COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Discover Coastal 

 Artifacts at 

 Wrightsviile 

 Museum 



During the early 1 900s, 

 Wrightsviile Beach residents 

 dined on wide screen porches to 

 catch the cool ocean breezes. 



An old-style screen porch 

 can be seen on a tour of the 

 Myers Cottage, now home to 

 the Wrightsviile Beach Museum. 

 Built around 1907, the cottage 

 is the fourth oldest on 

 Wrightsviile Beach. It was 

 moved from its original location 

 on Lumina Avenue to West 

 Salisbury Street in May 1 996. 



The two-bedroom house 

 features many artifacts from the 

 1 920s and '30s - from an old 

 steamer trunk to a washboard. 



The museum also has 

 several displays, including a 

 model of the famous Lumina 

 Pavilion where people crowded 

 to dance to live performances by 

 Big Band musicians. 



"Wrightsviile Beach was in 

 its heyday during the 1 930s," 

 says Linda Honour, museum 

 director. "People flocked from 

 all over to dance at the Lumina." 



The museum hours are 

 noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. 

 Admission is $2 for adults; free 

 for children. For more informa- 

 tion, call 910/256-2569. 



New Recreational Shrimping Blueprint 



o restore recreational shrimping in 

 coastal waters, the N.C. Division of Ma- 

 rine Fisheries established a new "recre- 

 ational gear license" that became effective 

 July 1, 1999. 



The annual license allows recre- 

 ational shrimpers to use limited 

 amounts of commercial 

 gear to harvest 

 seafood for 

 personal con- 

 sumption. 



To help 

 recreational shrimpers choose 

 proper gear. North Carolina Sea 

 Grant offers a four-page blueprint 

 "Recreational Shrimping in North 

 Carolina with Commercial Gear." 



Written by Sea Grant marine 



extension specialist Wayne Wescott, the 

 blueprint gives step-by-step instructions on 

 how to build a shrimp trawl, and how to set 

 and retrieve a trawl. 



To order a free blueprint write to: 

 North Carolina Sea Grant, NC State 

 University, Box 8605, Raleigh, NC 



27695-8605. 



Ask for publication 

 UNC-SG-BP-2000-01. 



-A.G. 



Know the Signs of Rip Currents 



While the rhythm of ocean waves 

 can encourage relaxation, tourists and 

 coastal residents alike must be alert to 

 the potential for rip currents in the 

 nearshore waters. 



North Carolina Sea Grant has a 

 new brochure highlighting dangers of 

 rip currents. 



'The key message is: Don't Panic," 

 says Spencer Rogers, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant's coastal erosion and construc- 

 tion specialist. "If you are caught in a rip 

 current, swim parallel to shore." 



Powerful enough to pull the 

 strongest of swimmers, rip currents are 

 formed when water rushes out to sea in 

 a narrow path. They may form in a 

 break in a nearshore sandbar, or if the 

 current is diverted by a groin or jetty. 



Many rip currents are temporary, 

 others permanent. Often they occur 

 after storms. Watch for these signs: 



• A difference in water color — 

 murkier from sediments or darker 

 because of greater depths. 



• A difference in the waves. The rip 

 current will have larger, choppier waves, 

 while calmer waves are found closer to 

 shore. 



• Foam or objects moving steadily 

 seaward. 



• An offshore plume of turbid water 

 past the sandbars. 



If you cannot swim across the rip 

 current, float calmly until it dissipates, 

 usually just beyond the breakers — then 

 swim diagonally to shore. If you cannot 

 swim, wade close to shore. 



Up to 30 copies of the rip current 

 brochure or the matching poster are 

 available free from North Carolina Sea 

 Grant. Call 919/515-9101. For larger 

 orders, the brochures are 20 cents each; 

 posters are 50 cents each. 



Enclose a check with your order and 

 send to North Carolina Sea Grant, 

 NCSU, Box 8605, Raleigh, NC 27695- 

 8605. Sea Grant also has 7-minute rip 

 current videos available for $6 each. 



-K.M. 



HIGH SEASON 2000 



