OBX 130

An Outer Banks Adventure From the Archives

Story and photos by Andrew Linn

(Article first appeared in issue #65)

The OBX130 is an informal, unsupported, sailing and camping event that takes place in the scenic Outer Banks off North Carolina.

Mike Monies in Laguna Dos: Blue Laguna, pounding across the shallows of the Core Sound.

The waves that cover the Outer Banks of North Carolina—the Graveyard of the Atlantic—crest and flow over the sands that played vital roles in America’s history, from the lost colony on Roanoke through the murderous reign of Blackbeard to the heady days of modern travel, ushered in by the Wright brother’s taking to the air at Kittyhawk. Paul Moffitt organized the Outer Banks Crossing (OBX130) to show off the nautical playground of his youth, and at the same time, created an opportunity to sail the seas of history and adventure.

The Outer Banks are a string of barrier islands that run from the tip of Virginia down most of the coast of North Carolina. These long, thin islands were converted to National Seashore in the early 1970s and are largely uninhabited, windswept, desolate strings of sand topped by spiky sea grass and low brush. Some settlements remain, but the federal government (and Mother Nature) removed the majority of signs of human endeavor. These skinny islands provide the mainland thin protection from the savage pounding of the Atlantic storms, yet even so, the settlements along the ragged edge of the mainland shore tend to be small villages rather than bustling centers of commerce and trade. To sail the sounds of the Outer Banks is to step out into a wilderness where mistakes and misfortune can have drastic consequences.