Capt. Jim and NC/SC boaters

[TLCandME]

A family tradition is emerging - an overnight boat trip on the waterway - last year we put in at Ocean Isle and then camped at Carolina Beach State Park and then went into Wrightsville Beach the next day before making the run back to Sunset Beach. Looking for ideas for this summer.

So where and what would one recommend for a one or two night trip on the waterway and what fun things would one know to do on the way.

Charleston to Savannah? Tybee Island?
The Dismal Swamp Canal with the locks and then returning via the Virginia Cut?
Going out to Ocracoke? although that would be a long drive for us.
Going from Ocean Isle down to Charleston?

Can't wait to hear your ideas!! One caveat... we will have a 5 and 7 year old with us - so we don't want to be offshore or really even near shore. Any references one could recommend? We will be trailering the boat from Charlotte.

William

 

[Capt. Jim]

That sounds like a good activity for the club. Those areas are easily accessed but they can also be rough if weather moves through. Any itinerary would be dependent on the size boats participating. Even some of the inshore sounds can get nasty with the right wind/weather. Perhaps a trip along the beach outside if the weather is nice, and then back on the inside. Try to find some lodging with dockage. That is what we used to do down here in Florida. Perhaps throw in a fishing tournament and cookout afterwards.

With the price of fuel as it is, it would be difficult for me to drag my boat up there and make the event. All the same, sounds like a good time and I would try to pull it off.

 

[dbenke]

With the price of fuel, you could just drive the boat up

 

[Capt. Jim]

My boat uses more gas in the water than on the trailer.

On my last delivery, (not my boat) we used 11,450 gallons of fuel in 22 days at a cost of over $60K. It's a whole new ballgame at 75 feet....

 

[FJMOSES]

i work for a jet ski company in north myrtle beach doing rentals and tours. just south of sunset beach nc is bird island, its a great little place to hang out, nice protected area around the corner from the jetties. i take dolphin tours through sunset and out to the ocean every day so i may be a little biased. you also have great seafood from calabash nc as well.

 

[BillWright]

Bump that.
Bird Island is like you own your own barrier island. You can get to it by land from Sunset Beach as well. Just go to the south end and start walking. You walk across a small (size depends on state of the tide) inlet and it's all yours.
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[Sputnik40]

Second on Jim's fuel comments - just running down to the Keys a few weeks back for the weekend was harsh, and I'm only running one 200 - can't imagine pushing a bigger boat with multiple engines, no matter how much more comfy it is....

Nonetheless, great idea - let us know if you ever want to do one down here in Palm Beach .

 

[TLCandME]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Bird Island is cool but it's not much of an adventure since we'll be staying at Sunset for the week. Where would one recommend an overnight camping adventure by boat around the southern NC coast or SC coast including Charleston and points south? Nice day ride to campsite, camp, and return the next day. How far by boat from Charleston to Savannah? protected waters? Francis Marion State Park? Up through the Dismal Swamp Canal and back around the Virginia Cut - whatever that is - but where would one camp. I'm striking out on getting suggestions from the internet. All camping would have to be accessible by boat. And all trips would have to originate from Sunset Beach or we would have to launch the boat and return to the trailer if we were to start from someplace else like Charleston. Thank you,
William

 

[SCJO06]

I don't know how far by water from charleston to savannah, but i know for sure you can camp on Little Tybee Island. I have camped and explored little tybee several times, and I have always had a great time. Not really sure if thats a two day trip for you though.

 

[Turkeypen]

Sunset Beach! Best beach around. Consider a Northern day trip from Sunset Beach to Fort Fisher St. Park near Carolina Beach, NC. Should be a very pleasant and scenic route, with dockside lunch available in Southport. Stop to camp at Fort Fisher (check internet to see if camping still allowed), then motor up and back to Wilmington for a good dinner at Chandlers Wharf. But it looks sort of like what you did last year. . . Fort Fisher is really historic and worth a stop.

 

[BillWright]

If you can't camp at Ft Fisher you certainly can at Carolina Beach, other end of 'Pleasure Island'. There's CB State Park on Snow's Cut, the channel from the ICW over to the Cape Fear River.
There's also Freeman Park at the north end of CB on the coast, just where the inlet to Carolina Beach town is. If you're in a boat you could just come up on the beach on the inlet side, off load then anchor with a shore line. This is a good option because access is 4wd only so there will be none of the RV retirees that infest the state parks. No offense, I'm old, but some of these folks are a real PITA.
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