Recreation - Rodanthe, Waves & Salvo

Charlie’s Boat Rentals

• 25628 N.C. Highway 12
• Waves
• (757) 477-6475

Looking to get out on the water? Charlie’s Boat Rentals in Waves rents 19-foot skiffs and a 20-foot pontoon boat by the day or week. The 19-foot Caribbean Skiff flat bottom boats have either 50 hp or 115 hp motors. The two boats with 50 hp hold up to five people, while the one with 115 hp holds up to 10. The pontoon boat can hold a crowd. Charlie also rents Waverunners. You can launch the boats and Waverunners at his site or trailer them to your own site. All safety equipment is provided.

Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station

• 23645 N.C. Highway 12, MP 39.5
• Rodanthe
• (252) 987-1552

The Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station is the nation’s most complete existing example of the life-saving stations that were built along the coast in the late-19th century to attend to shipwrecks and rescue survivors. The 1874 station was the first operational life-saving station built in North Carolina, serving until 1954. Chicamacomico has been partially restored, thanks to numerous volunteers who formed a nonprofit organization to save it, and it is now a fine museum and historic site; all structures are original buildings. It is also the only place anywhere in the world that re-creates the full historic beach apparatus life-saving drill on a regular basis.

On a visit here you’ll see the 1874 Station, the 1911 Station, two cookhouses, water tanks and cistern, a stable, a tractor shed, the smaller boathouse (now the Visitors Center) and a village home built in 1907. In the museum, you’ll learn about the U.S. Life-Saving Service and some of the rescues that occurred here. Artifacts, uniforms, rescue equipment, displays and video presentations abound, and self-guided tours help complete your knowledge of place and history. These stations have many stories to tell. Life-saving crews at Chicamacomico performed many daring rescues, including one of the greatest rescues of WWI, that of the British tanker Mirlo in 1918. When the Mirlo was sunk by the German submarine U-117, Chicamacomico’s crew rescued 42 of 51 British sailors.  The gift shop is full of unique nautical items and works by local craftspeople plus books and old-fashioned toys.

June through August, try to catch any of the special programs offered Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. Mondays, hear about the movie Nights in Rodanthe, which was filmed on Hatteras Island. Tuesdays hear true shipwreck and rescue stories. Wednesdays hear native Hatteras Islander Carol Dillon speak about being the real-life inspiration for the book Taffy of Torpedo Junction. Thursdays is the popular historic Beach Apparatus Drill Re-enactment – the only Breeches Buoy demonstration in the country performed by active-duty U.S. Coast Guard personnel. Fridays hear author Scott Dawson’s ideas about what really happened to the Lost Colony. Programs are free with paid admission to the site.

In 2011, Chicamacomico is celebrating the centennial anniversary of the 1911 station. On August 4, 2011, the 1911 station will be the focus of a 100th anniversary celebration at Chicamacomico, in conjunction with the site’s annual American Heroes Day. It’s a fun day with Coast Guardsmen, firefighters, ocean rescue personnel, police officers and EMS officials together on the Chicamacomico site, plus the beach apparatus drill and a very exciting Coast Guard helicopter search and rescue demo. The centennial celebration will add even more excitement to the annual event.

The site is open from mid-April through Thanksgiving weekend, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission fees are charged.

Down Under Tennis Courts

• 25920 N.C. Highway 12
• Waves
• (252) 987-2277

Down Under Restaurant and Lounge in Waves has installed new tennis courts. Call the restaurant to reserve a time.

DVO/Duck Village Outfitters

• 26689 N.C. Highway 12
• Salvo
• (252) 987-1222

A surf shop staple in Duck for decades, DVO has a second location in Salvo on Hatteras Island. DVO rents bikes, kayaks, surfboards and paddleboards and offers kayak tours and surf lessons for all ages. These guys have been offering lessons and tours on the Outer Banks for a long time, and they are a trusted local outfitter. The surf shop sells all the major brands of clothing for men, women and children, including Billabong, Hurley, Quiksilver and more.

Hatteras Island Sail Shop

• 25199 Vela Court and N.C. Highway 12
• Waves
• (252) 987-2292

This soundfront recreation center offers rentals of kayaks, sailboats and windsurfing equipment plus lessons in windsurfing and kiteboarding. An on-site launching facility makes it easy to slip into the water. They sell kiteboarding and windsurfing equipment as well as active-inspired clothing and all the gear you need for your favorite watersports.

Hatteras Island Surf Shop

• 25410 N.C. Highway 12
• Waves
• (252) 987-2296

This classic surf shop in an old cottage has been a fixture on the island surf scene for more than 40 years. The shop sells new and used boards and surf-related gear and rents surf, body, skim and standup paddleboards plus beach gear. Surf lessons are available for adults as well as kids. They sell all the watersports equipment, accessories and wetsuits you could need along with surf-inspired clothing and accessories.

Island Cruisers

• 26248 N.C. Highway 12
• Salvo
• (252) 987-1250, (252) 202-8388

Island Cruisers offers car rentals on Hatteras Island, including four-wheel-drive vehicles. RV campers who need a car to get around like this service. You can also rent a classic VW–powered fiberglass convertible Buggy that’s a blast to drive. Or you can rent a regular car — economy size to multi-passenger mini-vans. All their vehicles are street legal and get excellent gas mileage. Fishing gear packages are available to rent as well. Reservations are required.

Kitty Hawk Surf Co.

• 24502 N.C. Highway 12, Waves Village Kiteboarding Resort
• Rodanthe
• (252) 987-2297

Kitty Hawk Surf Co. offers gear and equipment for surfing, standup paddleboarding, kayaking and skimboarding. Ask about surf lessons. Kitty Hawk Surf Co. also carries the surf brands everybody wants: Quiksilver, Billabong, Volcom, O’Neill, Roxy, The North Face and many more for men, women and children.

New Inlet Boat Ramp

• Pea Island Wildlife Refuge
• Rodanthe

The New Inlet ramp is for small boats only, and you may launch here for free. It’s in the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, and it’s a beautiful place to launch a boat, especially a kayak or canoe.

Oregon Inlet Fishing Center

• 98 N.C. Highway 12
• Oregon Inlet
• (252) 441-6301

The Fishing Center is located on the north side of Oregon Inlet on Bodie Island. It’s free to use the boat launch here, and there’s plenty of parking for vehicles and trailers. The Fishing Center sells fuel (there are pumps for boats in the water and for cars on land) and has air for filling up your tires after a day of driving on the beach. There are also restrooms and a store selling bait and tackle, clothing, food and snacks, ice and beverages. It’s fun to come here and watch the anglers from the offshore boats unloading their catches of the day in the late afternoon, but anytime you come you’ll be treated to the sight of the colorful Carolina-style sportfishing boats that dock here.

REAL Watersports

• 25676 N.C. Highway 12
• Waves
• (252) 987-6000; (866) REAL-548

REAL Watersports teaches kiteboarding, surfing and standup paddleboarding lessons and camps seven days a week. REAL’s Zero 2 Hero camp program is ranked by Outside Magazine among the Top 10 Adventure Camps in the World. New for 2011 REAL offers exciting Jet Ski Tours on the Pamlico Sound. Inside REAL, you’ll find hundreds of kites, kiteboards, surfboards and standup paddleboards for sale as well as a fully stocked rental shop to get you geared up for your next session. After your session, join the fun at MOJOs Sunset Café with waterfront seating and live entertainment. REAL is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Rodanthe Surf Shop

• 23580 N.C. Highway 12
• Rodanthe
• (252) 987-2412

Rodanthe Surf Shop exists for the love of surfing alone. They rent body, surf and skimboards and offer surf lessons and sell name-brand surf wear and accessories.

Sailing OBX

• 24170 N.C. Highway 12
• Rodanthe
• (252) 216-9283

Sailing OBX is the sailing component of Rodanthe Watersports. You can rent a 16-foot Hobie cat, an 18-foot American daysailer or a Sunfish to sail on your own, and they’ll give you lessons if you need them. If you prefer to let someone else do the sailing, they offer sunset charters on the American 18-foot Daysailor. Sailing OBX can deliver two of its sailboat models — a Hobie 16 or a Lightning Daysailor 19 — to your location.

Salvo Day Use Area

• N.C. Highway 12
• Rodanthe

This is a very cool spot for hanging out by the sound. The site is a former National Park Service Campground that was closed due to lack of funds. The former campground area is a little overgrown, but the roads and soundside beach are kept up nicely. When you turn in, head to the right to the northwest corner of the lot. There you’ll find a parking area and restroom facilities next to a small cemetery. The sound beach is an awesome spot for fishing, launching a kiteboard, sailboard, paddleboard or kayak, swimming or sitting in the sun. It’s usually not very crowded, and the calm water is great for kids when the ocean is rough. Be sure to walk through the little cemetery before you leave. Some of the oldest island names are on the headstones.