North Carolina’s Deadliest Inlet
On a sunny day in late January, the commercial fishermen hanging around Etheridge Seafood in Wanchese shared their inlet horror stories.
In March 2024, two fishermen and a dog set out south from Virginia Beach on a 35-foot Scopinich boat. Both were seasoned mariners—one of them, Charlie Griffin, even starred in Wicked Tuna, a reality television show about daring bluefin anglers. That day, Griffin and his friend, Chad Dunn, had been hired to deliver a boat to Manteo, on the northern tip of Roanoke Island. To reach the island from the open Atlantic, sailors must navigate through Oregon Inlet, a 3-mile-wide stretch of sea that separates Pea Island from Bodie Island on the Outer Banks. Oregon Inlet is infamous for its treacherous waters, and that night, changing tides had made it much rougher than the open sea. But Griffin had been navigating it since he was 9 years old. He grew up in Wanchese, a fishing village on the south side of Roanoke Island and had piloted everything from skiffs to 60-footers through the inlet. So, when Griffin and his dog, Leila, failed to show up that night, his family in Wanchese didn’t worry at first. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:48
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