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By Michelle Wagner
As visitors drive over the Washington Baum Bridge onto Roanoke Island, it’s easy to miss the lone sign pointing south to a place called Wanchese.
With so much to do in Manteo, why bother driving those four miles through marshland to arrive in an old fishing village with a population that is less than some suburban neighborhoods?
But if visitors do take the time to go off the beaten track and venture down N.C. Highway 345, they might be surprised at what they find. Wanchese, named after a Native American who befriended the early colonists and accompanied them on a round trip to Europe and back, is a unique niche unlike any in the country. Visitors are in for a treat as they get a glimpse of what the Outer Banks used to be like, where villagers still live off the sea and by the tides.
Not much has changed in Wanchese over the years. There is plenty to see, but what you won’t see are a lot of gift shops, tourist spots and beach supply stores. You won’t see traffic unless you get stuck behind a truck pulling a sleek, new boat behind it. In fact, you won’t even see what could qualify for a grocery store and the post office is about the size of an outhouse.
What you can expect to see here are fishing boats and lots of them. Many of them are not the sport fishing boats of today, but the kind you imagine while reading Moby Dick. They are the trawlers with old rusty masts that tower overhead and create a sort of tune as they clang along with the tide. They have names and weathered looks that make onlookers know they have stories to tell.
With a modest population of just more than 1,500 people and some 600 homes, Wanchese is a quaint little village that hasn’t succumbed to the pressures of today’s world. While much of the Outer Banks has fallen away to tourism, Wanchese has managed to remain just what it is…a sleepy fishing village that seems to have a church on every corner and some type of fishing gear outside of every house, whether it is piles of nets, fishing boats in varying stages of disrepair or old rusty anchors from long ago.
“People here are unique and have a fierce independence,” says native Wayne Gray, a retired school administrator and owner of the popular Wanchese restaurant Queen Anne’s Revenge for the last 29 years. The restaurant, which has been temporarily closed, is reopening in March for wedding events.
“The village has a lot of local color,” Gray said. “It’s the way the Outer Banks used to be. You don’t see many things here that you didn’t see in the 1950s. There are a lot of old homes here, some well over 100 years old.”
Gray said that many of the houses are homes to third- or fourth-generation anglers who depart from Wanchese Harbor to fish the sounds and ocean or build million-dollar boats down by the harbor. The fierce independence of these natives, he said, has been the driving force in keeping Wanchese the way it has been for decades.
“Land is passed down from generation to generation and property owners are not willing to sell,” Gray said.
“That has kept big industry out. They can’t get in here.”
And while Wanchese has managed to retain its old-time charm over the years, in some ways it’s bustling with activity. “It’s a sleepy village on the surface,” Gray said. “But underneath the surface there is a lot of industry.”
At the eastern end of Wanchese Harbor is the 29-year-old Wanchese Seafood Industrial Park. Here, where the state leases out space to marine-related businesses, you will see lots of buildings and fish houses, some state-of-the-art and some beaten down ones. You will see million-dollar yachts being built just down the road from humble old fish markets that sell the best seafood on the Outer Banks at some of the best prices. Regardless of their appearance, these businesses employ hundreds of people while generating big bucks.
According to the Park’s director Bob Peele, there are 29 businesses that employ a total of 390 people. The businesses, which range from welding and engine repair shops to boat building, generate a whopping $98 million a year, he said. Approximately $67 million of that is generated directly. The remaining $31 million is what Peele describes as indirect. “This is the money employees spend in the community on food and clothing and other items,” he added.
Wanchese is home to 13 boat building operations, which Peele said makes the village stand out nationwide. “It’s the biggest concentration of boat building in the country,” he said. The park and village is also home to a large commercial fishing program, Peele added. “Wanchese lands more seafood than any harbor in North Carolina.”
Gray added that Wanchese fishermen ship more fish to places like New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore than anywhere on the Eastern seaboard.
The Wanchese Seafood Industrial Park, built in 1981, is the only such park in the country solely dedicated to the marine industry. Seven of Wanchese’s 13 boat building operations call the park home. Sport fishing boats and trawlers are built and repaired in the massive warehouses while dozens of trawlers and hundreds of smaller commercial fishing and sport fishing boats use the harbor. With its close proximity to Oregon Inlet, it is also becoming used more and more by the offshore fishing charter boat industry.
“That’s a new marine industry that has surfaced here in Wanchese in the last two years,” Peele said.
A state marine fisheries branch and the U.S. Coast Guard office are also located at the park.
Tourists have begun to discover the charm of Wanchese as well. And those that take the time to visit may see a part of the Outer Banks that is long gone in other communities. They may see weathered fishermen who are out at sea for weeks and go as far north as New England to bring their catch back to the Wanchese docks to be packed and shipped.
If you peek inside a fish house, you may be lucky enough to see the droning work that goes in to packing fish, shrimp and other seafood that is delivered not only locally, but worldwide. And don’t forget to look for the few hidden restaurants here, where visitors can enjoy seafood that literally has come right off the boat.
Whatever your reason for venturing into Wanchese, whether it is to get some fresh seafood or watch the boats come in to the harbor, it’s a trip worth taking – a chance to see another side of the Outer Banks.
Peele said that Wanchese has seen an increase in tourism over the years. “We actually have tour buses and groups that come. There is always some activity going on here,” he said. Gray said Wanchese is popular among tourists who come to buy fresh seafood and see the boat building operations. “This is an active place in the summertime,” he added.
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