Graveyard of the Atlantic

Over the past couple of posts I have bored you enough with my personal struggles, so today let me bore excite you with a nice, little museum that we visited on one of those many windless days during this past vacation.

We were happy to read that after the museum had been closed for renovation for the past couple of years, it is finally open again.

As you can see from the three opening photos - it really was a very beautiful sunny October day with not a cloud in sight (i.e. sadly no wind).

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The Museum's website and from their Instagram. Entry to the museum is free, donations accepted (and given happily).

Museum dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and presentation of the culture and history of the Outer Banks.

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Here is a map of part of the North Carolina coast. I forgot to take a photo of the one on display and I didn't want to copy/paste a copyrighted photo. But if you google 'shipwrecks map North Carolina' and go to 'images' you will see the map with no empty space along the coastline but shipwrecks everywhere dating back centuries and into the 2020s.

Most of them occurred on the oceanside due to difficult seas resulting from warm waters from the south clashing with colder water of the North Atlantic but many are also on the sound and on both sides on shifting sandbanks, shoals from the points were and are very dangerous to ships to this day.

_{Google maps}

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If you are on Google maps and you zoom in a little on the satellite view of the map you can see these shifting sands in a beautiful pattern between Hatteras Island and Ocracoke, plus the route the ferry has to take around them to stay in deeper waters.

_{Google maps}

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When you first enter the museum you can watch a few minutes long film (on loop) explaining this unique situation and how it caused so many ships to run aground. Thus people living here got a reputation of being wreckers because while the ships couldn't sail anymore they may have had cargo to be salvaged as well as wood, metal and anything else of use.

A lot of the ships' history is told through digital displays but there are loads and loads of artifacts that were salvaged and preserved from the ships from different eras. Here is a non-cohesive and incomplete collection of some of them that I found interesting for one reason or another.

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To prevent ships from running aground the coastline is dotted with iconic lighthouses, some of which are open for visits. Early in the last century lightships were also employed. And for those unlucky enough to shipwreck but lucky enough to be close to the shore life-savers were stationed here. This is a central exhibit in the museum depicting the dangerous life of those men.

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I was, of course, quite fascinated by the old drawings of ships, maps and a lighthouse and couldn't help myself and snapped a few photos with my phone.

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Today this coast is mainly known for beach and fishing vacations and tourism, however, it has a very long history, especially of fishing.

Naturally, after we had finished up at the museum we took a stroll along the beach just across the road. Museum trips plus a beach walk are exhausting! So, we walked over to the small marina watching the ferry to Ocracoke come and go while we grabbed a sandwich for lunch from the only restaurant/bar still open this time of the year.

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A little further down the road is a bigger marina with many more and also bigger fishing yachts but we didn't go there this time.

Should you ever make it to Hatteras Island I definitely recommend stopping by the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. It won't take too much of your ime and you may learn something while enjoying the exhibits. We certainly did.

Till next time!

Have a great rest of your day!

Cheers,
(Ocean)Bee

_{Unless otherwise noted, copyright for all photos, dividers, and gifs ©Oceanbee|ImagesByCW}

_{99.9% of photos taken with my Fuji X-T5 and iPhone}