Easy Sailing Offshore From Florida to North Carolina
Join us on our adventure sailing offshore from Florida to North Carolina to work our way up the east coast.
We had a wonderful two months in the Bahamas sailing Bimini to the Abacos, and then sailing the Abacos Islands, spending time in Marsh Harbour, Treasure Cay, Hope Town and Elbow Cay, and Green Turtle Cay. Being able to spend 2 months in the Bahamas was all part of our 6-year plan to sail away. But, it is now May and hurricane season is quickly approaching.
After our 149 nautical mile (nm), overnight sail from Little Grand Cay across the Gulf Stream to Port Canaveral, FL, we decided to continue sailing offshore from Florida to North Carolina in three overnight hops and two offshore day sails.
Continue reading to learn about how our offshore passages went, and where we stopped along Florida up to North Carolina. I’ll also discuss the towns we explored along the way.
Sailing Offshore From Florida to North Carolina in Five Offshore Sails
We broke the sail up into five separate offshore sails for two primary reasons. The first reason is weather. Finding good sailing weather offshore for a long duration of time can be difficult. While we can sail through storms and rough seas, we chose to sail in more comfortable conditions and not put the strain on us or the boat.
The second reason is our dog Mangaux. As I discussed in Living with a Dog on a sailboat, Mangaux will not use the bathroom on the sailboat. We try to limit our time offshore so we can get him to onshore to use the bathroom. I am still working on trying to get him to use the bathroom on the boat; if you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear from you!
Port Canaveral, FL to Fernandina Beach, FL
Upon arrival into Port Canaveral, we docked at Ocean Club Marina for 2 nights. We caught up on our laundry and grocery shopping, all while waiting out another weather system with strong winds passing through. We also celebrated Scott’s birthday with some delicious pumpkin cake! Our crewmember Liz is with us to help us celebrate, and she is game for another offshore, overnight sail up to Fernandina Beach.
Ocean Club Marina, Fernandina Beach, FL
- Latitude: 28° 24’ 31.04”N, Longitude: 80° 37’ 46.09”W
- Cost: $3.00/foot/day
- Slips: Floating docks
- Power: $8/day for 30 amp and $12/day for 50 amp
- Water: Free
- Laundry: $2.50 washer and $2.50 dryer
- Bathrooms/Showers: Yes – two showers in with the bathroom stalls. Clean and nice.
- Pet Friendly: Yes
- Groceries: None walking distance. We took a ride share approximately 3.5 miles to Cape Canaveral, FL
- Restaurants: None walking distance. We took a ride share approximately 3.5 miles to Cape Canaveral, FL
We had a very pleasant overnight sail traveling 167 nm. We went approximately 13 miles offshore. We even had a couple of opportunities to sail without the engine, including the last 3-4 hours before entering the channel into Fernandina Beach. I can say it was very nice having a third person onboard to help with the overnight watches!
During the early morning hours around first light, we saw a group of spinner sharks feeding on fish! It was so cool watching the jump straight out of the water and spinning through the air.
We grabbed a mooring ball at Oasis Marina at Fernandina Harbor Marina which also allows us the use of their facilities.
Coming into Fernandina Beach from water, it looks like a very industrial area. We were pleasantly surprised when we dinghied to shore and found such a cute downtown area right there at the marina.
We enjoyed our last couple of days with our crewmember Liz, checking out a couple of restaurants and ice cream parlors, before she went back home.
Tip:
Fernandina Beach has the cheapest ice cream I have found on the east coast! It was so delicious too!
Mooring Balls from Oasis Marina at Fernandina Harbor Marina
- Latitude: 30° 40’ 13.35”N, Longitude: 81° 28’ 10.91”W
- Cost: $25/day
- Holding: Ball held well
- Wind Protection: Protected from all directions
- Depth: 6 – 10 feet
- Water: Free
- Pump Out: Yes
- Laundry: Yes – $2.50 washer and $2.50 dryer
- Bathroom/Showers: Yes – single toilets with showers. Nice and clean.
- Pet Friendly: Yes
- Groceries: Walmart is the closest 2.3 miles away. There is also a Publix 2.8 miles away.
- Restaurants: Yes, several very good restaurants!
Fernandina Beach, FL to Charleston, SC
We are ready for our next offshore overnight passage! We head out to Charleston, traveling 161 nm, approximately 20 nm offshore. It was a nice overnight transit with good sailing for a few hours in the first afternoon. Then the wind lightened up and we had a rolly night before arrival the next morning.
We stayed at Charleston Maritime Center’s marina for two nights, which is located a short distance from downtown Charleston.
Charleston also has a great water taxi that boards right at the Maritime Center and will take you across the Cooper River to USS Yorktown and Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina, and to Waterfront Park / Market Street at the other end of downtown Charleston. The taxi is $14 per person for an unlimited day pass.
We took the water taxi across Cooper River and toured the USS YORKTOWN at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. It was a great tour of this aircraft carrier that served in World War II. We also toured the USS LAFFEY Destroyer that a part of the D-Day Invasion in Normandy, France and the Battle of Okinawa.
After the tour, we hopped on the water taxi to Waterfront Park, where we at lunch and took in the sites of downtown Charleston. We were able to walk back to the marina, stopping at a nearby grocery store along the way.
While touring USS YORKTOWN, we saw several boats anchored just in front of it on the north side of the river. We would love to explore Charleston some more on the way back south, and currently plan to anchor here instead of stopping in at a marina (weather permitting of course).
Charleston Maritime Center
- Latitude: 32° 47’ 21.22”N, Longitude: 79° 55’ 27.76”W
- Cost: $2.00/foot/day
- Slips: fixed docks
- Power: $5.00/day for 30 amp or $10/day for 50 amp
- Water: Free
- Laundry: Free – However, they were all always in use and only available during business hours
- Bathrooms/Showers: Bathrooms are in the Maritime Center Office (access is 24/7). There is one shower there as well, however, we did not use it.
- Pet Friendly: Yes
- Groceries: Yes – Harris Teeter is a short, easy 0.5-mile walk
- Restaurants: Yes – several walking distance in downtown Charleston
Charleston, SC to Georgetown, SC
Our next stop heading north was a 72 nm day sail offshore to Georgetown, SC. We went approximately 5 – 8 nm offshore. It was a nice day sail, with light winds that built to allow for 1–2-hour sail at end of our passage.
Entering into Winyah Bay Inlet was quite a rolly ride with the winds and currents. We made our way up Winyah Bay approximately 14 nm and anchored in Georgetown. Here we met up with our friends we buddy-boated through the Bahamas with for several weeks. It was so great to catch back up with them, and travel more with them up the east coast.
Georgetown is such a great boater-friendly town. They have two dinghy docks right in town and several great restaurants and ice cream to check out. It was a great town for dog walks as well.
Anchoring in Georgetown was not the easiest. It is a very narrow strip of water between the waterway and town where boats can anchor. We ended up anchoring just past this strip right in front of a steel plant. The lights and sounds from the steel plant were not terrible, however, pulling up our anchor was. I’ve never seen such thick, messy mud on our anchor and chain in all of our travels. It would not deter me from anchoring here again, I will just plan for an extra 30 minutes to hose off the anchor and chain.
Our next stop on our travels north is an overnight sail to Southport, NC. We left Georgetown at high tide and motored approximately 13 miles down Winyah Bay and anchored near the mouth of the inlet. Here we waited for slack tide, took Mangaux for a walk and took a nap before going out the channel.
I’ve never anchored in a 3-knot current, but what a site to see! With the water rushing by it looked like we were underway while anchored! Our 65-lb Mantus anchor held us great!
Georgetown Anchorage
- Latitude: 33° 21’ 59.25” N, Longitude: 79° 17’ 21.92”W
- Holding: Good holding in thick mud
- Wind Protection: Protected from all directions
- Depth: 6-10 feet
- Pet Friendly: Yes – great town to walk through
- Groceries: None walking distance
- Restaurants: Yes – several
Anchorage near mouth of Winyah Bay Channel
- Latitude: 33° 13’ 23.09” N, Longitude: 79° 11’ 56.52”W
- Holding: Good holding in sand
- Wind Protection: Protected from west and east winds
- Depth: 6-12 feet
- Pet Friendly: Yes – there is a beach on North Island to the east of where we anchored
- Groceries: No
- Restaurants: No
Georgetown, SC to Southport, NC
We headed out of South Carolina in the afternoon and prepared ourselves for our next overnight, offshore sail to Southport, North Carolina. We traveled 91.6 nm, passing by Myrtle Beach approximately 18 miles offshore. We had very light wind and motored the entire way, however, the clear skies and stars made for a peaceful and beautiful night.
Looking at the weather forecast, there was a significant system building off the east coast producing large waves and gale force winds. We pulled into Deep Port Marina in Southport, NC for a week to wait out this system.
I honestly don’t remember much of this week besides heavy winds and rain, as I got sick and stayed in bed most of the week. I guess it was good timing to get sick, since we couldn’t go anywhere or do anything anyways.
Deep Point Marina
- Latitude: 33° 55’ 49.86”N, Longitude: 77° 59’ 47.60”W
- Cost: $2.00/foot/day
- Slips: floating docks
- Power: $7.50/day for 50 amp
- Water: Free
- Laundry: $2.00 washer / $2.00 dryer (I believe I am remembering this one correctly)
- Bathrooms/Showers: Yes – There is a shower in the handicap area of the bathroom with a full door, just off the stalls of the rest of the bathroom. It was very nice and clean.
- Pet Friendly: Yes
- Groceries: Yes – There is a Walmart approximately three miles away. I recommend using Billy’s Ride Share (Marina staff referred him to us) as he was very reliable. He also gave us a driving tour of downtown Southport.
- Restaurants: Yes – Island Time Café at the ferry terminal immediately next door to the marina serves breakfast and lunch. You can also find several restaurants in downtown Southport or near the Walmart.
Southport, NC to Wrightsville Beach, NC
After the winds, rain, and my sickness (that God) subsided, we took the intracoastal waterway (ICW) approximately 20 nm up to Wrightsville Beach. We decided to go “on the inside” in the ICW for this leg of the trip as it was the more efficient route and we only had one fixed bridge to go under.
To go on the outside to Wrightsville Beach, or further for that matter, would require going out and around Frying Pan Shoal, adding several nautical miles to our trip.
We anchored for the night at Wrightsville Beach, just north of the Masonboro Inlet. This set us up nicely for our last offshore leg up the east coast the next morning.
Wrightsville Beach Anchorage
- Latitude: 34° 11’ 39.09”N, Longitude: 77° 48’ 37.98”W
- Holding: Good holding in sand
- Wind Protection: Good protection all around
- Depth: 18-20 feet
- Pet Friendly: Yes – there is a beach on the west side of the anchorage. I believe there is also dinghy access on Wrightsville Beach, however, we did not use it.
- Groceries: Yes – Small grocery store, Robert’s Market on Wrightsville Beach
- Restaurants: Yes – Several on Wrightsville Beach
Wrightsville Beach, NC to Beaufort, NC
On our last offshore adventure up the east coast in North Carolina, we had our buddy boat from the Bahamas, Alaina, with us! We motor-sailed 69 nm, approximately eight miles off the coastline. It was a bit of a rolly ride all the way to the Beaufort Inlet. In Beaufort, we were able to find a spot to drop our anchor right in front of downtown in Taylor Creek.
Downtown Beaufort is a great little town on the water with plenty of restaurants and shops. We were so close to the dinghy dock for our Mangaux walks and checking out the town.
Unfortunately, we only stayed one night, as we had great weather to continue our trek north the next morning. We definitely want to spend more time here on our way back south this fall.
Beaufort – Taylor Creek Anchorage
- Latitude: 34° 42’ 51.17”N, Longitude: 76° 39’ 50.77”W
- Holding: Good holding in mud
- Wind Protection: Good protection all around
- Depth: 7-10 feet
- Pet Friendly: Yes – we were very close to the town’s dinghy dock for easy dog walking access
- Groceries: Yes – there is a Piggly Wiggly 1.3 miles inland and a Food Lion 2 miles inland.
- Restaurants: Yes – Several to pick from and even found a dog-friendly place to eat
Conclusion
We traveled 580.3 miles sailing offshore from Florida to North Carolina from May 8 through May 29, 2023 (including one 20 nm ICW passage). We completed this in five offshore jumps up the coastline, that included three separate overnight sails.
During our offshore sailing from Florida to North Carolina, we spent $1260.09 at three different marinas and one mooring ball. We also spent $96.50 on power and $0.00 on water.
The more overnight sails that we completed, the more I have come to enjoy them. We were very cautious to pick good weather windows, even if that meant some motoring was involved. It is much less stressful to sail out in the open water, not worrying about the depth of the water, or the height of our mast going under the several bridges along the ICW.
Tip:
One thing that really helps me with the overnight sails is getting a nap in during the day prior to my night watch!
Now that we are nearing Cape Hatteras, we decided to stay on the inside and travel the ICW through the rest of North Carolina and through Virginia. Our next article will cover the ICW along this stretch of the east coast and the stops we make along the way.
Live your dream,
