The orienteering events on the coast on February 01 and 02 will require some careful planning on your part, so we’re posting some preliminary information to help.  On Saturday, Feb 01 we will have three expert level courses (i.e., brown, green, and red) set around the lighthouse  area of Cape Lookout.  Start, finish, and registration for this event will be at the park shelter near the ferry dock (GPS coordinates = 34.623932, -76.523479).  Because of the remoteness of this area, do not expect a fully field-checked map.  The map will be based almost entirely on lidar and satellite photos. 

By far, the most practical way to get to this area is to take the passenger ferry (cost = $17) from Harker’s Island.  In the winter, this ferry only makes runs at 10:00 AM, noon, and 2:00.  You can call the ferry office at (252) 728-7433 to reserve tickets.   We will accommodate starts from around 10:30 to 12:30.  If you come over on the 12:00 ferry, it might be a good idea to text the event director that you’re on your way, and be ready to hustle to make your start.  We’ll need to be off the courses by around 2:00 in order to make the last ferry back at 3:45.

Weather and cancellation.  If the weather is bad, the ferry runs will be canceled, and there will thus be no practical way to hold this event.  If the ferry isn’t running, it is extremely likely that we will have to cancel the event.  This would be unfortunate; but it is a possible outcome that we need to be aware of.  If it looks like this event will be canceled, we will try to announce it on Thursday evening on the BOK homepage.  (If we cancel our ferry tickets within 24 hours, we will get a refund.)  If the event at the Cape is canceled, I will try to set an alternative event on another new map near the coast — close to Wilmington — and will email registrants about it.

Next steps.  Plan your lodging and transportation for this event, and check back with the BOK website for registration information in mid-January.  

Filed under: Latest News by David Waller