Take A Break Romance Special for Two with breakfast!!

Just $99 per night for two people!

Late Summer (9/1/10 – 9/31/10 Sunday through Thursday nights only)

Autumn (10/1/10 – 11/15/10) : Just $74 per night for two people! (Sunday through Thursday nights only) No Minimum Stay!

Call 800.334.3581 for reservations!
The The Winds Resort Beach Club’s Take A Break Special package includes accommodations in an Island View Camellia Guest Room with a wetbar and refrigerator, a full hot Southern breakfast buffet each morning, daily housekeeping, complimentary use of bicycles and discounts to area restaurants and shops.

• Add Dinner For Two for $65.00 (gratuities not included) at choice of 3 nearby restaurants:

Roberto’s Italian Ristorante:
Dinner Includes: Two Entrees (special menu for Winds Guests), Bottle of House Wine, Salad, Dessert, Non-alcoholic Beverages.

Sharky’s Waterfront Restaurant (overlooking the intra-coastal waterway)
Dinner Includes: Two Entrees (any menu item), 4 Glasses of House Wine, Salad, Dessert, Non-alcoholic Beverages.

Cinelli’s Italian Restaurant(overlooking the intra-coastal waterway):
Dinner Includes: Two Entrees (any menu item – except steak), Bottle of House Wine, Salad, Dessert, Non-alcoholic Beverages.

Bourbon Street:
Any two entrees on the menu, two sides per entree, a bottle of wine and choice of dessert at table side. ]]> http://coastalnc.com/take-a-break/feed/ 0 http://coastalnc.com/ocean-isle-beach-project-complete/ http://coastalnc.com/ocean-isle-beach-project-complete/#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 16:37:05 +0000 gary http://coastalnc.com/?p=1189 The Corps of Engineers has just completed the Ocean Isle Beach beach renourishment project which also included the dredging of Shallotte Inlet aiding navigation.

More than 500,000 cubic yards of sand was placed on the Ocean Isle Beach strand during May 2010.

The project removed sand from a sand bar in the Shallotte River Inlet (near the waterway between Ocean Isle and Holden Beach) and moved the sand to the east end of the beach.

Also the widened beach at the east end will offer additional recreational benefits such as sunbathing, fishing and shelling, also the extra sand will create extra nesting habitat for sea turtles.

It was important that the project be completed by May 21st in order to not interfere with loggerhead turtles’ nesting season.

Mayor Debbie Smith said it is the largest project of the year.

The renourishment project, which is in conjunction with Carolina, Kure and Wrightsville Beaches, bought 509,200 cubic yards of sand to the beach, according to the town’s Web site. The sand was placed as far east as Shallotte Boulevard and as far west as Concord Street.
“This goes the furthest west than any renourishment has gone since original construction in 2001,” Smith said.

Ocean Isle Beach has contracted with the Corps of Engineers in a 50-year, $150 million contract for beach renourishment.

The $800,000 project removed sand from the last sand bar in the Lockwood Folly Inlet (near the waterway) and moved the sand to the east end of the beach.

Work at Holden Beach went very quickly.

Officially titled the Lockwood Folly Inlet Crossing Navigation Maintenance, the project put sand starting in front of the last house on the east end all the way to in front of the clubhouse at Winding River’s which is also on the oceanfront.

The project which put 172,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach runs 9/10ths of a mile long and is 150 feet wide.

The beach at Holden Beach has been widened considerably

Town manager David Hewett said that Congressman Mike McIntyre worked to make sure the Corps’ project was fully funded without any cost to Holden Beach.
The benefits of the adding sand to the shoreline include beach-compatible sand keeping the cost of the project down because it doesn’t have to be transported from a distant source, the additional sand will provide protection from storm-damage to homes at the east end of the island, some of that sand is expected to drift down providing extra protection for beach houses elsewhere on the beach.

Also the widened beach at the east end will offer additional recreational benefits such as sunbathing, fishing and shelling, also the extra sand will create extra nesting habitat for sea turtles.

It was important that the project be completed by May 1 in order to not interfere with the nesting season of the loggerhead turtles.

“We loved how one shot, above all others, stood out. Photographer Geoff Wood captured the image of fisherman Tony DiFranco just as the early morning light illuminated his kind face. As viewers, we are drawn in to the scene and story — here, we are more than mere spectators but participants in the scene. It’s easy to feel a connection to this fisherman, and we feel as if we are standing right there with him on the Holden Beach pier, listening to the click of his reel, smelling the salt in the air.”

A great cover photograph should capture the character and personality of a place, and the fisherman cover reveals the essence of a favorite visit to the North Carolina coast.

Other coastal stories in the issue reflect the wistful nostalgia of memory — including a look back at the little Sunset Beach Bridge (at nearby Sunset Beach NC) to the fond recollections of a NC family as they spend another summer in their beach cottage.

Our State Magazine wanted a cover that reminded all of us of our past and the traditions we carry through from season to season. We think they achieved that at Holden Beach!

This department is responsible for all manner of health inspections – they inspect or accommodations, restaurant, kitchens, dining area and of course our TikiBar.

When you reach the Platinum level that means that you have received the Golden A Award for five consecutive years. The Golden A Award is received when you have a 95% or above for all inspections.

The owners and management of The Winds thanks our food service and housekeeping staff for their dilegence. We are so proud of this ward and the people who won it for The Winds!

Prior to the actual festival, much additional festival publicity and excitement will be generated through the following ancillary events: Festival Queen Pageant, 5K Run, Motorcycle Poker Run and Golf Cart Raffle, and other events still under development.

This year’s festival will feature approximately 175 truly arts and crafts vendors, specialty food vendors, tremendous entertainment, and phenomenal children’s area.

Festival Activities include:
Arts & Crafts, Food, Music, Kids Area, Family Fun, Business Booths, Community Groups, 3rd Annual Beauty Pageant, 3rd Annual 5K Run (The race will start and finish along the historic Little River waterfront.), Harley Davidson BlowOut, Live music and entertainment every day!

Click here to visit their website: bluecrabfestival.org

In this video he waves at us as he travels past Ocean Isle Beach NC on December 6, 2009.

Mr. Drowne left Wilimington NC on November 9th – he doesn’t seem to be in any hurry as he makes his way to Key West!

He used treated lumber to create the nearly self-contained habitat.

Drowne said “It’s very simple, this went together in about 5 months”

Drowne made his 11-foot tall Earth Ball for less than $600. It is a place that where he will have a lot of time to spend. He is traveling in his Earth Ball to Key West, FL and hopes to complete the trip in 45 days.

Drowne hopes to spread the message of ecology and economy during his month and a half long voyage. He believes that with his craft he can cut his impact on the environment by 90%.

“The wind generator up top gives me my 12 volt batteries – I have 2 batteries, and that’s enough for refrigeration and lights, it powers my computers, my inverter, so I have 110 power on board. It’s all here.” said Drowne.

He has all the amenities that one might find necessary for a voyage of this long distance including primitive necessities, modern conveniences and of what all homemade hexagonal wooden boat captains need on board – life jackets.

The military veteran plans to travel around the world in his Earth Ball after his trip to Key West,.

Click here to watch a video of an interview with Mr. Drowne on Wilmington’s WECT News

FORT FISHER -With an average weight of nearly 500 pounds & deadly jaws capable of snapping bones in half, it makes sense that the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher keeps there alligators under lock and key.

There’s a new teaching program at the Fort Fisher Aquarium, but this program isn’t for the public.

Instead, the program teaches some of the scariest residents how to behave.

Julie Johnson and Kari Ysland are responsible for keeping the alligator display clean, cared for, and running, which wasn’t too difficult to do when the gators were small.

“As you can see they’re getting to a fairly large size, so they’re not scared of us any more,” said Johnson.  “We use to get in, and basically have a barrier between us and them, and if the gator got to close we’d nudge them away.”

Now, for the past six months, the crew has used a candy striped section of PVC pipe as a target to get the gators to go where they want.

“Instead of using intimidation to get them to move away from us we can get them to willingly move by going over to someone that gives them a reward by doing so,” said Johnson.

As a reward the gators are given a pellet which is a supplement to the alligator’s diet of chicken, beef, and fish.

While the prospect of hand feeding alligators may seem frightening for some, for Kari and Julie it’s just another day in the office.

“I just have a passion for animals,” said Johnson.  “I enjoy them. The behavior training is great to kind of play off an animals natural instinct, aid what it’s already doing, and it’s a lot of fun coming to work every day.”

There have been no injuries or incidents for the employees or alligators since the program began.

You can watch the alligators be fed at the aquarium on Sundays.

Watch the video here

Story from (WECT TV Wilmington NC

Reported by Colin Hackman -
Posted by Debra Worley 

On Tuesday morning researchers from the University of North Carolina Wilmington taking an aerial survey spied the two whales heading South about 10 miles east of Masonboro Inlet.

They were able to identify Calvin by unique features on the whale’s face. She was named Calvin four years ago when they were not able to determine her sex but that now seems obvious.

It is not certain where Calvin gave birth but it is believed it was somewhere near where she was sighted Tuesday.

Calvin and her calf are “Right Whales” so named because they were considered the “right” whale for whalers to hunt in the 1800’s due to their slow movement. There was a time when right whales were once a fairly common sight along the U.S. coastline.

The researchers see the presence of the whales as proof that right whales are giving birth off North Carolina.

This could lead researchers to reconsider where one of the most endangered mammals on the face of the earth breeds.

“This just reinforces that the waters off North Carolina are very, very important to this species,” Pabst said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Calvin and her new baby were cruising toward South Carolina.

The Coast Guard had issued warnings to mariners to watch out for the pair and to slow down and keep clear if the whales are sighted.

It is against the law for ships and boaters to avoid coming close to right whales especially as a mother with a newborn calf is very vulnerable.

Right whales have suffered from being hit by ships, entangled in fishing lines and due to their tendency to breed slowly recovery has been difficult so the federal government has recently passed laws to force ships to slow down as they enter and depart some major ports along the East Coast during some seasons.

Well you get the message – see their new menu to see all the ways they do shrimps! Then there’s them oysters -don’t get me started! Better just go on by and try ‘em with a cold beer or other beverage.

At Sharky’s you can enjoy great food overlooking a fabulous view of the waterway. You can tie up your boat at Sharky’s dock. Thoroughly casual, Sharky’s is fun for the whole family.

The new menu at Sharky’s offers a wide selection from Lite Bites (Panko Crusted Shrimp, Calypso Ribs, Oyster & Corn Chowder, etc.), hand tossed pizza, a nice selection of hot and cold subs, soups and salads as well as daily specials such as Grouper, Mahi Mahi and more.

Come check out the new improved Sharky’s