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It’s an instruction that probably should be heeded, especially on the side of a freighter. (click for more freighter views)

You might want an umbrella this morning.

On Styron Town Beach, a lonely crab trap stands watch.

Thursday morning new signs went up on Hodges Street. On a street where folks (and dogs) walk, there’s a new speed limit.

Cormorants rest on Oriental Channel Marker #1

Heron liftoff on Camp Creek (Allison DeWeese photo)

A mermaid (and flotsam) rest on top of a tree stump on Blackwell Point Loop Rd. (Ben Casey photo)

Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. There is now a Four Way (or “All Way”) stop at North Street and Midyette Street (it used to only have stop signs for drivers on Midyette). Click pic for more views.

Sean Kennedy is the owner and operator of a century-old 122 ft vessel. No, he’s not of the Cape Cod Kennedys… Sean is from the Kennedys of Biloxi, Mississippi. Meet Sean and motor yacht Mariner 3 in The Shipping News.

MV Mariner III, anchored off Oriental. She was launched in 1926. She visited Oriental last fall. Here’s her story.

Wooden trawlers docked at Radio Island (between Beaufort & Morehead City).

February harbor sunset (Eric Mastrodonato photo)

This is a survey of Whittaker Creek channel. The red lines are where the channel is now. The yellow lines show where the channel will be moved, into more reliably deeper water. Part of the move will include dredging… see below.

On Smith Creek, SV Pinky.

On the pilings under the Oriental bridge, the boundary of where Coastal Fishing Waters begin.

A pelican poses on a piling near Clancy’s Marina. (Allison DeWeese photos)

Snow covered FJ sailboats at Bow To Stern Boating on Smith Creek. This is not today – it’s from the January 23 storm. Today’s dose of winter will have much less snow locally, but plenty of cold. Lows in the 20s tonight, Thursday and Friday nights. (Ben Casey photo)

“I go where you go ‘cause I’m stuck on you!”
It’s some Valentine gumshoe love, from the hand of artist Laura Turgeon.

Rainy day rain drops out on a limb. (Ben Casey photo)

This was SV Skookum and skipper Josh Kali, heading out Beaufort channel on January 28, bound for Antigua and the beginning of the round-the-world Mini Globe race. As of Monday, Skookum has traveled over 1,000 nautical miles, with just over 400 to go. You can track Skookum’s progress here.

At the Point Pride Seafood docks, Lady Susie gets some paint. (click pic for more Lady Susie views)

Mushrooms grow on Pine Cliff Trail, part of the Croatan National Forest near Cherry Branch.

Collegiate sailors visit Oriental again in 2025… the Sailpack Regatta is set for March 29 & 30. See below:

The new Chinese New Year is the Year of the Snake. While that may sound slithery, the Year of the Snake is all about shedding bad energy. The snake brings about transformation and new beginnings. (Laura Turgeon drawing)
Oriental celebrates the Chinese New Year Saturday with a running of the Dragon on Hodges St at 2p.

Tuesday Josh Kali & SV Skookum departed Beaufort Inlet, bound for Antigua (Josh raised sail when he was beyond the channel). Look closely & you’ll see multiple dolphins surface next to the boat… Josh responds with a happy salute to the sky.

Sunrise on Creek Creek

This is SV Skookum, a 19 ft Mini Globe race boat. Monday she departs Oriental. Sunday from noon til 4p you can visit Skookum and her skipper (and builder) Josh Kali… at Oriental’s town dock.

Today brave souls take part in the 2025 Polar Plunge… it’s 2p at Oriental’s “Miniscule” John Bond Beach. Polar Plungers get Freezin’ For A Reason… it all raises $ for Pamlico County Special Olympics. Few will be as well prepared as this polar plunger. (Laura Turgeon drawing)

A drone’s eye view of snow covered Oriental. (click pic for more views from above)

Snow seating at Lou Mac Park. (Ben Casey photo)

Eric Kindle cleans off The Bean porch, deploying what he calls a “redneck snow blower”.

Could this be the scene Wednesday morning (after snow Tuesday night)? Might could. The town dock snowman is a file photo, from February 2015. But snow is in the forecast… read below.

Trawler Predator, at the working docks of Garland Fulcher Seafood. (Seamus Bartlett photo)

Our fair village was named after a boat… the steamer Oriental (she sunk off the Outer Banks in 1862). So when one sees another boat named Oriental, TownDock photographers take notice. The freigher Oriental Leader, spotted at anchor at Cowichan Bay, BC (it’s a bit west of Oriental, NC).
(click pic for more Oriental Leader views)

Trawler Chastity Brooke departs. (Seamus Bartlett photos. Click photo for more Chastity Brooke views)

A recent visitor to the town dock, a catamaran named Pisces. (Ben Casey photos… click pic for more views)

A flock of swans depart corn fields about 3 miles north of Oriental off Highway 55. (Ben Casey photos. Click pic for another view.)

The New Year’s Eve Dragon draws in excellent mayhem. Dragon Master Jim Edwards and Mayor Sally Belangia lead the Dragon through the happy chaos on Hodges St. (Ben Casey photos – click pic for more dragonesque views)

If you touch the Dragon on New Year’s Eve, it’s said to bring good luck. But for the Dragon to make the runs (and bring luck in the new year), it needs a place to stay. That’s where you come in. Become a Patron of the Dragon and help the Dragon stay in its lair. All Dragon Patrons slots for 2025 are full. Thank you.

The New Year’s Eve Dragon in action (from the 2023 Dragon run). New Years Eve is Tuesday the 31st… the Dragon is getting antsy.