Great story. What a beautiful place. I did not see the amount of deer that you did, but I saw deer almost every hunt. Nothing ever presented an ethical shot. This was my first Black Beard Island hunt, so I will use the knowledge from this year's hunt to my advantage next year. I was with a party of four. Three of us were trad hunters and the fourth may have gotten the first xbow kill on the island. Yes, xbows are allowed on Black Beard now.
Anyway, I hunted with my trusty recurve on the north end which meant I had a three+ mile hike into my stand each trip. Most days I put over twelve miles hiking that beautiful island.
The chop crossing the channel to the mainland presented quite the challenge to our boat as well. My buddy riding with me is not used to boating and he wanted to kiss the dock when we got back! :D