Many thanks to Claiborne Young for contributing to our website. If you would like more information about his Cruising Guide Series, or wish to order any of his works, click here. |
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Many thanks to Claiborne Young for contributing to our website. If you would like more information about his Cruising Guide Series, or wish to order any of his works, click here. |
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Cape Lookout is a hook-shaped landmass that encloses a protected deepwater harbor known as Cape Lookout Bight. Minimum depths of 15 feet run almost to shore. The bight's superior protection and more-than-adequate depths make the harbor an ideal anchorage. On spring and summer weekends, the bight is often crowded with pleasure craft. However, there is always room for one more. The best spot to anchor is just behind the banks well west of flashing daybeacon #1. Simply avoid the shallows farther to the south and drop the hook at any spot that strikes your fancy. About the only precaution mariners need take when planning a visit to Cape Lookout is to consult the latest weather forecast. Though the harbor and anchorage are well sheltered from western, southern, and southwestern blows, there is not nearly so much protection from northern winds, particularly strong breezes from the northeast. If these winds are forecast at speeds topping 20 knots, delay your visit until fair weather returns. Cape Lookout is part of Cape Lookout National Seashore and is protected from commercial development. The National Park Service has established restrooms near the lighthouse and shade shelters at various locations along the banks and is now using the old Coast Guard docks and considering whether to recondition the decommissioned Coast Guard station for use as a ranger station. No other National Park Service facilities are available ashore or are anticipated for the future. Camping is allowed without special permit. The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is clearly visible from the bight and is still very much in use. Though you can't climb this structure, you might find a hike to its base interesting. Recently, Barden Inlet has cut closer and closer to this magnificent old lighthouse. Several years ago, an alternate channel was dredged on the inlet's western side to slow the erosion of the beach adjacent to the lighthouse's foundation. For now, the lighthouse is safe, but more permanent measures will eventually have to be taken if this historic landmark is to be preserved. A dinghy trip ashore to the cape is definitely recommended. It might almost be said that you have not seen the North Carolina coast until you've been ashore at Cape Lookout. Pull your dinghy well up onto the beach, as the tidal range is substantial. Once ashore, consider hiking the short distance to the ocean side of the cape. The cape itself is generally flat and covered with sand and grass. There were once sand dunes here, but they have long since departed. On the ocean side, you will find an incredible collection of seashells deposited by strong currents. After storms and at low tide, the shell hunting can be spectacular indeed. On the southern section of the sand spit that forms the northern curve of the cape, a rock jetty extends some distance out to sea. In favorable weather, this jetty makes for excellent scuba diving. Cape Lookout is an ideal setting for all seashore activities, whether they be picnicking, camping, scuba diving, shell collecting, or just throwing a Frisbee. North Carolina is fortunate to have such an accessible playground that has not succumbed to commercial development, and never will. Cape Lookout History Cape Lookout Bight has long been recognized as one of the finest harbors on the North Carolina coast. According to David Stick, a leading authority on the history of the Outer Banks, Spanish privateers used the bight as a hiding place in the 1740s. When Royal Governor Arthur Dobbs visited the cape in 1755, he described it as "the best, altho small, of any harbor from Boston to Georgia." During this period, Cape Lookout was sparsely populated by whalers. Though the largest concentration of these hardy seamen was at Diamond City on Shackleford Banks, many whalers' camps dotted Cape Lookout's shores. Several local names for certain sections of the cape were derived from these old camps. With some small assistance from the North Carolina government, a group of French volunteers constructed a fort on Cape Lookout during the Revolutionary War and named it in honor of John Hancock. Fort Hancock was garrisoned for two years, but not a trace of the old structure remains today. The first Cape Lookout Lighthouse was authorized in 1804, but due to considerable time spent in needless surveys, it was not lit until 1812. This first light was a double-walled tower. The inner wall was of brick and the outer was covered with wooden shingles and painted with horizontal red and white stripes. Passing sailors complained that the light was not tall enough to be effective, prompting the construction of a second lighthouse in 1857. During the Civil War, when the immediate coastline was in the hands of Union forces, the Confederates attempted to destroy the lighthouse with dynamite. Neither of the two daring raids was successful, though the light was put out of commission for a short while. There is a persistent, controversial story that the distinctive black-and-white diamond pattern of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse was a mistake. The story goes that the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was the one which was supposed to bear the diamond design, since it guards Diamond Shoals. The Cape Lookout Lighthouse was to receive the black-and-white spiral markings that today adorn the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. But the painting contractor was confused as to instructions, and the present patterns were the result. Recently, I have received information that casts this tale in a doubtful light, but it makes for a great story over dinner in the cockpit. In 1880, the Cape Lookout Lifesaving Station was established. It continued in operation under the Coast Guard until 1982. A United States Weather Bureau station saw service at the cape from 1876 to 1904. In 1912, plans were formulated to make Cape Lookout a major coal port. The North Carolina Railroad was to be extended from Beaufort to the cape, and a rock jetty was planned to lengthen the cape's western point and give additional protection to the bight. Work was begun on the jetty in 1914, and almost 0.5 nautical mile was completed before the outbreak of World War I caused the project to be abandoned. The rock jetty has done its work well; the sand spit at the cape's western tip has been extended nearly 1 nautical mile. This sand bank is often called the Power Squadron Spit. Cape Lookout has had a long history as a harbor of refuge. As you drop your hook in the bight, take a moment to consider those who have plied these waters: the Spanish, the French, pirates, British warships, American privateers, the Lifesaving Service, the Coast Guard, and now you. Cape Lookout Legend One of the most chilling sea tales you will ever hear had its origin at Cape Lookout. Unlike many coastal legends, this story is quite true. There are still Beaufort natives who will tell you their grandparents saw the events of that terrible night in January 1886. It seems that a fine three-masted schooner, the Crissie Wright, was making its way north along the North Carolina coast when bad weather threatened. The captain decided not to brave Diamond Shoals in the deteriorating conditions, so he set course for Cape Lookout Bight. As the ship approached the harbor, the main mast brace parted. The stricken vessel drifted helplessly onto the shoals, where it lay broadside and was broached by every incoming wave. The breakers were much too high to allow the launching of lifeboats, so the captain and crew took to the rigging. Meanwhile, most of the residents of nearby Diamond City gathered on the banks to watch the ship's plight. The Diamond City whalers tried repeatedly to launch their small boats, to no avail. The would-be rescuers built a huge bonfire on the beach, hoping some of the crew could swim to shore. It was not to be. As the horrified residents watched, the captain and several crew members were swept overboard. The night became bitterly cold. To this day, Beaufort natives use the expression "cold as the night the Crissie Wright came ashore." The next morning, the waves subsided and the whalers were able to reach the stranded craft. They found four men wrapped in the jib sail. Three were frozen solid, but one, the ship's cook, was alive. He died a scant year later, never having recovered from his ordeal. This is a tale that should remind all boaters just how fickle the sea can be. |
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[Cape Lookout]
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