Map
Hampstead

Rich Inlet

ICW mile 276

NOAA ENC chart tiles · planning aid, not for navigation

🌊 Inlet⚠ Hazard
✈ Brief this trip–

Right now at this spot

oldest reading 50 min ago
Sporty

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

The sea state in that call was measured 9.2 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 AMZ250 · Today
  • · Observed seas 1.6 ft — NDBC 41110 · Masonboro Inlet
Wind, forecast
SW 15 kt
AMZ250 forecast
Gusting
20 kt
AMZ250 forecast
Seas now
1.6 ft
9s period · 41110, 9.2 nm off · 50 min ago
Tide
4.0 ft
rising · high 13:05
Water and airWater 76°FAir 80°F
NWS AMZ250 · Today · NDBC 41110 · Masonboro Inlet (9.2 nm) · NDBC JMPN7 · Wrightsville Beach (5.4 nm) · NOAA 8657813 Hampstead · MLLW
What a local would tell you

Unmarked and shifting between Figure Eight and Lea-Hutaff. Beautiful, undeveloped, and genuinely not worth attempting without current local knowledge and a rising tide under you.

The tide today

4.0 ft right now
ARRIVENOW00:32 · 3.206:30 · 0.913:05 · 4.019:29 · 1.3
Next high 13:05 · 4.0 ft3.1 ft range today

Best window to be here. Aim for the window around high water at 00:32 or 13:05 — this spot is tide-sensitive.

Why the tide decides this one
  • It is an inlet — the bar stands up when the tide runs against the wind.
  • It is flagged for shoaling or hazard in the dataset.
  • Tagged shifting.
Sunrise 7:17 AM · Sunset 6:36 PM5h 46m of light left
NOAA CO-OPS 8657813 · Hampstead · MLLW · live predictions. Sun times from the NOAA solar algorithm for this position.
Wrightsville Beach is reading 0.5 ft ABOVE prediction (8 min ago). Wind is holding water in.
measured 4.93 ft · predicted 4.41 ft · +0.5 ft · NOAA 8658163 · nearby

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.

Depth

Nobody has reported a depth here. This spot is tide-sensitive, so sound your way in and post what you read. We timestamp it and correct it to the datum automatically, so the next boat gets a number they can actually use.

Getting there

from Wrightsville Beach
Distance
7.1 nm
by the waterway
Run time
32 min
arrive about 1:21 PM
Fuel, round trip
7.2 gal
5% of your 150 gal
Home before dark
4h 42m
to spare, leaving now, out and back
On the ICWstatute mile 276
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
⛽Fuel · Marina · Pump outHarbour Village Marina4.6 nmNNE🛻RampWrightsville Beach Public Ramp5.7 nmSW🍤Dock & dineBluewater Waterfront Grill5.8 nmSW🛥Public dockRiverwalk Public Docks11.1 nmWSW
Nearest artificial reefAR-364 Billy Murrell Reef3.2 nmSSE
44 ft site average · Concrete, Vessel
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.
Sign in to add a report. Depths you post get corrected for the tide automatically.

Know before you go

TypeUnmarked, shifting
SurroundingsUndeveloped barrier islands
RuleRising tide, local knowledge only
UnmarkedShiftingRemote

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✈ Brief this tripMap

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.