Lucky Leprechaun 5K Run

January 24, 2012 by Kim
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Lucky Leprechaun 5K Run

Get into the St. Patrick’s Day Spirit on March 10th, 2012! Wear Green and show your Leprechaun Spirit! The course is flat, fast and beautiful as it parallels the ocean along the east side of the island.

The Winds is offering all race participants a 25% discount on all accommodations for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We are also throwing a Post-Race Party for participants staying at The Winds. Ask for details when you reserve your room. Please go to http://its-go-time.com/lucky-leprechaun-run-march-10 to register for the race.

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Shipwreck Diving NC

December 5, 2011 by Kim
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Everyone fascinated with the sea will enjoy reading this documentary on local shipwreck diving. The book features stories and pictures about ships that have sunk offshore this area since the early 1800s.

Local authors Fred R David and Vern J. Bender created this 66 page paperback book.

$14.95 Buy it at: http://Islands-Art.com

People from age 4 to 104 will love this book, for twelve good reasons:

* It provides short stories of the last voyage of ships that sank offshore of Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach, Oak Island, and Baldhead Island
* It provides actual pictures of ships that sank here, such as the Sherman, the Hebe, the Raritan, the Governor, and the City of Houston
* It provides GPS #’s of many shipwrecks off southeast North Carolina
* It provides color pictures and short descriptions of exotic marine life that inhabit local shipwrecks
* It reveals where local Shark Tooth Beds are located and describes the extinct megalodon that once roamed here * It discusses the local Cypress Tree Forest on the ocean floor
* It provides numerous embedded YouTube video hotlinks to bring to life local shipwrecks and marine life
* It describes how, when, and where to catch spiny and slipper lobster here
* It gives important information for diving local shipwrecks, including depth, visibility, currents, type of artifacts, and marine life
* It describes local shipwreck history, from pirate ships to Civil War blockade runners, to World War II U-boat victims, to the recent Valour sinking * It tells the story of Frying Pan Tower and Frying Pan Lightships
* Help us preserve the history of this area by making this book available to others.

$14.95 Buy it at: http://Islands-Art.com

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Blackbeard’s Pirateship Anchor

May 30, 2011 by Kim
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A 3,000 pound anchor has been recovered off the North Carolina coast on Friday, by Archaeologists from what they believe to be the wreck of the pirate Blackbeard’s flagship! It is hoped that this might change plans regarding how to save the rest of the almost 300 year old artifacts from the central part of the pirate ship.

Divers had planned to bring up the second-biggest artifact on what is thought to be the Queen Anne’s Revenge however they discovered it was too well-attached to some of the other items in the pile of ballast, according to the project director, Mark Wilde-Ramsing. So they pulled up another anchor instead that is the third-largest artifact and was most likely the anchor for the ship.

The anchor, which is 11 feet, 4 inches long with arms that are 7 feet, 7 inches across, was covered with a mixture of shells, sand and other debris that has been attracted by the leaching wrought iron. Its estimated to weigh approximately 2,500 to 3,000 pounds.
The size of the anchor is typical for a ship the size of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, with the two other anchors probably used in the event of an emergency, like a storm.

Archaeologists were planning to remove the second-largest anchor, which is 13 feet long with arms that are 8 feet across, from where it is located on top of the ballast pile. But found it to be too well-attached, so the divers went in from the side instead retrieving the “everyday anchor”. This means that in the future other dives may require going in from the side of the shipwreck rather than the top.

Divers are continuing to work for four days next week, then they’ll decide how best to move forward. The dive team hopes to recover all the artifacts by the end of 2013.

North Carolina state officials are hoping the anchor as well as the other artifacts will attract tourists. The shipwreck was discovered in 1996, causing world wide attention. The largest exhibit of artifacts from will be on view at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort starting June 11.

The timing of the recovery of the anchor couldn’t be better for North Carolina tourism interest in the shipwreck. The Disney film “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” starring Johnny Depp was just released earlier this month featuring both Blackbeard and the Queen Anne’s Revenge.

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Photographer’s New Book

October 17, 2010 by gary
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The beaches of the Brunswick Islands of NC are featured in new book by nationally renowned local nature photographer and artist, Ken Buckner!

Favorite Beach Photos – By Ken Buckner

Hardcover coffee table edition with 128 high quality 8″x10″ pages with 100 full color photographs.

Stroll sandy shores by the sea or the beaches of a lovely lake and see sunrises, sunsets and wildlife just as nationally renowned local nature photographer and artist, Ken Buckner viewed them through his camera.

This is Ken’s journey and you are invited to join him through these pages. Most of the photos were taken near his home in the South Brunswick Islands of North Carolina.

“I explore beauty with my camera. The photos show the journey” – Ken Buckner

The book includes the occasional “story behind the picture.” Ken wants the reader to feel some of the excitement he experienced capturing these special moments in time.

Buy The Book – $35.00

Click here to buy this book at the Islands-Art.com website!

Islands Art features Giclée Prints by nationally renowned local nature photographer and artist, Ken Buckner, the books of Miller Pope (founder of The Winds Resort and Sea Trail Golf Resort), mystery novelist Tom Rieber and renowned local Romance Novelists Jacqueline DeGroot and Peggy Grich.

Excerpt from “Favorite Beach Photos” – By Ken Buckner: “Consistently my most popular nature photo year after year, this image was made on the west end of Ocean Isle Beach, N. C. The inviting path to the sea, lined with sea oats and soft dunes reminds the viewer of a pleasant excellence they’ve had or would like to have. I didn’t know at the time that storms (especially hurricanes) can alter barrier islands drastically. They can move or eliminate all the things that are captured in this serene view and that is exactly what happened here. “Dunes Path” became the first photo to make me realize the value of recording transitory beauty. I was fortunate to find this spot and record it for all to enjoy, I loved the golden sea oats, blue shadows, pink sand and the tiny bird tracks going up the small dune in the forground, I built the design around the cactus shapes and still enjoy the sense of depth in the picture from the closest sand grains to the ocean’s distant horizon fine. The photograph portrays a moment of beauty that was and may again be seen in similar form along the ocean’s ever changing shore.”

Buy The High Quality Giclée Print

Click here to buy a high quality Giclée Print at the Islands-Art.com website!

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Excerpt from “Favorite Beach Photos” – By Ken Buckner: “Holden Beach, North Carolina is home to some of the largest Ghost Crabs that I’ve ever seen. Late one afternoon this creature and I seemed to be the only visitors on an east end beach and we spent about two hours together. I noticed that the crab was not only unafraid of me, he (or she) turned to face me as I moved around it in fascination, It occurred to me that I could control the light of the setting sun on the crab without touching it by simply changing my position. Thinking that an eye level approach might be interesting, I got down on my stomach in the sand and used a short telephoto lens to take a really good took. The crab seemed as interested in me as I was in it, perhaps seeing its own reflection in the lens. An encounter like this with what seems an alien visitor with its pod eyes above its head is one of the reasons I enjoy nature so much. The golden light of sunset became everything a photographer could hope for. The photograph provides a look at a creature that is normally shy and reminds me of the communication we had and the sunset we shared that special afternoon at the beach.”

Buy The High Quality Giclée Print

Click here to buy a high quality Giclée Print at the Islands-Art.com website!

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Book On Shallotte Area History

October 3, 2010 by gary
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talesofthesilvercoastsoftcover Tales of the Silver Coast – A Secret History Of Shallotte and Brunswick County – From the earliest days of European exploration to the golf courses and beach resorts in this fascinating and fast-growing region, Brunswick County has attracted settlers, invaders, and visitors of all descriptions.

In these pages you’ll read about Steve Bonnet, the “Gentleman Pirate,” who hid his ships in Brunswick’s moss-draped creeks but unfortunately underestimated the ebbing tide; Coast Guard mounted on horse-back patrolling Ocean Isle’s beaches hunting for spies landed by German submarines; “Mrs. Calabash,” who’s said to have lent her name to the famous sign-off for Jimmy Durante’s classic radio shows; and Topsy the Elephant, who swam for the Brunswick riverbank after breaking loose from circus handlers in the 1920s.

Follow the struggles and victories that shaped Brunswick County, from the first contact of Europeans with native Americans, to successive administrations of the Lords Proprietors, the royal governors, the British crown, and the leaders of a new nation—many at whom hailed from this small but influential corner of North Carolina. Discover Brunswick’s rich Civil War history, scenic roadways and waterways and current-day towns and townships.

Tales of the Silver Coast, recounts the tales of privateers and plantation owners, politicians and Prohibition rum-runners and the many colorful people and diverse places of southeastern North Carolina.

Hard Cover $14.95