I assume that little girl's parents were right there with her. I've been pulled out by the undertow quite a few times. I hope a parent wouldn't let a little one play in the surf alone.
I’m headed to Kinnakeet (Avon) third week of August.
When I cross that big, arched bridge over Oregon Inlet onto Hatteras Island, it feels like I’ve left the world behind. Such a sense of remove, even still. Hatteras didn’t get the massive waves of development that Duck, Corolla, etcetera did, it’s still more of a family beach sort of place. Beautiful, too. Wild, chilly surf and seaspray on one side, mirror calm and warm sound on the other.
I like that most of the beach towns on Hatteras are dog friendly, that you can have campfires on the beach, that you can still drive on the beach, and not a condo tower or hotel tower to be seen. Just Hatteras Light south and Bodie Island light north, looming over everything.
I hope not too, but I don’t know. The surf can be treacherous, especially near inlets and always at ebb tide. I’ve seen any number of bonehead parents ignoring their kids while enjoying the beach or the water. The scariest are the ones that let little kids play with boogie boards and inflatables with no adults close by. I’ve seen this a LOT. A rip current can pull even a good swimmer hundreds of yards out to sea quicker than you can say “boo”. I’ve seen it happen. Even when it turns out well, it kinda ruins your day. FYI, just because a kid does well at the Swim Club does not mean that he can swim by himself in the surf. Surf swimming an advanced skill that takes time and adult strength to master. And even skilled adults get whacked by rip currents. A lifeguard I know spent two hours floating on his back waiting to be picked up by the Coast Guard. He got lucky.