Carolina Beach, NC

[Tom Toberman]

Has anyone been boating around Carolina Beach, NC before? I am heading up there next week and I am trying to decide if I should take my boat. I am a bit nervous about putting it in salt water, but it looks like an easy process to flush it out afterwards? Also, if you have been out around CB would it be an area where we could wakeboard or would the water be to rough?

 

[Julian]

I've boated both the Cape Fear River and the Intercoastal in that area. Really nice. Pretty sure we launched from Carolina Beach State Park (look it up...if that doesn't make sense....@ me). Nice ramp-I think it was $6-10 to launch which was worth it. DO NOT launch from the free ramp nearby as it was WAY crowded and a madhouse.

We cruised up the cape fear from there and stopped at the Battleship North Carolina, turned around and docked at the only dock in Wilmington there with a restaurant (might have been called George's). Then we found a sand bar in the river and hung out.

You will find a GPS useful as the channel isn't obvious all the time.

Then if you go up the intercoastal, there are a ton of restaurants near the bridge to Wrightsville beach, our favorite being Blue Water. Lots of small islands around there, and north of the bridge there is Rich Inlet with huge sand bars and lots of boats hanging out. Look for crabs and sand dollars etc. But WATCH the tide.....seen many boat grounded, so be sure your boat is anchored deep and keep an eye on it. Depth can drop a foot quite quickly with the tide going out.

Ping me if you'd like more tips. We've been down there with the boat 3 times....love it. We will occasionally just go for a beach trip only....but going to quiet sand bars is fun too.

 

[Tom Toberman]

Thanks Julian! What a great description of what I was looking for, this site ROCKS! I went out to Falls Lake a couple weeks ago and did see one Yamaha Jet boat out on the lake, didnt look like you though! Anyway, it was my first time out there and it was nice and plan to return and hope to meet up with you at some point!

 

[Julian]

Glad to help.....we were out on Falls today. Saw one Yamaha that I've talked to before I think.

 

[redthumper9]

Tom..... go to this page and watch my video. It's the second to the last post. A lot of the footage was shot at or near Wrightsville beach which is just north of Carolina beach. Even has a clip of us pulling into the Bluewater grill that @Julian spoke of.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/post-your-summer-boating-gopro-shorts.1796/page-2

 

[96Pirate]

Thanks Julian! What a great description of what I was looking for, this site ROCKS! I went out to Falls Lake a couple weeks ago and did see one Yamaha Jet boat out on the lake, didnt look like you though! Anyway, it was my first time out there and it was nice and plan to return and hope to meet up with you at some point!

It might have been me @Tom Toberman I have been putting in at the Creedmoor ramp and generally stay in that area and head south/east. I have a black AR230. One side is naked with no decals (in process of removing all). We will be out tomorrow. Just returned from OBX so having boat withdrawals

 

[Tom Toberman]

That must have been you! We dropped in at Creedmoor and hung in that area and around the marina. Next time I'll honk and pull ya over... I have the 212x loaded up with wakeboards and kids!

 

[Gumbeaux]

I know that area well. Have a house in Ocean Isle Beach which is south of there and used to live in Wilmington.

As Julian said, I would head north to the Masonboro/Wrightsville area for some sand bar activity, etc. The inlet at Carolina Beach also offers a few spots to anchor up, but it is a smaller inlet with less room for that kind of thing. You can run through Snow's Cut to the river and go out to Bald Head Island, across to Southport or up the river to the Wilmington waterfront which is a great spot for dining, walking around, etc. Be very careful going through the cut and navigating the river. The cut is made through rocks and the river channel can be pretty rough depending on wind/tides and it is also fraught with shallow areas. Personally, I would stick to the Wrightsville/Masonboro area...less hard stuff to hit up that way.

Another tip I give to boaters who are not experienced in coastal areas is to be very cautious of the tides when docking. I see it all the time....a person with extensive lake boating experience trying to dock at a restaurant when the tide is ripping in our out can get in trouble in a real hurry and do serious damage to boats and people. You simply do not have that factor in lake boating. Lay back, figure out the wind and water, etc. before trying to rush in to an open docking spot. And as Julian said, watch the tides when anchored up at the sandbars!

Enjoy the trip!

 

[Tom Toberman]

Thanks @Gumbeaux, I didnt take the boat this time but definitely want to in the future. This sounds like a fun adult trip, might need to leave the kids behind!

 

[Gumbeaux]

Here is some footage of the Masonboro/Wrightsville Beach area....plus some of downtown Wilmington on the Cape Fear River...
http://totalfratmove.com/some-of-the-best-drone-party-footage-you-will-see/