Oriental NC: Whittaker Point Marina

[rgranger]

Pictures Added/Oriental NC: Whittaker Point Marina

Hey All

I posted this in the Trailer Sailor forum but since I trailer a MacGregor... thought it might be welcomed here as well....

I just got back from a four day jaunt in the Pamlico and wanted to give Kudos to Whittaker Point Marina.

whittakerpointe.com

They cater to transients and have a few local boats as well but we were not what they were used to (Trailer Sailor). But they rolled with it. We showed up in the middle of a bad string of thunder storms so we "dry docked" and slept in the parking lot that first night. We also made use of the club house and showers. There are two dock masters, Ashley and Buck and Buck spent the evening with me looking over charts and pointing out his favorite gunkholes while my two girls played cards in the lounge. We launched at the city dock the next morning, sailed back to the marina and Buck gave me a ride back into town to pick up my van and trailer. He also pointed out the best spots to eat etc. The girls made use of the pool while I got the boat ready and then we took off.

I've attached a pic of our first night out and where we anchored for the night. In the morning I fried some eggs and ham and made coffee (second day) then we were off exploring. We found a small bayou that winded its way far back into the marsh grass, Later in the day we found a small piece of beach next to a pine grove and made camp for most of the afternoon. My girls swam and played in the sand. I made sure the lawn chair didn't blow away Late in the afternoon of the second day the wind pipped up to 18 kph so we went back into the sound and ran down a Catalina 27' ...we gave it our best try.

A few items of note...
- They have a West Marine in town.
- Bentley's Diner for Breakfast. The pancakes or okay but the biscuits and grits are amazing.
- Pizza at the Silo's for dinner. They also have a really nice Lobster Bisque.
- The Food Emporium is good for breakfast and the only thing open on Sunday Morning.
- Whittaker Point Marina is the cleanest, nicest marina I have every abused and the people are great. The shower room is set up so that each person has a private bath room. The lounge is gorgeous with with mahogany floors with ash inlays. Block or cube ice, courtesy van, and bikes, pool house, fantastic dock. The only down side is the prevailing winds hit the marina face-on and the channel coming in is VERY narrow but not a problem for us trailer sailors.

I have a lot more I could tell you but I have to clean out my inbox and do some work :cry:.
I'll go to Walmart this evening and get the pictures off of the camera.

I'm definitely putting this one on my "going back someday" list.

 

[GreenNCSailor]

Sounds like you guys had a great time! I was watching the wind forecast and it looked like it died down pretty good Sunday, I was curious how that worked out for you. Did you skip the trip to Okracoke this time?

 

[rgranger]

Here are some pics...

 

[rgranger]

Sounds like you guys had a great time! I was watching the wind forecast and it looked like it died down pretty good Sunday, I was curious how that worked out for you. Did you skip the trip to Okracoke this time?

The wind was flat Sunday. We arrived Thursday and stayed at the Marina that night. Anchored out Friday night and put back into the marina late Saturday. Sunday we swam in the pool in the morning, then pulled the boat and headed home. Work was calling:cry:


We did not get to Ocracoke this time but I am definitely going back for another go at it. I really wanted my girls to have a good time and they seem to need a break from sailing after about 3 hours. So we sailed, then swam and explored. Then sailed some more.

Next time I think I'm going to launch from marker 15 (see photo). There is a public launch that dumps into Pamlico if I want to go to Ocracoke #51 or a campground launch that dumps into Ceder Island Bay if I want to gunkhole or just get to some white sand beach. I could anchor where I have the yellow square. There is a gas dock at #17 and a short walk for supplies. A longer drive though. It looks like a good spot. I called the campground and talked to a lady there. Seems like I could use the boat as an RV, pay for a site and have a bath house and all else that I would need.

 

[GreenNCSailor]

That would definitely be hike to the ramp at Cedar island. I know it's got to be a good 3-1/2 hrs from Raleigh, so probably 7 for you. I was wondering how long it might take to get from Oriental to Ocracoke. It doesn't look that far on the map but I bet it is a good hike on the water... just depends on the wind. I at least want to get my boat in the water there sometime early next year, not sure if I'll make it across, but who knows... Looks like you had a good time and some beautiful NC sunsets!!