Weather conspired to keep us longer in Manteo

Manteo, like Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, owes a lot to its waterside location. On Roanoke Island in Albemarle Sound, within eyeshot of the glittering dunes of Kitty Hawk on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Manteo blends deep history with outdoor recreation to drive a thriving resort economy.

We landed there two weeks back during an exploration of the sound aboard Nellie Lankford. We planned a brief overnight stop at the town dock on a Wednesday night, but the weather conspired to keep us in town longer.

To make our way back to our starting point at Elizabeth City in the Pasquotank River, we had to make a 25­-mile run northward across the open waters of the sound and then up the north­-south­-axised river. Unfortunately, the forecast called for 10­-15 mph winds out of the north for Thursday, which meant we would have to beat into it the whole way to Elizabeth City. Nellie’s tougher than we are. She shakes seas off her 22­-foot length like a retriever coming out of the water. Beating and banging doesn’t bother her. But we’re older now, and don’t like the feeling of our teeth rattling when she pounds into a trough, takes one over the bow, and then pops up again to take another.

Capt. Albert told us the shallow waters of Albemarle Sound can kick up a nasty chop. That proved true the afternoon of the day when we arrived in Manteo. An unexpected breeze stiffened out of the southeast and pushed seas into our face as we headed for our destination. Bound for Roanoke Island, we slipped out of a bit of a lee along the south shore of Albemarle Sound and bumped our way across the open waters of Croatan Sound just west of the island. We weren’t keen on the sea breeze that afternoon, but the next day it eventually made us smile.

Back to that in a minute

We were the first boaters of the new season taking advantage of an economic development initiative called the Albemarle Loop.

In an effort to encourage waterbound visitors to stop at various ports around the sound, the loop offers free dockage for up to two days and discount coupons for restaurants, coffee shops and retail shops. At Edenton they gave us great dockage and pointed to a free courtesy car for boaters who needed to run errands or take a quick look at the town.

At Albemarle Plantation Marina, a born­-again and friendly young preacher met us on the dock. Between repairs to golf course bridges, he carried us to the pro shop and handed us the keys to a free golf cart.

We ate meals at restaurants in Edenton, and would have at Albemarle Plantation ­- a retirement golfing and boating community ­- but its restaurant was closed that day. Again, free dockage.

In Manteo, the community offered more free dockage, in the middle of town, alongside a park and a tall metal tower with colorful weather flags flying 50 feet up. Weather’s important on Roanoke Island. Residents and visitors keep a close eye on the forecasts.

I stood beside a sign on the tower in the waterside park. Chest high, it marked the high water when Hurricane Irene came calling in August 2011. When officials say it’s time to evacuate, people don’t hesitate, whether in historic Manteo on the north end of the island or in boatbuilding Wanchese on the south end.

We arrived in Manteo 432 years after a boatload of settlers sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh picked their way through a shifting Outer Banks inlet to establish a colony in the new world. A few years later more settlers came. By 1590 they had all disappeared. Sound familiar?

The famous Lost Colony is the centerpiece of many historic interpretations around Manteo. Virginia Dare, first child born to English parents in the new world, took her first breath in the town named after a local native chief.

We learned all that after a failed attempt to make an early run for it Thursday morning before sunrise and before the north wind had a chance to get out of bed.

We threw off our lines, motored out of Manteo’s harbor, and stuck our nose out into Roanoke Sound, which connects with Albemarle between the island and the Outer Banks. No luck. The north wind rose earlier than we had, and 15 minutes was about all the pounding we could take before we turned tail and headed back for Manteo.

The forecast called for the sea breeze to rise out of the southeast in the afternoon. A waterman we spoke with said he had little faith in a southeast wind, but said he’d still make a run for it if he were us. “But wait until about 2.”

His advice, and the forecast, rang sweet to me. We were in an early spring warming spell and I knew the continent was heating up to the west. I’ve lived by the sea long enough to know that when the continent starts warming, it can pull a steady breeze off the ocean.

“OK Beck,” I said. “The weather wants us to stay and tour the island for a while. We’ll rent bikes, eat a big middle-of-the-day meal to repay the town’s courtesy, and then we’ll try things again at 2.”

The plan worked beautifully. Manteo Cyclery set us up with a pair of bright yellow beach cruisers with adjustable seats and tires filled with air. We rode out to the north end of the island on a paved trail to Fort Raleigh National Historic Park, enjoying the history, strolling through the colorful Elizabethan Gardens, and marveling at the graceful branches of live oaks arching over us. When we motored out of clean, neat and well­-kept Manteo that afternoon, the northerly wind had laid down and the promised southeasterly sea breeze had taken its place, giving us a nice gentle push to the north over a massaging little chop.

A sign on a pole in downtown Manteo proclaims: Preserve and Prosper. The historic little port is doing just that and will remain on our list as a place to revisit.

(See more photos of Manteo and Albemarle with my column at capegazette.com.)