Carolina Coast

[James B]

I haven't see much about the Carolina coast on this site. I'm new to sailing and the Macgregor 26. Most of my "adventures" so for have been confined to the Winyah Bay area of SC, near Georgetown. But, we are ready to bust loose, so to speak. Not like Mad Max of course, but everything is relative. I have a week in March and we are planning to head north and have someone pick us up with the trailer for the trip home. Hooray for the trailerable! What I would like to ask is how is Pamlico Sound for sailing. I've heard it's real shallow. How about the Outer Banks? Is it reasonable for a novice to try to get to Ocracoke Island. What about Albemarle Sound?

[Billy]

The Pamlico Sound is fantastic for sailing. I have sailed my X from Oriental to Ocracoke 3 times--twice by way of Cedar Island. There is some shallow water but plenty of deep also (17-22). Channels are well marked. Good marina at Silver Lake. Most things are within walking distance but the marina has bikes you can rent.

If you're into exploring, just south of Ocracoke is the abandoned village of Portsmouth--church, gen store, old CG station and more.

Some of the people @ http://ncsail.org/ really know the Pamlico & Albemarle area and are very friendly. They will be happy to share info.

Do watch the weather as it can turn the Pamlico into some nasty chop. I broke my centerboard last time in 8' chop. The Mac can handle it.

Do you plan on sailing all the way up from SC or trailer part of the way? There are a lot of interesting places in between.

[James B]

Billy, thanks for the reply. As for sailing or trailing part of the way, I plan to sail and return by trailer. Thanks for the NC site. I know they will be helpful as I've never explored north of the NC/SC line. Any other suggestions would be welcome.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

I would love to take my Mac to the Outer Banks one day. I love that place, and used to windsurf there a lot during my college days at VT and the 7 years I spent there after college. I was a founding member of the VT Windsurfing Club (that always sounded funny)..wonder if it still exists. We would camp near Buxton right on the water on the sound side and sail around there. Or head up to Avon and meet lots of other windsurfers at Canadian Hole. Great area, hope it always stays so unspoiled as it was 20 yrs ago. I think it is the best kept secret (no hotels and such) on the East coast.

On Edit: Yea Bill, you are right..brain fart. Guess in my mind the FL keys are very similar to the Outer Banks. Camped at both places many years ago.

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

The last time I was at Bahia Honda state park, it was in Florida.

[David Sessoms]

James,

The Pamlico Sound area is a sailing paradise. The water is shallow but plenty there for sailing. You could spend weeks in that area and not see everything worth seeing.

I know from Oriental you can sail the Neuse River to New Bern or you can take the Pamlico Sound over to the Pamlico River and visit Bath and Washington. You may want to use one of these other destinations just in case it's to rough to make the crossing to Ocracoke.

I've sailed the area around Oriental and New Bern and have made the trip down the ICW to Beaufort. It's well worth the trip. Billy's right, if the wind gets up the Pamlico can get ugly real quick.

You may want to trailer up sometime and launch in Oriental or New Bern and do some exploring. It wouldn't be that bad a driver from Pawley's Island.

[Jeff S]

Cape Lookout and Shackleford banks are also great areas to sail in the area. Inside the hook by Cape Lookout is a great place to anchor overnight. For more amenities come in the Beafort inlet and head into Beaufort. Pictures here. As mentioned before you can head up the ICW to Orientaland further up the Neuse to New Bern.

Ocracoke is a healthy trip across the Pamlico from Cedar Island as Billy mentioned, or longer still from Oriental. You will lose sight of all land on the trip. It is plenty deep for a Mac, but relatively shallow (15-19' on the channels). When the wind picks up it gets really choppy. The Pamlico sound is usually worse conditions than the ocean when the wind picks up. I ran into 6' chop that was tightly spaced to the point the bow would come off one wave and submarine into the next. It was an impressive sight to see the bow of the Mac come out from under water. The boat did fine, the crew was a litle worse for the wear however.

If you need any specific info (phone numbers, hours, places, bridge info etc.) let me know. I haven't gone north of Pamlico Sound. My boat is docked just off the ICW in broad creek.

The map shows the general area, The hook on the Eastern edge is Cape Lookout. MAP

[James B]

Thanks everyone for the wealth of information. This certainly gives me a jump on planning our trip.

[jmdefino]

One other source of information for the area.

I live in Oriental, on the Neuse, and have a weather station with live cam here. http://OrientalWeather.com

[Jeff S]

One other source of information for the area.

I live in Oriental, on the Neuse, and have a weather station with live cam here. http://OrientalWeather.com

Cool site John, very impressive work. I will use that when I head toward the Neuse. I used to keep my boat in the Hancock Marina at MCAS Cherry Point just off the Neuse, but it is now at a friend's dock off the ICW (Broad Creek) around Newport. The new location is a byproduct of me moving from New Bern to Emerald Isle.

[Timm Miller]

I make the run from Williamsburg, Va. to Beaufort,N.C. every Summer.........the Albermarle can be like a mirror or your worst nightmare. I have even gone as far as Charleston on the ICW in another boat............the run on the ditch, is one everyone should try.