Sharks!

January 21, 2013 | Uncategorized

We all know there are sharks in the waters around the Outer Banks, we justs choose to ignore this fact.  It’s like worrying about the microscopic bugs that live in your eye lashes.  No harm, no foul.  But when you see there’s a web site that tracks a tagged great white shark and that shark, named Mary Lee, weighs 3,500 pounds starts hanging around very near the coast, well, you’ve got my attention. http://sharks-ocearch.verite.com/ This got me thinking.  If we tagged hundreds of sharks who roam the mid-Atlantic seaboard we’d have enough data to have a “traffic” report every morning in the summertime so we’d know what we might encounter when we entered the water that day.

Read More

Hurricane Sandy

October 29, 2012 | Uncategorized

It’s late October and we made it through the summer with no hurricane events . . . . until now. On the bright side we are usually shut down for business this time of year anyway so everything was already out of the water. However, after learning a lesson from Hurricane Irene on how much the soundside can flood I decided to move all the boats out of the parking lot. I waited until the last minute just in case the hurricane winds didn’t amount to much. Fat chance. The winds have been blowing for days and with the ground saturated we could get a hard push of water from the soundside. We got the boats out of the parking lot during a horizontal rain storm which kept us wet and cold. Pushing and pulling all those jet-skis around all day reminded me how out of shape I’m in. I’m … Continued

Read More

The Leslie Swell

September 13, 2012 | Uncategorized

I’m a little ashamed I haven’t taken advantage of the swell that TS Leslie started. That’s the price of being a dad. Driving the kids to and from school cuts in to my productivity time, thus, leaving no free time to go surf. Usually, the ocean is still warm enough in October after we’ve closed the shop and my free time increases. -John

Read More

Low Tide

June 17, 2012 | Uncategorized

One odd trait regarding the Roanoke Sound is that it does not have lunar tides. However, when the wind blows very hard in one direction for a sustained period you’ll find either high or low levels depending upon the direction. High if it’s blowing on-shore, low if it’s blowing off-shore. Well, this past week we had hard off-shore winds (30+ mph). This left us with water levels so low we had to cease waverunner rentals to prevent damage to the skis. Fortunately, the wind is dying down today and the water is coming back. Looks like it will be a great week.

Read More

Hurricane Irene, Part II

September 24, 2011 | Uncategorized

After taking care of business I wasn’t sure what else could be done in the dark. Just sit and wait? For what? Butch offered me a room at his apartment complex for the night so I could stay nearby and keep my eyeballs on things. This sounded like a good idea and I took him up on it. I went back home, grabbed some things, and called my manager, Dan McIsaac. In the event of possibly having to wade back in to the sound in the middle of the night I didn’t want to swim alone. We crashed at My Lagoon, at one point I awoke at 4:00 a.m. and decided to walk across the street and check on things. It was pretty calm now and I couldn’t tell if the water had receded or not, the debris was too thick and it was still dark out. I saw a … Continued

Read More

Surfrider Foundation Paddle Contest

July 24, 2011 | Uncategorized

The local Surfrider Foundation hosts an annual event at the KDH bath house every year to raise money for scholarships. It was my first time and I had a great time. It’s a one mile race along the shore. Categories are kayaks, SUPs, paddle boards, and surf boards. They also had raffles, lunch, and fellowship. They even motivated the groms to pick up trash by giving them free t-shirts or hats. My youngest was all to eager to get out there and help out. I had such a good time I hope to have Kitty Hawk Watersports be a part of it next year.

Read More

God Bless Steve Thomas

October 25, 2010 | Uncategorized

Steve and I met by necessity. We both lived on the same street. We both had daughters the same age and in the same class during preschool. And we were both stay-at-home dads. We came to lean on each other quite a bit and our daughters became good friends. We both kind of bumbled around as stay-at-home dads, but we each knew that if the other needed help watching the kids a phone call was all that was needed to get out of a jam. We never kept score because you always knew you’d need help at some point in time. I used to talk surfing with him because I knew he’d get excited about it and I enjoyed our conversations. And when it seems like you spend the entire day w/ kids, talking to another adult can be quite therapeutic. Talking to another dad with similar interests while hanging … Continued

Read More

Hobie Regatta

October 12, 2010 | Uncategorized

We had a great time hosting the 2nd Annual Hobie Regatta last weekend. Great fun, food, friends, and weather. Same time/place next year.

Read More

Tropical Storm Colin

August 11, 2010 | Uncategorized

I was busy working last weekend but all the surfers were out in full force taking advantage of T.S. Colin’s swell. Fortunately, I got out Monday night right after work at MP 17. Swells were super easy to catch and it was the first time on the 11′ 6″ Michael Dolsey SUP. It was a little tippy while waiting but felt good on the waves. Water was nice and warm. Can’t wait until next time. Our new Starboard SUPs should be in any day.

Read More