On the afternoon of April 15th, Carteret County dispatch notified the park of a man and woman needing rescue near Morgan Island. A young North Carolina couple on their honeymoon had attempted to get to the park in an overloaded and underpowered 20-foot open boat during a period of high winds and steep, choppy seas. They were unfamiliar with local waters and traveled into an area of shoals and sandbars near the island. Unable to find a passage through them, they went aground, then made a 911 cell phone call for help. Dr. Michael Rickard, the park’s chief of resource management, volunteered to pilot a rescue skiff due to his familiarity with the difficult shallow draft access around Morgan Island. Protection ranger and operations supervisor Shad Dusseau and protection ranger Meredith Riester accompanied Rikard in the boat through steep, three- to four-foot waves and winds blowing around 35 mph, with gusts to over 40 mph. Rikard, a veteran of 14 years at Cape Lookout, said that he’d never been out in conditions that severe in a boat designed for shallow waters. When they reached Morgan Island, the woman, who was five-months pregnant, was wet and mildly hypothermic. The couple’s boat was in danger of sinking, so Dusseau walked it through the surf to a calmer location in the lee of the island for later recovery. The couple was transported to the park office, where they were treated, then taken to their vehicle. Other Cape Lookout staff were able to follow the entire incident through spotting scopes on the second floor of park headquarters.
