Durant Island 2013

There are not too many traditions in our lives outside family birthdays and Christmas that hold fast and true.  Time, distance and aging make many anthills seem like mountains and it’s easier to just let things slide.  Last weekend a group of friends defied the odds as we gathered on Durant Island for a bit of camping.  Friendship, tenacity and gumption have kept this tradition going for well over 30 years.   

The annual sojourn has its genesis with three fellows who waited tables together on the Outer Banks back in the sixties.   Durant Island is situated in the Albemarle Sound where the Alligator River slaps up against its south east banks.  The island is a spit of barren sand and scrub pine.  A few high knolls offer spectacular views of the island, and other than the bare-bones hunting lodge situated on the far side, there is nothing there but nature.  The island offers a perfect get-away for fun-loving, adventure seeking folks.

In the decades following the sixties, the young waiters brought girlfriends, then wives and babies and often invited new friends to experience the secrets of the island.   The dynamics of the group have changed as life throws us punches with illness, divorce and death, but every spring emails start to fly as we decide whose boat is seaworthy, who’s cooking dinner and who’s tending bar.  A full weekend of total abandonment has been changed to arriving late on Saturday in time for cocktails and leaving after a sunrise breakfast the following morning.  Time on the island may have been shortened, but there’s no short supply of food, fun and camaraderie.

Storm winds and tides have altered the shoreline and inlets so our campsites are ever changing. We never know until we arrive where we’ll pitch our tents and dig our fire pit.  Some years have had slim pickings for a suitable spot, but this year we found the island quite to our delight.  No campers do it any finer than the Durant Island Yacht Club.  We’ve fine-tuned every nuance and have every amenity necessary for a grand time.  This year was no disappointment with top shelf cabernet provided by islander Mike, soft shell crabs fried up by Eddie and late night limoncello served around the campfire by the commodoress (yours truly).

Plenty of stories and swapping old memories took us well into a perfect night. We are the best of friends, accepting each other just the way we are.  We know it’ll be the same year after year and we wouldn’t want it any other way.   

See you on the island.