BTW- From my house in Southern Shores I could see birds dive-bombing the ocean for fish.  It was just before sundown so I grabbed my fishing rod and sprinted to the beach.  As usual, the fish were well beyond casting distance and they were traveling north.  As I stood there casting my lure with desperate futility I noticed the spray of a whale.  He was heading south and was only 200 yards off shore.  Didn’t appear too big.  We commonly see Northern Right Whales in these parts.  Not that we see them that often, I’ve had about five or six sightings in the last 11 years and I don’t go to the beach on a weekly basis in the winter when they’re most common.  All in all, a great experience despite the lack of catching a striper.