Full interview: Frying Pan Tower boss discusses need for volunteers :: WRAL.com

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Volunteers spend their days and nights inside North Carolina’s most fascinating and adventurous historic site: the Frying Pan Tower, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.
What kind of restoration projects are you currently working on?Some of us were hearing scratches so we could get some paint on a few bedrooms and hallways.There are some electrical people who have been working on cameras, including the one here, and we can turn on the live stream and people can watch it at home.Before GPS came along, the frying pan was actually put here as a light station.It starts here, guides ships off the frying pan for 40 or 50 years, and finally all the moons are up in the sky, so it’s outdated.So we turned it into a research station and also provide safety for the sailors here.Just educating people about what’s going on in the ocean below us.Usually people come out by boat or helicopter.Its entire top is a Hella pod.It’s really easy.It’s a little tricky to stop the boat now because the waves can be a little high, but usually I’m the one who jumps off and climbs up and down the lifts that are just above us and we pull them out of the boat with all their gear and into the tower 80 feet.How deep is the water where you are?How deep are the skillet legs?Yes.Do you know when they were originally built?They designed it a bit like an oil rig.It’s not an oil rig, but it looks very similar, and they buried the tower’s legs 100 feet deep in bedrock.We’re in about 50 feet of water right now, which seems deep until you hit a hurricane and you have 30 feet of waves approaching your belly.So it’s pretty sturdy though.Even in the biggest storms, it’s not rocking enough to put a baby to sleep.Did you go there during the storm?What is it like?Yes.In fact, I’ve been through three hurricanes so far.When three of my four kids and I were caught here in volunteers, the first accident happened, it was unintentional, it was kind of exciting, and I realized how solid this place is.So I’ve been here a few more times.As much as I hate hurricanes because of what they do ashore, I’ll probably be here waiting for the next one.Really?why is that?This surprised me.Hurricanes are things you never know how beautiful they are because when you’re on land you worry about what’s flying in the air hitting your buildings, trees, roofs that don’t exist here.All we have is wind and rain.So when winds exceed 100 miles per hour, all the air mixes together to create an amazing Sherber character, they are no longer waves.Their great mountains and rivers pass by.It’s a truly unique thing.How many volunteers do you have now?Well, now, we have five and myself, we usually have four or eight.With eight bedrooms, we always have plenty of room for those who want to get out, although sometimes they prefer to sleep on the helipad because it’s beautiful this time of year, it’s like camping there.Yes, we have hammocks.We have air mattresses, uh, zero bugs here.so


Post time: Aug-01-2022