sailing pamlico sound

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Jun 16, 2004
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am planning to take my hobie and sail the sound for 4-5 days. we would also like to night sail/paddle and try and do some gigging(never done it before).

I am wondering what some of the best areas are. Looking for a small hotel or bed and breakfast with boat ramp or access on the property or nearby. A campground that the hobie could be sailed up to would be nice also.

Any suggestions? Thanks!
 
Jan 27, 2008
3,086
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
yeah, sail over to Ocracoke, all kinds of hotels and bed and breakfast places. with a hobie should only take about two hours to get there. other opportunities are bellhaven, bath or little washington/chocowinity on the pamlico river. thin water but for a hobie, perfect. Oriental has some places you can overnight. Minnesott beach is another option. If I was you however I'd go to Beaufort, launch at the public ramp, sail over to shackleford banks, pitch a tent and you can sail all over the place. bed and breakfast places are abundant in beaufort and lots of food and drink places.
 

Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
8,188
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
Nov 2009 issue of SAIL mag. features good article on cruising Pamilico Sound.
 
Oct 26, 2008
6,268
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
You can drive out to the outer banks.

I trailered my Hobie 16 to Nags Head and sailed it from the Village at Nags Head sailing beach on Roanoke Sound numerous times. We were staying in a house there so we had access. It was a good location but the outer banks side of all the sounds has pretty thin waters, even for a Hobie.

But my suggestion would be to take her all the way down to Frisco Woods and stay at the Frisco Woods campground. The campground is right on Pamilico Sound and windsurfers and kite sailers use the beach. I'm sure you can launch there. That area of the sound has plenty of depth for a Hobie. You can sail over to Ocracoke from that location pretty easily as well, so that would be a nice little adventure. There are numerous campsites on the ocean side as well. There are too many places to stay to mention, and last minute reservations are not much of a problem at this time of year, even though the OB fills up with windsurfers and fishermen in the spring and fall. There are literally thousands of houses for rent as well, hundreds right on the sound, where it is easy to launch your Hobie.

I've stayed at the two motels that are right at the bend in the road near the lighthouse in Buxton and have always loved that location. They are oceanside, but there isn't good sound access right there because it is too shallow. For about 10 years, I made the semi-annnual pilgrimage to Cape Hatteras (April & October) that all windsurfers on the east coast, and particularly, Quebec, make to Hatteras. It has been about 10 years since I stopped going and I am feeling the pull especially strong this spring for some reason. I want to go back just to take up kite sailing, which seems to be the huge thing there now.

The other location to consider is the campground site outside the tri-town area of Waves/Salvo/Rodante. These 3 towns run together, wedged in the middle of National Seashore. Avon is not a bad site, but some of the water is very thin, especially at the public sites. But you can find ways to deal with it. One of the adventures is to sail out to the reef which lies several miles offshore on the sound-side. It is the point where the deepest waters of Pamlico sound reef with the shallow waters of the Outer Banks. There are actually surf like conditions, which is great fun on a sailboard, and would be fun on a Hobie as well. You have to be prepared because it is up to 8 miles off outside Avon. It shadows the bend in the island and is closer to reach from Rodante and Frisco Woods. It makes a great downhill ride on a NW wind if you launch from the access north of Avon (or even the area by Rodante) and run down to Canadian Hole (which is between Avon & Buxton) for example.

Cape Hatteras is a unique place and definitely worth the visit. Many people fall in love with the area because it is remote and very much away from the typical boardwalk beach scene. In the summer, it is WAY family oriented. In the spring and fall it is a little less tame. It is definitely a BYOW-type of place at all times. There is no singles-scene to speak of but there are numerous bars and restaraunts that locals tend to go to. The people that spend a lot of time there are basically oriented to watersports and surfing and there is no glitz or glamour to be found within hours of driving. There is SO MUCH open space because of all the National Seashore. Bring 4WD so you can drive out on the beaches virtually anywhere. I don't recall seeing Hobies being sailed off the beaches around there, but if you can trailer it in, there should be no reason not to. There are no permit requirements for beach access. Just bring common sense and be prepared to lower the tire pressure. Don't make the mistake that I did one time where I almost lost my Jimmy to a rising tide! :redface: A local with a nylon tow line helped yank me out!
 
Jan 27, 2008
3,086
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
What is BYOW? Bring your own wife?

You might also want to consider the New Bern area as the Neuse river should be a great place for Hobie sailing and New Bern has a lot of great restaurants, clubs, hotels, motels, etc. The Neuse river is very wide along most of its' length from New Bern down to Pamlico Sound widening out to about 6 miles across once you get past Oriental. Prevailing winds are typically southwest but on any given day you never know.
 
Jun 16, 2004
203
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thanks for the info all. Not able to fine tune anyplace to stay with boat in the water ability...will try the campgrounds. Bet that was a nerve racking situation scott. I would have lost my hobie (or had to try and swim it down!) to an out going tide on morris island off charleston. Since then I've helped one or two folks...one thing about boaters...they are always ready to lend a hand! Thanks again!
 
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