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The Wilmington Roadrunners Board has decided that this year’s Turkey Trot 4 mile Trail Run/Walk on November 28th, which along with the Seaside Shuffle, are the only 2 Club “owned” races, will be partnering with Carolina Beach State Park to establish a discretionary fund for the Park and administered by the WRRC, to help support Park projects such as trail maintenance and upgrades, nature programs, and any other uses to be determined by Park Staff for special purchases not met by its allocated budget.
This endeavor will be funded with proceeds from the race, half of the profits will be returned to the Club treasury for its needs, and the other half will be designated for Carolina Beach State Park. The Park staff has allowed the WRRC and other organizations to use its facilities for many running/walking events for more than 30 years. With the Turkey Trot we will be in a position to give back to “our” Park, which, at least can serve as an overdue thanks for allowing us to benefit from it so many times in the past. Last years Race Directors, Dan and Alice Salottolo report that the race profited over $3000 thanks to participation from our sponsors and the hearty souls who came out despite cold and rain.
This race is unique to this area, in that its course is challenging and different, in that it is run almost entirely in the woods. Additionally, runners will receive a short sleeve Tech T Shirt this year and, as usual, a full course catered breakfast! Walkers are also encouraged to participate and family members not running or walking can purchase breakfast tickets to enjoy with everyone else. This is a great family event, particularly, with good weather.
Entry forms will be available in most of the usual places around town, or for information you can call Race Director Nick Parker at Omega Sports, 762-7212 (nparker@omegasports.net) or Dan Salottolo at (danrsal@gmail.com.
Early registration is encouraged and don’t forget to bring family members for breakfast in the Park. Join with the Wilmington Roadrunners Club and help us enhance and promote this valuable resource that is Carolina Beach State Park!!
The race will be held Saturday, November 28th, beginning at the Marina Parking lot at the Carolina Beach State Park in Carolina Beach. The entry fee is $35.00 and includes an all you can eat hot breakfast buffet--additional breakfast tickets are available for $9.00 a person. Race day registration and packet pick-up will be Saturday, November 28th from 7-8:30 a.m. at the Carolina Beach Recreation Center.
http://roguerunners.org/2009races.htm
AP: Last week's nor'easter helped deliver a message in a bottle that was tossed into the ocean 24 years ago from New Jersey to North Carolina.
Ocean City held a contest in 1985 to reward the vacationer whose bottle traveled the farthest. The message was written by Heidi Kay Werstler of Trembler's Trailer Park in Pennsylvania.
Workers at The Sanderling Resort & Spa in Duck, on the Outer Banks, found the bottle while cleaning up after last week's storm.
The contest has long since expired. But Ocean City wants to track down Werstler to award her a prize of saltwater taffy.
Source: WITN
Photo Credit
Edit 11/27: Heidi Kay Werstler comes forward
For the first time in probably 146 years, someone picked up a broom and swept the floor of the small lighthouse. But this time it wasn’t the lightkeeper. It was Julep Gillman-Bryan, a worker with the N.C. Underwater Archaeology Department.
She and a dozen or so others uncovered the foundation and a few artifacts left behind from what was once a 40-foot tall structure standing in what is now called Battle Acre at Fort Fisher State Historic Site...
From records, they already knew the lighthouse was built in 1816, long before the Civil War brought thousands of Confederate and Union soldiers to two bloody clashes here on the jut of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cape Fear River...
...they also knew that it was remodeled about 1836 after a fire burned the top 10 feet of the lighthouse. Because the intense heat of the fire made the brick and coquina dangerously brittle, it’s likely construction workers decided not to re-build it to the original height.
The structure aided navigation through the early years of the Civil War. But then, Steele said, the fort’s commander, Col. William Lamb, decided it was just to much of a target for Federal gunships and he had his soldiers dismantle it in 1863.
Read the complete Wilmington Star article (with photo) here
CAROLINA BEACH, NC OCT 16, 2009: The Carolina Beach Boardwalk Makeover is proud to present another family-friendly event during the holidays on the Carolina Beach Boardwalk.
Beginning Friday, November 27, 2009 the Boardwalk will come alive with holiday spirit, when the 1st Annual “Lighting of Boardwalk” will occur at 8pm, following the Lighting at the Lake presented by the Island of Lights. The Boardwalk oceanfront landscaped coves will come alive with merriment and decorations, thanks to local businesses and groups who have sponsored the various coves. View the decorations nightly through January 1.
Festive activities will then be held every Friday and Saturday through December 19 from 5-8pm. All events and activities are free.
Activities include: Fire Pit with Story Telling, Hot chocolate, Live Nativity Scene, Caroling, Santa (Sat only), Theatre, Choral and band performances by Ashley, Murray and CB Elementary (Sat only), Pleasure Island Drama Club, Cape Fear Roller Girls, Puppet shows, Arts & Crafts Market Area and ornament making activities for the kids. Activities and performances are FREE.
Christmas by the Sea is a winter event series at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk sponsored by the Boardwalk Makeover Group, who was responsible for the Boardwalk Blast Summer Event Series this summer. The Boardwalk Makeover is a 501c-3 all volunteer organization committed to restoring and reviving the Boardwalk of Carolina Beach. For more information, visit www.boardwalkmakeover.org
CAROLINA BEACH, NC: Kick off the season with a fun-filled day of deals, sales and holiday cheer. Over 15 restaurants and retailers in Carolina Beach are participating in the 4th Annual Holiday Walk on Sunday, November 22, from Noon to 6pm.
Restaurants have lunch specials, shops have sales, offices serve snacks and beverages and bars serve special drinks just for the occasion. It is a great time to get to know your local business owners as well as get some early shopping done.
But it’s not over after just that one day. In the November issue of Snow’s Cut Monthly, you will find an insert with all the names and locations of participating businesses (insert also available at the participants). Stop in to just half the places on the list and get it signed and you will be eligible to win a gift basket full of great items from each participant. The drawing will be held on December 15, so you have to turn in your form by noon that day to Island Florals by Roxanne located at 100 N. Lake Park Blvd.
So look for the giant Santa balloon outside participating businesses in Carolina Beach (don’t forget the Boardwalk or the Food Lion Shopping Center) and start your holidays with fun!
For more information and to print the shop/dining flyer, visit http://www.snowscut.com/
Carolina Beach and Kure Beach, N.C., will be hosting a series of family-fun, holiday-themed events this season. The annual “Island of Lights Festival” begins with the “Light up the Lake” ceremony on Friday, November 27 and ends with the “New Year’s Eve Countdown Party and Fireworks” on December 31.
Following is a schedule of some of the family-fun events planned for this holiday season in Carolina Beach and Kure Beach:
November 27: Island of Lights - Light Up the Lake. Starts at 7:00PM
December 4: Island of Lights Night-Time Christmas Parade Starting at 7:30pm.
The hour and a half parade brings festive fun and entertainment to all. Bring your chairs, blankets and snacks to enjoy the fun time. Public parking is free, parade starts at 7:30pm. 
Fishing boats and pleasure crafts electrically decorated with thousands of lights present a spectacular display on the Intracoastal Waterway. The parade of boats will cruise from Snows Cut to Carolina Beach Boat Basin and back. A unique coastal tradition sure to please the hearts of all. Cash prizes are awarded. View from anywhere along the waterway. Public parking is free.
December 11 & 12: Kure Beach Christmas Fantasy Show Starting at 7:00pm
Take a self-guided tour through some of Pleasure Island's most beautiful homes that are decorated for the holidays.
This family-fun event features fireworks, music and a New Year’s Eve countdown with the lowering of a giant lighted beach ball at the Carolina Beach boardwalk followed by spectacular fireworks. This free family-friendly event will feature a DJ and dancing with refreshments available for purchase.
This stunning picture shows a 10ft Great White thrashing about with two massive chunks missing on either side of its body, off the Queensland coast. Experts said its rival may be 20ft (about six metres) long, judging by the size of the huge bites.
Sky News article about the Queensland shark
I'm told that the 2009 Hot Wax Surf Challenge, which was held this past weekend in Carolina Beach, was a big success. Check out these great event pictures from the Surf Carolina Magazine facebook page.
Large wind turbines would be clearly visible two miles off the Carolina coast but would all but disappear into the haze eight miles out to sea, a new photo simulation shows.
Clemson's South Carolina Institute for Energy Studies created the simulation as part of Santee Cooper's research into the viability of building a wind farm off the Grand Strand.
The visual impact of the wind turbines has been a major hurdle for some projects in the United States and Europe.
"We think it's important to give people an idea of what it looks like," said Marc Tye, Santee Cooper's vice president of conservation and renewable energy. "We want people to form opinions based on the facts."
Earlier this summer, Santee Cooper and Coastal Carolina University placed two strings of buoys off the Grand Strand to measure winds. One was at the north end near North Myrtle Beach; the other was at the south end, closer to Debordieu Beach.
Based on data captured by these buoys, Santee Cooper will build a tower to capture wind measurements at heights of more than 220 feet, slightly less than the height of a typical offshore wind turbine. Santee Cooper recently received proposals from five companies and is expected to award the design contract within a week. In all, the wind measurement tower will cost about $1 million. Tye said construction of the tower should start in early 2010.
Meanwhile, Clemson researchers used special software designed to show what large turbines would look like at various distances. One photo shows how a 12-turbine wind farm seven miles off the coast of Little River would appear under blue skies. In that photo, the turbines look like small white straws sticking up from the ocean.
A second photo shows what a wind farm would look like 8.7 miles off the coast of Debordieu on a cloudier day. In these conditions, the towers all but vanish into the haze. A third photo shows towers at distances ranging from two to eight miles.
The distance issue is important because it may be less expensive to build and maintain a wind farm closer to shore. At the same time, winds tend to be stronger farther offshore, which means they may generate more power, Tye said
"The problem is not whether (a wind farm) can be done," Tye said. "It's whether it can be done cost-effectively." He added that "so far we haven't seen anything yet that rules it out, and that in itself is progress."
Santee Cooper's project is part of a surge in interest in wind power in South Carolina. Another notable wind project involves a consortium led by Clemson's Restoration Institute. The group is vying with several states for a $45 million grant to build a national offshore turbine testing lab at the former Navy base. The grant is expected to be announced soon and could be a magnet for wind-manufacturing industries.
Post and Courier Article
Santee Cooper Press Release (article basis)
Wind Turbine Photo
Photos Downloaded from Santee Cooper with the accompanying descriptions (click to enlarge):
Figure 1 North
Figure 2 South
Figure 3 Composite
**First ocean wind turbine project in the United States to be conducted in the Outer Banks. Information on the project from Campus Technology & Reuters
Munley herself was injured, but she managed to shoot the gunman four times within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said Friday morning.
Munley, 34, is the daughter of former Carolina Beach mayor Dennis Barbour. She grew up in Carolina Beach and graduated in 1993 from Hoggard High School.
We’re just so grateful and thankful to the Lord that she’s safe,” Wanda Barbour said. “Our hearts just ache for the loss of others, too, and hers, too. She’s still upset about that.”November 4, 2009
(Although this is not a Pleasure Island event, we are posting it here because the tournament is for a wonderful cause that should be supported by everyone in the Wilmington area)
Wrightsville Beach, NC: Don’t forget Fish for Tomorrow’s 5th Annual Flat Bottom Girls Flounder Tournament on Saturday, November 6 & 7.
The tournament is an ingenious way of replenishing the Cape Fear Region’s depleted flounder stock. The “live weigh-in” format means that the fish are kept alive so that they can be donated to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and North Carolina State University. Eggs are taken from pregnant females and fertilized to grow a new generation of flounder.
Last year 15 boats participated in the event which is held at the Dockside Marina in Wrightsville Beach. The cost is $125 per boat and the first 15 largest flounder will bring guaranteed prizes of $100 to $1,000. The Captains meeting will be held at the Triangle Lounge on Friday, November 6 and the tournament will officially begin at daylight on Saturday, November 7.
Fish for Tomorrow was formed as a response to the dwindling numbers of flounder left in the wild in the Cape Fear Region. Their goal is to rebuild the flounder population levels and promote sustainable fishing practices. They hope to achieve these goals by:
· Restocking flounder in local waters. Their hatchery program at South Brunswick High School has resulted in the release of millions of flounder hatchlings in the last two years.
· Placing artificial reef material into near and inshore protected areas to provide a good habitat for flounder.
· Working closely with the existing Oyster Recycling program. This program creates new oyster reefs from recycled oyster shells which also provide a good habitat for flounder.
Call Tim Barefoot at (910) 264-9118 for more information.
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