16/02/2026
For Valentine's Day this year, Cupid delivered a sweet surprise to Wrightsville Beach, and her name is Red Velvet! Now it wasn't exactly the usual Cupid we hope will come to call, and definitely not your typical cake variety of red velvet.
We received an unexpected call yesterday afternoon from a young man out boating with his daughter. They were soaking up some welcome sunshine while wetting their lines near the sunken Liberty Ship Alexander Ramsey about 2.5 miles off of Masonboro Inlet. Something odd had caught his eye floating nearby on the surface of the glimmering sea. As he idled closer, he discovered a motionless sea turtle drifting aimlessly with the current. Springing into action he quickly called the WBSTP emergency hotline at 833-4-TURTLE to report his observations.
Based upon the initial conversation, our project leader, Nancy, suspected the turtle was a cold-stun and perhaps a smaller sized juvenile green or Kemp's Ridley. Getting the turtle quickly out of the water and to rehab was critical. When Nancy came to realize his distance from shore, she knew their only chance of rescuing this debilitated turtle was by convincing the boater to capture and haul this suffering creature onto his boat.
Explaining to him the turtle was in dire straits, and that by the time she would be able to reach his location offshore the animal would have floated far away, Nancy tentatively asked the if he might be willing to capture the turtle. Undaunted by Nancy's request, he readily agreed to jump into action. Within minutes, the turtle was safely resting in his boat!
He quickly forwarded requested photos of what surprisingly turned out to be a loggerhead sea turtle. Now mind you, loggerheads are typically quite a bit larger than young greens or Kemp's, so Nancy was totally impressed with this boater's heroic efforts to hoist this turtle over the edge of a floating boat. That must have required some heavy lifting!
After expressing her gratitude and praise for his heroic efforts, Nancy arranged to meet the boater at the Wrightsville Beach boat ramp. As it turned out, this young guy and his small daughter were the only two on the boat, so he had somehow managed to haul the turtle on board by himself. A valiant effort and hero indeed!
With the assistance of WBSTP volunteer Scott Gallagher, Nancy and the boater lifted the loggerhead onto the dock and secured him/her into the harness.
In no time, the turtle was safely settled in Scott's SUV and on the way to The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Centerfor care.
Sure enough, Red Velvet had somehow lost her way and fallen victim to cold stunning caused by exposure to cold temperatures. Her body temperature registered at only 56° causing her to suffer a condition similar to hypothermia. In the caring hands of the volunteers at the sea turtle hospital, she/he will be gradually warmed to prevent shock and carefully nurtured back to good health.
WBSTP is so very thankful this man and his daughter had huge hearts for sea turtles! Without their willingness to take lifesaving action, this young loggerhead would have suffered endlessly before facing an undesirable fate. Three cheers for these Valentine's Day heroes!
We are sending warm wishes out to our special Valentine, Red Velvet, for a speedy recovery and many sea turtle adventures yet to come! ❤🐢❤
A big shout out to Scott for stepping up to assist with the rescue and transport! Your devotion to our mission is appreciated beyond words.
Reminder: If you are boating and spot a debilitated sea turtle, or hook a sea turtle while fishing from a pier, please immediately call our emergency phone line at 833-4-TURTLE.
*This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Wrightsville Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 21ST12).
