Leaving Outer Banks, NC

Leaving Avon, NC in the Outer Banks to get to our next destination which was Carolina Beach, NC we used two ferries to get us off of the Outer Banks. The first ferry took us from Cape Hatteras to Ocracoke Island. This is the ferry with our trailer parked on it as we left the Hatteras harbour. This was at seven o'clock in the morning, we had be on this ferry to get to the next ferry that leaves Ocracoke Island to Cedar Island which departs at 10 am.

 The Hatteras / Ocracoke ferry is one of the most popular of the seven coastal ferry routes that are orchestrated and managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT.) Open for everyone, with daily runs that occur 365 days a year, it is a free ferry even for trucks and trailers and takes anywhere from  45 minute to an hour and provides an integral link for Ocracoke Island to the rest of the Outer Banks.


Just as we were arriving at Ocracoke Island we caught a glimpse of the sun rising over the Pamlico Sound.

The next ferry that we caught was from Ocracoke Island to Cedar Island. This was a 2 hr and 15 min ferry ride and we were able to take our truck and trailer for less than $50. In all our travels we have never taken a 2 hr ferry ride from one island to another with our trailer and truck for that kind of price and may never again. The ferry itself crosses the Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, it is the largest lagoon along the U.S. East Coast, being 129 km (80 mi) long and 24 to 48 km (15 to 30 miles) wide. It is a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a row of low, sandy barrier islands, including Cape Hatteras.
 The Pamlico sound and its ocean inlets are noted for wide expanses of shallow water and occasional shoaling, making the area hazardous for larger vessels. In addition, the shallow waters are susceptible to wind and barometric pressure-driven tidal fluctuations. Pamlico Sound is part of a large, interconnected network of lagoon estuaries. As a whole it is the second largest estuary in the United States (Chesapeake Bay is the largest).