Bald Head Island

Bald Head Island Marina

ICW mile 311

NOAA ENC chart tiles · planning aid, not for navigation

⚓ Marina⛽ Fuel🍤 Dock & dine♻ Pump out

✈ Brief this trip–

Right now at this spot

oldest reading 52 min ago

Sporty

Small boats will get beat up. Pick your heading and slow down.

The sea state in that call was measured 21.7 nm away at NDBC 41110 — that is open water, not this basin.

What that call is built on

· Forecast wind SW 15 kt gusting 20 — NWS AMZ252 · Today
· Observed seas 1.6 ft — NDBC 41110 · Masonboro Inlet

Wind, forecast

SW 15 kt

AMZ252 forecast

Gusting

20 kt

AMZ252 forecast

Seas now

1.6 ft

9s period · 41110, 21.7 nm off · 52 min ago

Tide

4.3 ft

falling · low 18:58

Water and airWater 76°FAir 78°F

NWS AMZ252 · Today · NDBC 41110 · Masonboro Inlet (21.7 nm) · NOAA 8659084 Southport · MLLW

What a local would tell you

No cars on the island — you rent a golf cart at the dock. Protected harbor, but the run across the Cape Fear from Southport gets sporty when wind opposes tide.

The tide today

4.3 ft right now

Next low 18:58 · 0.8 ft3.7 ft range today

Best window to be here. Any tide works here. High water 00:06 and 12:35, low 06:02 and 18:58.

Sunrise 7:18 AM · Sunset 6:37 PM5h 45m of light left

NOAA CO-OPS 8659084 · Southport · MLLW · live predictions. Sun times from the NOAA solar algorithm for this position.

The gauge at Wilmington is within 0.3 ft of prediction — the almanac is holding up today. That gauge is 21.6 nm away, so treat this as the regional trend rather than your basin.

measured 4.76 ft · predicted 4.48 ft · +0.3 ft · NOAA 8658120 · regional

What’s biting here

All species

Red drumOpenPeak

Peak month, and 76°F is right in their band.

Min 18" total length · 1 per person per day

Spotted seatroutOpenPeak

Peak month, and 76°F is right in their band.

Min 14" total length · 3 per person per day

FlounderClosedPeak

Peak month, and 76°F is right in their band.

Unlawful to possess right now.

Ranked on the month and the measured water temperature. Limits are North Carolina’s current rules — confirm with DMF before you keep anything.

Getting there

from Wrightsville Beach

Distance

27.3 nm

by the waterway

Run time

78 min

arrive about 2:10 PM

Fuel, round trip

28.9 gal

19% of your 150 gal

Home before dark

3h 9m

to spare, leaving now, out and back

On the ICWstatute mile 311

Worked out for

a typical 26 ft centre console · 2 ft draft · 26 kt cruise · 14 gph

✈ Full briefing 🧭 Plan the run

Distance from ICW mile markers where both ends have one, winding-padded straight line otherwise. Time and fuel from your boat profile at 26 kt.

Worked out for a typical 26 ft centre console — we do not know yours yet. Add your boat and these become your numbers.Add your boat

What else is out here

straight line, true bearing

🛻RampDutchman Creek Boat Ramp4.8 nmNW 🛥Public dockCarolina Beach Municipal Docks11.2 nmNNE

Nearest artificial reefAR-425 Yaupon Beach Reef5.8 nmW

30 ft site average · Concrete, Reef Ball

NCDMF site reference position, not a surveyed obstruction. Material stands well above the site average — never steer over a reef on these numbers.

Distances computed from the shipped place dataset and NCDMF reef records. Great-circle, not a route — check that the water actually connects.

Live from the water

No reports here yet. If you run this spot, post what you see — fuel price, depth, how busy it is. Depths get corrected for the tide automatically, so the number you leave is worth something to the next boat.

Know before you go

Getting aroundGolf carts only

FuelGas + diesel

CrossingCape Fear — wind vs tide

DestinationGolf cartsProtected

Comments

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✈ Brief this trip Map

Conditions, tides and alerts are live from NOAA CO-OPS, the National Weather Service and NDBC. Distance, run time, fuel and clearance are calculated from your boat profile. Member depth reports are corrected to the datum at the moment they are filed. Planning aid only — not for navigation. Carry current charts.