The Return

We were only on the island for an hour and a half before we started to hear thunder coming from the south. Not much of a break between two 5-mile paddles, but we knew it wouldn't be wise to stick around and miss the window of opportunity to head back while the tide was still high. So we packed up the bulkheads and shoved off for the return to Ocracoke. The wind was still up, so we were blessed with a 15 mph tailwind the whole way back. We were even able to surf some waves and pick up speed in Teach's Hole. The storm never did hit the islands, but with Ernesto hot on our heels, we didn't want to take any chances. We wound up doing the round trip from Ocracoke to Portsmouth and back in just six and a half hours. We did manage to claim a geocache find in the short time we were there. We never made it out to the beach though, so we have a reason to go back sometime soon.

Email