ft' o m the top 



Dear Readers: 



Is a coastal vacation on your summer schedule? If it 

 is, be sure to take your Coastwatch along as a guide to 

 seaside critters, beach safety and a historical site called 

 Somerset. 



First, Jeannie Faris provides a field guide to the 

 creatures that live and feed along the beachfront, from the 

 base of the dunes to the breaking waves. This inhospitable 

 habitat where land meets sea is home to a host of critters 

 — ghost crabs, velvet ants, willets, mole crabs — capable 

 of withstanding crashing waves, arid sands and the wax 

 and wane of the tides. 



Outside the Albemarle town of Creswell, Carla 

 Burgess introduces us to a historic plantation called 

 Somerset and an energetic woman, Dot Redford, intent on 

 educating visitors about plantation life and, most impor- 

 tantly, about the people — the African slaves — who 

 made it thrive. 



Back at the beach, I familiarize readers with the 

 rules of the sand. Understanding currents, exercising 

 restraint and knowing your own physical limitations can 



In t h 



go a long way toward making your beach vacation a safe 

 and happy experience. 



We have a correction from our last Coastwatch. In 

 the story about North Carolina lighthouses, it was stated 

 that only three of the seven lighthouses still flash their 

 beams. That's incorrect. Six of the lighthouses are in 

 working order. The Cape Lookout Light flashes 24 hours 

 a day. The Currituck, Bodie Island, Cape Hatteras, 

 Ocracoke and Oak Island lighthouses flash from dusk to 

 dawn and in times of low visibility. Only the Bald Head 

 Lighthouse is not operable. But many people think it does 

 work because a regular light burns at the top of the 

 lighthouse at night, giving it visibility from the mainland 

 and the illusion of being operable. 



Don't forget to mark your calendars for the First 

 Citizens Bank Big Sweep, the nation's largest statewide 

 waterway litter cleanup, Sept. 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

 Cleanup sites will be scattered statewide, so choose one 

 and make a dent in the accumulation of waterway debris. 



Until next time, 



Kathy Hart 



is issue 



Coastal Creatures ... 2 



Awakening Somerset: 

 The Story Beyond the Big House ... 10 



Page 10 

 Somerset Awakening 



Page 2 

 Coastal Creatures 



Keeping History Whole ... 15 



Shore Safety for the Summer ... 16 

 Beach Dangers ... 20 



From Sound to Sea 



Homegrown Critters ... 22 



The Aft Deck ... 23 

 Back Talk... 24 



Page 16 

 Summer Safety 



COASTWATCH I 



