NC Sailing
Nick, I was in the Wilmington area sailing on the weekend of the 15 and 16th. The wind was incredible on the Cape Fear River and we sailed down the waterway near Southport, NC. We were having a good time on a friends 17 footer. What I recommend is other locations in NC for the kind of sailing you would do. The Neuse River around Oriental, NC offers big expanse of the river to sail in and lots of tributaries like South River for anchoring overnight. You have access to Pamlico Sound and the outer banks islands like Ocracoke. From Oriental you are only a short way down the waterway, (ICW) to Beaufort, and Morehead City, NC and an all weather inlet for access to the Atlantic Ocean. Also other areas to locate that are more rural are places like Belhaven, NC or Bath, NC.I keep my boat on the Pamlico River near Washington, NC and have sailed all of these NC waters, the Chesapeake Bay and have sailed quite a bit in New England, L.I. Sound and Narragansett Bay. Wilmington is quite limited for a 25 footer as there is no protected large open water except for the Cape Fear River, and some portions of the ICW which are usually difficult to sail in the narrower portions. I would be happy to send you a NC Coastal Boating Guide if you e-mail me with your address at westabrooks@unctv.org The other thing about the Cape Fear River is that it is a port for large ships and you have to be watchful or you could get run down by a container ship. Wilmington is a great place to visit and a nice city. Good luck with your choice. I recommend you visit these areas and talk to other boaters here in NC about where they like to sail.
