Shipwreck Diving NC

Everyone fascinated with the sea will enjoy reading this documentary on local shipwreck diving. The book features stories and pictures about ships that have sunk offshore this area since the early 1800s.

Local authors Fred R. David and Vern J. Bender created this 66 page paperback book.

$14.95 Buy it at http://Islands-Art.com

People from age 4 to 104 will love this book, for twelve good reasons:

* It provides short stories of the last voyage of ships that sank offshore of Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach, Oak Island, and Baldhead Island
* It provides actual pictures of ships that sank here, such as the Sherman, the Hebe, the Raritan, the Governor, and the City of Houston
* It provides GPS #’s of many shipwrecks off southeast North Carolina
* It provides color pictures and short descriptions of exotic marine life that inhabit local shipwrecks
* It reveals where local Shark Tooth Beds are located and describes the extinct megalodon that once roamed here * It discusses the local Cypress Tree Forest on the ocean floor
* It provides numerous embedded YouTube video hotlinks to bring to life local shipwrecks and marine life
* It describes how, when, and where to catch spiny and slipper lobster here
* It gives important information for diving local shipwrecks, including depth, visibility, currents, type of artifacts, and marine life
* It describes local shipwreck history, from pirate ships to Civil War blockade runners, to World War II U-boat victims, to the recent Valour sinking * It tells the story of Frying Pan Tower and Frying Pan Lightships
* Help us preserve the history of this area by making this book available to others.

$14.95 Buy it at http://Islands-Art.com

Sunset Beach A History

Local writers and artists have collaborated on a new hard cover, coffee table edition history of Sunset Beach.

A full history of Sunset Beach NC with stories from many of the “old timers” who were eye witnesses to events. Some are funny, some are shocking – all are fascinating. No true Sunset Beach Lover should be without this book!

This is the second collaboration between Author/ Illustrator Miller Pope and celebrated novelist Jacqueline DeGroot. World renowned nature photographer Ken Buckner’s photos are used through out the book in addition to the photographs and illustrations of Miller Pope.

Book stores pre-orders in are already surpassing the expectations of the publishers. The release date is October 1st 2010 to coincide with the Sunset at Sunset festival and the opening of the new Sunset Beach Bridge. As soon as they arrive yours will shipped to you.
Hard Cover/Coffee Table Edition – Now Taking Pre-Orders! $29.95

Sunset Bridge Print

The old Sunset Beach Bridge (at nearby Sunset Beach, NC) is soon to be decommissioned. You can can remember the bridge with a Giclée Commemorative Print by nationally renowned local nature photographer and artist, Ken Buckner.

Click here to buy a high quality Giclée Print at the Islands Art website!

“I explore beauty with my camera. The photos show the journey” – Ken Buckner

All photos have titles in the white margins and Ken’s signature is printed in the image digitally. A light gray mat is also printed around the white area.

All photos are signed and titled digitally and reproduced as high quality Giclées. A grey mat is printed around the image . All prints fit standard frames.

Click here to buy a high quality Giclée Print at the Islands Art website!

Pricing is by frame size:

5×7 (white around 4×6 image): $8.00
8×10 (white around 5×7 image): $20.00
11×14 (white around 6×9 image): $25.00
16×20 (white around 10×14 image): $35.00
24×36 (white around 20×32 image): $75.00

The giclée is designed to fit standard frame sizes found everywhere. ??All art from Doe Creek Gallery is unconditionally guaranteed. We use only the finest and most permanent materials. Our prices are as low as we can make them?consistent with this quality.

Q: What is a giclée?

A: Simply stated, it is the “Rolls Royce” of new printing technology. Pronounced “G-Clay”, the image is reproduced from a digital file by slowly spraying archival inks (rated at 65-75 years) on fine paper or canvas.

Click here to buy a high quality Giclée Print at the Islands Art website!

Book On Area History

Tales of the Silver Coast – A Secret History Of Brunswick County – From the earliest days of European exploration to the golf courses and beach resorts in this fascinating and fast-growing region, Brunswick County has attracted settlers, invaders, and visitors of all descriptions.

In these pages you’ll read about Steve Bonnet, the “Gentleman Pirate,” who hid his ships in Brunswick’s moss-draped creeks but unfortunately underestimated the ebbing tide; Coast Guard mounted on horse-back patrolling Ocean Isle’s beaches hunting for spies landed by German submarines; “Mrs. Calabash,” who’s said to have lent her name to the famous sign-off for Jimmy Durante’s classic radio shows; and Topsy the Elephant, who swam for the Brunswick riverbank after breaking loose from circus handlers in the 1920s.

Follow the struggles and victories that shaped Brunswick County, from the first contact of Europeans with native Americans, to successive administrations of the Lords Proprietors, the royal governors, the British crown, and the leaders of a new nation—many at whom hailed from this small but influential corner of North Carolina. Discover Brunswick’s rich Civil War history, scenic roadways and waterways and current-day towns and townships.

Tales of the Silver Coast, recounts the tales of privateers and plantation owners, politicians and Prohibition rum-runners and the many colorful people and diverse places of southeastern North Carolina.

Hard Cover $14.95

Museum of Coastal Carolina

If you think museums are stuffy, quiet places that people visit for research, contemplation, or when there’s nothing else to do, then you haven’t visited North Carolina’s only natural history museum on a barrier island. New exterior murals predict some of the things you’ll see inside the Museum of Coastal Carolina at nearby Ocean Isle Beach (15 minutes from Calabash, NC).

Happy, interactive voices are encouraged! One might hear toddlers calling out “Boat, Daddy, boat!” as they climb into the wooden strip boat made here in Brunswick County. Staff and volunteers often hear “Whoa!” when visitors approach the shark jaw exhibit. Carolina residents track their local rivers to the sea and parents teach their young children to keep the beach clean and protect the animals from trash as they pass the Litterbug Hall of Shame.

Imagine getting up close to the area wildlife on display in the Green Swamp diorama. Then touch or hold a sea star, an urchin, or a hermit crab at the touch tank. Learn the inside story of shells at the newly updated Carolina Shells and Fossils exhibit. Don’t forget to bring your beach treasures to identify.

Hear “oohs and aahs” as you take a walk through the Ocean Reef Gallery that depicts a reef habitat about 65 miles off the coast of North Carolina. The toddler area in the Barrier Island Gallery has puppets, toy ocean animals, puzzles, and lots of happy noise. Then there’s silent awe at the Legacy of the Loggerhead sea turtle exhibit’s short video filmed on Ocean Isle Beach about the life cycle of the loggerhead turtle that includes a mother turtle laying eggs and the hatchlings crawling to the sea.

In the Coastal Plain, visitors exclaim “Wow!” when they see the American bald eagle up close and eye-to-eye. Identify the shorebirds you saw on Brunswick beaches. Children like to pretend they are a coyote or a bear with the pelts thrown over their shoulders. Fisherman are heard to exclaim that they learned to fish with a bamboo rod just like the one in the antique fishing equipment exhibit.

A visit to the Museum of Coastal Carolina is a treat for the young and the young at heart. Many vacationers include it as a multi-generational activity for the whole family. Local residents know that it is one of Brunswick County’s best family activities.

Summer afternoon family programs are held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday—Friday from June 14 through August 20. The programs include Know Your Knots on Monday, “What Kinda Fish Is That, Mister?” on Tuesday, Seven Steps to Shoreline Safety & the Firetruck on Wednesday, Megabites! on Thursday, and Touch Tank Feeding and Shell ID on Friday.

Evening programs are Ghost Lore and Legend Walk on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Snakes Alive! on Thursday at 7 p.m. Come early to tour the Museum before the program. Family vacation passes with unlimited Museum visits for one week are available for $49. (Family vacation passes are for a family that resides together year-round, not multi-generational families vacationing together. The Plus membership may be a better value for multi-generational families.) Annual memberships are also available.

The Museum of Coastal Carolina is located at 21 East Second Street, Ocean Isle Beach beside the playground and just a block from the beach and the pier. Enjoy coastal natural history . . . for the fun of it! Summer hours are June 1—September 4 on Monday, Tuesday, Friday & Saturday from 10—5, Wednesday and Thursday from 10—8:30 and closed Sunday. All-day admission includes programs. $8 for adults, $6 for senior adults 60 & over, $6 students K-12 & College ID, and $4 Preschool ages 3-5, Ages 2 & under are free. Check www.museumofcc.org or call 910.579.1016 for further information.
For educational and entertaining gifts and toys, visit Nature’s Treasures Gift Shop at the Museum or Galaxy Gifts at the Planetarium.