, $16.95 paperback). Pope demonstrates techniques that he and other commercial artists used in predigital days to get eye catching effects that conveyed the message. (Helpful hint: “Less is More.”).

Younger artists can learn a trick or two; the rest of us will be transported into a color-filled retro-world.”

- Ben Steelman The Wilmington Star News, Wilmington, NC
Soft Cover $16.95

Buy them at MillerPope.com

Books by local Author, Illustrator – Miller Pope! Buy them at MillerPope.com

All NC beaches are open at this time and no closures are anticipated at this time. However, just to avert any fears the N.C. State officials have launched a new Web page dedicated to providing information and useful links regarding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The web site features information about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the potential impact on the coast.

North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety spokesman Ernie Seneca said the website provides daily updates on the spill as well as links to models that predict where the spill could go.

“We just felt like it was good to get it out there. More information is better than less and this is obviously something that concerns a lot of people. The nation’s eyes and the world’s eyes are on the Gulf right now and what’s going to happen,” said Seneca.

The information is available at nccrimecontrol.org. Seneca said visitors can click on the Gulf Oil Spill tab on the web site.

Originally there were two Oak Island lighthouses constructed in 1849. Due to the increased traffic in this new inlet, two range lights were built on Oak Island, located on the west side of the river mouth.

The front light was constructed of wood on top of a sixteen foot high by fourteen foot wide foundation. The rear light was constructed on skids. Its location often changed due to the constant shifting channel. They were lit on September 7, 1849. Originally the lighthouses were designed similar to the other Cape Fear River (Price Creek, Campbell Island and Orton’s Point.) The difference was they usually had one tower built on top of the keepers house and a second light tower close by. Oak Island on the other hand had two individual brick towers with a separate 1.5 story keepers house. They were often referred to as the Caswell Lights because of their close proximity to Fort Caswell. These two lighthouses survived less than 20 years. These were badly damaged during the Civil War. In 1879. The two lighthouses were re-built. Then in 1893 another hurricane damaged the front beacon and keeper’s house beyond repair. By this time the shipping routes had changed. This change caused a decrease of ships along that part of the Cape Fear River. The lights were not considered to be of much importance at that time and there were no plans to repair the two towers.

Though there had been less shipping traffic through the new inlet, mariners trying to navigate through Frying Pan Shoals needed a strong beacon to help navigate the river. Funding became available in the early 1900’s for a new light to be constructed, across the river, on Bald Head Island. This light was lit in 1903. It served its purpose well until a more accessible light was constructed on Oak Island. This is the current lighthouse that stands there today.

Construction of the present Oak Island Lighthouse was completed in 1958. It was one of the last lighthouses built along the United States coast. At that time, it was constructed, the total cost to construct it was $110,000.00. The structure is 158 feet tall and built on a small rise in the ground. The height of the light above sea level is actually 169 feet, as reported on nautical charts.

The tower is designed to be able to sway about 3? per 100 mph winds. Its foundation is constructed of 24 concrete-filled steel pilings 10 3/4? in diameter and 67? in the ground, on bedrock. The pilings are capped by a 30 foot wide by 3 foot deep octagonal concrete base. The tower has an interior with a continuous diameter of 16 feet 4 3/4 inches and it’s wall is 8 inches thick. Unlike the spiral staircase as found in most lighthouses, the Oak Island lighthouse uses a series of ships ladders, to get from one level to the next. The ladders have a total of 134 The ladders have a total of 134 steps, leading to the lantern gallery level.

To establish the exterior color for each section of the Oak Island Lighthouse, the concrete walls were permanently cast in it’s stripe pattern. The lower forty feet is a natural gray of Portland cement. The middle fifty feet was poured with a mix of white Portland cement and white quartz aggregate to obtain its white color. The top fifty-two feet were of gray Portland cement with black coloring. The smaller concrete section at the top, was constructed with stationary metal forms just after the top floor was poured. The windows at the top of the tower were constructed of stainless steel but sashes have been replace with vinyl. It’s 11 foot tall aluminum lantern housing was installed by two Marine Corps helicopters, making the total height of the structure 153 feet above the foundation slab.

The lighthouse was activated in 1958 by carbon-arc mercury lamps used in 36-inch reflectors.  These reflectors with their housings were modified aircraft spotlights used in World War II. When these lamps were in use, the Oak Island light was the brightest lighthouse in America and the second brightest in the world at that time. Presently it has a 4000 watt aerobeam light, it can be seen from 24 miles away. This is one of the most powerful lighthouses in the world with a 2,500,000 candlepower light. It was one of the last manually operated lighthouse in the world, switching on each evening, just before sunset, and switched off, just after sunrise. This is a thing of the past, because the light is now functional all day and all night.

The Oak Island light is located on federal property that has been in use as a US Coast Guard station since the 1930’s. Prior to this it was a Lifesaving Station. In 2004, the lighthouse and the surrounding property were transfered to the Town of Caswell Beach along with the adjacent beach front property. The Coast Guard has remained responsible for the upkeep of the lights. Caswell Beach as well as The Friends of Oak Island Lighthouse, a not-for-profit organization, now have the responsibility to protect, preservation, and maintain the Oak Island Lighthouse and grounds. In addition, the town has made additional parking available, as well as providing access to the lighthouse grounds and a boardwalk access to the beach with an observation deck.

Visitor Information Directions:

Tours are now available for the first and second level of the lighthouse. Please contact the Friends of the Oak Island Lighthouse for more information on times.

From the North: Take I-95 South to I-40 East. Exit Route 53 West to Route 421 South. Then US 17 to Route 133 South to Oak Island.

From the South: Take US 17 North to Route 211 South at Supply. Then Route 133 South to Oak Island.

Oak Island Lighthouse Facts:

* Built in 1958
* It cost $110,000 to complete
* structure Height: 158 feet
* The lighthouse has 134 ‘ladder’ steps to the lantern gallery level
* Coast Survey Chart: 33.8939 N latitude, 78.0351 W longitude
* The beacon produces 2,500,000 candlepower and shines over 24 nautical miles during times of darkness
* Foundation is 67 ft deep into bedrock
* The concrete used during construction contains paint, so the structure will never need repainting.
* The lighthouse is still in service; kept up by a joint effort by Caswell Beach and the U.S. Coast Guard.
* The current Oak Island Lighthouse was preceded by two other structures

For fisherman coming back was like a family reunion seeing people that they hadn’t seen since it closed in ‘2007.

After going into foreclosure, the fishermen who made the pier their second home all went their different directions.

Now called Oak Island Pier it’s officially back in business. All bracing hardware has reinforced or replaced and the handrails and power-washed the wood. Workers have also been painting and up-fitting the inside of the pierhouse.

The town of Oak Island NC is leasing the pier it seeks to secure financing to purchase it.

Operated by former Long Beach Pier owner Tommy Thomes, almost fully repaired. It just lacks a few details such as a few replaced boards, and other minor fixes. But that’s not enough to stop long time fisherman. They don’t much care how it looks.

It costs around $ 9.00 to take two rods out and fish off the pier. The grand opening for the new Oak Island Pier will be this Saturday May 16th at 11:00 a.m.

So grab some rods and some bait and we’ll see you there!

With these six medals added to those won over the past six years the total awarded the winery comes to the 219 awards! Silver Coast Winery received bronze medals for its 2006 American Oak Chardonnay, 2005 Seyval Blanc and 2002 Merlot and silver medals for its Premium Oak Chardonnay, 2005 Reserve Merlot and 2004 Treasure.

Silver Coast Winery Winter hours (January & February) for tours and tastings are offered from noon to 5pm Wed – Sunday. For more info visit the winery’s site at: silvercoastwinery.com or call 910.287.2800

For more about the site read our archived story here!

Well you get the message – see their new menu to see all the ways they do shrimps! Then there’s them oysters -don’t get me started! Better just go on by and try ‘em with a cold beer or other beverage.

At Sharky’s you can enjoy great food overlooking a fabulous view of the waterway. You can tie up your boat at Sharky’s dock. Thoroughly casual, Sharky’s is fun for the whole family.

Located by the bridge at nearby Ocean Isle Beach, Sharky’s is a great destination to go by boat (or by car).

The new menu at Sharky’s offers a wide selection from Lite Bites (Panko Crusted Shrimp, Calypso Ribs, Oyster & Corn Chowder, etc.), hand tossed pizza, a nice selection of hot and cold subs, soups and salads as well as daily specials such as Grouper, Mahi Mahi and more.

Come check out the new improved Sharky’s