Yea... Stay away from Oregon Inlet.
Have anyone stayed at Ocean Marine Yacht Center? I've heard it's pretty good too and offers fuel discount.
How about these?
- Assawoman Inlet
- Gargathy Inlet
- Metompkin Inlet
- Wachapapreague Inlet
- Quinby Inlet
Try one and le me know so I have a stopover on the way...
In Norfolk we stayed in Tidewater Marina, nice place, diesel and a pool:
www.tyamarina.com
:lol:
I'm also conservative when it comes to things like this. Besides, some of these inlets may not be even covered by insurance. I know of inlets in LI area that are specifically excluded from some ins. coverage. To keep myself out of trouble, I pretend that I'm piloting a Queen Mary.
BTW, it looks like I'll just miss this event by couple of days.
Southbound Cruisers' Rendezvous - New Bern, Oct. 29-31
Waterway Cruising Guide | Cruising Guide News
never heard of an inlet not being covered by insurance...
Hmm, interesting. I'm using BI all the time, but I've heard few stories. One was a trawler flipping on it's side. I guess the biggest difference is that I'm approaching the inlets while staying on plane and in more controlled fashion. I go off plane as soon as I'm between the jetties. Approaching the inlets at displacement speed definitely has it's challenges. The one of main things to keep in mind, once inside, is the make sharp turn to port (near the CG station) and follow the channel avoiding the big sandbar right at the mouth of the harbor. But, I guess you can clearly see it on the chart.
.
Very interesting thread, we talked about doing this a couple of times, yet the boat always seems to be on the hard come December. Will be interested in how this turns out, all the best!
There is a new marina going up in downtown Wilmington called Port City Marina. It's scheduled to open this winter, but they are way behind schedule. It looks like it will be nice, but be careful. Wilmington is not the safest city. More than one person (we were one and there are several other posted on Cruisers Forum and/or CruisersNet.net) that have been boarded and robbed while they slept. Yes, that is a small percentage, but it needs to be noted. Remember, this is a major east coast port and there is a lot of shady business that goes on when there are good from around the world being offloaded.
Ben is now in Carolina Beach (struggling to get air out of his fuel system ) in the same marina we used to keep Skinny Dippin' a couple of years back (Joyner Marina). It's a nice place, but it's run poorly. Still, it has all the appeal of the area without as much worry. It also has the added benefit of being in a beach community with lots of "family friendly" things to do.
One more thing to note about security in ILM is that a rep from the investment firm that is building the marina has been contacted by a LOT of people (us included) saying that security was the #1 concern they have about wanting to sign up there. It really surprised them. So much so, that the group has had to completely change direction on a few marketing points and are boasting 24-hour security as the #1 attribute of the place. These guys aren't boaters... just rich guys looking for their next infusion of cash that hired a marina building company to build them a marina. Take that at face-value. I hope they run it better than a lot of marinas we have stayed at before.
Alex... would like to speak with you about your trip south... please send me an email at:
earl.tingle@us.army.mil
Thanks Alex,
Earl
Thanks Mike.
We dreamed about this for a long time as well and finally decided to pull the trigger. I'm tired of spending so much time winterizing and then spring recommissioning the boat. I really hope it works out with NC or SC, b/c the next move is going all the way to FL and Bahamas.
Thanks for heads up, Tom. That doesn't make it attractive at all. Based on the reviews I saw at AC, the Bennett Brothers looks like a good candidate. I hope the issue is related to an isolated area/marina. I spoke with BB and they said that the marina is gated and their place is very safe with about 8 liveaboards. We're planning to pick couple of cities/marinas and go there to see them in person for ourselves. Based on what I'm reading, Wilmington looked like a good choice, but safety is one of the primary concerns. If anyone has any more info that would be great.
Alex -
Here's my run down:
Carolina Beach
Wrightsville Beach - Plan on about $16/foot here. We skipped.
- Federal Point Yacht Club. - Nicest place, reasonable rates. Walking distance to chill out seaside restaurants in Carolina Beach. Dock master is a little overwhelmed or something. Make sure whatever you agree to is explicit, if not written down. PM me for detail if interested. Runs a little under $10/foot.
- Joyner - laid back. very chilled out. A little unmaintained. Neighbors are good, you won't be bothered too much. Good rates as well ~ $9/foot.
- Carolina State Park Marina - Open/close with park hours. Inconvenient. About $360 per month (my size, 35 foot)
Masonboro Marina (Yacht club?) $510 for 40 foot slip. We skipped.
Southport -
Wilmington
- Southport Marina is very nice and chilled out. Nice dock house. We looked, but farther away than we liked. $9-$10/foot. Met very friendly live-aboards there. Looks like a decent set of amenities.
- A few smaller marinas around Southport. Because we decided to be a little closer to Wilmington, we stopped looking there.
My only beef with Wilmington is it's a bit up the Cape Fear River and there's not many boating options without quite a trip down river. It's rustic on the Cape Fear. But Wilmington is car-close where Carolina Beach is a traffic-light peppered drive of about 15 miles.
- Bennett Brothers. It's more a boatyard than marina. If you want to get boatwork done, this is a good place. If you want fun life, you need to drive a little, but not too far.
Wilmington Airport flies direct to Philly, Washington Reagan, Atlanta, and Charlotte.
Points north of Wrightsville are remote areas. One Marina, Harbor Village Marina, is a nice place. Not sure how they do slips, but I've heard the management there can be prickly. Just general comments from others.
Cruisersnet.net has detailed information and pictures. They are a good reference.
Let me know if I can fill in further.
Ben
Ben,
Thanks a lot for your review. I keep hearing that Wilmington is not the safest place to keep my boat, so for that reason it goes down on my list of preferred places. I think of it now more like a weekend getaway place instead of winter home port.
I'd like to learn more about Southport as it seams like a good candidate, especially location wise.
Are you saying that Southport Marina is far from everything? We'll be coming there by car, so transportation is not an issue. But, I don't want to drive an hour one way to get to decent store or a restaurant, not to mention some kind of entertainment.
Southport, I would strongly consider. Take a look at this.
SOUTHPORT MARINA OVERVIEW in SOUTHPORT MARINA on Vimeo
Alex,
We have weekended at Southport Marina. It is walking distance to town, shops, restaurants. Short drive to groceries and Walmart etc. The docks are really nice, knowledgeable dock workers. It is on our todo list for 2014 as well.
Wilmington is about 17miles upriver from Joyner/Carolina Beach if I remember correctly. Which would make it about 22 from Southport. It's the town's docks that the robberies happen at.
We don't have kiddos, but I would guess the short drive from Southport to the Southern NC beaches as well as to Myrtle Beach would be awesome for family fun. Also, down the ICW from Southport to Myrtle is a very easy 50 mile run behind Oak Island, Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle. You can also run outside from Cape Fear inlet to Little River inlet.
Good luck choosing. Two years ago it was warm enough to boat all winter. Last year not so much. Just depends on your cold tolerance really.
Bess
Skinny Dippin'
...Wilmington is about 17miles upriver from Joyner/Carolina Beach if I remember correctly. Which would make it about 22 from Southport. It's the town's docks that the robberies happen at....
Are there any areas/marinas in Wilmington that are considered "safe" (maybe further away from downtown), compare to the known trouble areas?
I'm looking at marinas.com and Bridge Tender Marina looks decent. Creekside Yacht Club seems to be in more private area.