DAYS 275-280 : Southport/St James Marina to Mile Hammock Bay Anchorage - Beaufort NC

Southport/St James Marina to Mile Hammock ANCHORAGE: 8.3 mph; 69.8 miles; 8:25 hours

Mile Hammock Bay to Beaufort NC: 8.3 mph; 40.1 miles; 4:49 hours

MM 244 Mile Hammock Bay Anchorage; Camp Lejeune Area

Left St James at the crack of dawn. Great travel day - so many dolphin. 

Mile Hammock is listed in the books as a ‘must see’ and is said to be in the same arena as Hoppies and Bobby’s Fish Camp as a place for Loopers to stop. Now, I’ve been to both of those places and I am hoping for something … a little … more.

LATER THAT DAY … OK, not disappointed; this is a great anchorage! The depth coming in was 6’ and the middle runs 9-10’. There was some USMC action going on in the evening and we saw the Osprey helicopters out and about on our way here. WOW are those helicopters loud - I bet they are a beautiful noise to those in need. 

We are expecting high winds and rain tomorrow; it seems like it might start earlier and the ocean is a stone's throw away from the anchorage with dunes as wind breakers … better get that snubber on the chain.

MM 204 Beaufort NC: pronounced BOW-firt

Town Creek Marina: $1.83/ft (this is a discounted BOATUS price and includes electric); $5/pump-out; showers/bathrooms; coin-operated laundry; FREE loaner car; restaurant onsite. Great staff! This little marina runs like a family - I like their style.

*There was so much wind (25-30kt) that we extended our stay for a while.*

The marina is a mile from all the shops and little restaurants on Front Street and 8 miles to a boatload of chain stores, Harris Teeter, Walmart, and antique/thrift shops. This is the time to provision your boat; look at the blog titled: PLANNING AHEAD: Oriental to Albemarle Sound - Norfolk - WHAT I KNOW NOW; I really wish someone had given me this information.

Around Town

I love the houses here and think this would be a great little area for retirement. The houses are exactly the kind I like - Norfolk Style with a little country thrown in for good measure.

Fishtowne Brew House was like finding a gem! I loved this place! We played a mean game of corn hole with the locals. Not sure of the score but if laughter counts then we all won! I wonder if they have a food truck on the weekends. The outside part of the brew house backs to a public paid-parking lot.... it would work ...

Beaufort Creamery is on Front Street and she makes the ice cream in-house with local ingredients. Still no gelato.

Finz Grill & Eatery on Front Street. I had the Rice Bowl with chicken, $14, a little overpriced and the lemonade was $2.50. Using fresh ingredients, instead of dried seasonings and powdered lemons, would have tricked me into thinking the cost of the meal was worth the price. There are so many other restaurants to try: Moonrankers, Dock House, Aqua, Black Sheep, even the City Kitchen, take your pick.

For the cost of a donation, you can tour the North Carolina Maritime Museum at Beaufort, also located on Front Street. The museum is nicely done and includes a lot of items from salvaged wrecks. It’s worth the time to visit and learn about the maritime for this area.

We stumbled on the Old Burying Ground in Historic Beaufort by accident. The Burying Ground has QR codes corresponding with numbers on twenty or so graves. First you scan the QR code, then up pops a list of information in a numbered format. You find the corresponding number on the tombstone, click the button, and listen to the history or uniqueness of the soul that's buried or design of stone. Pretty cool actually. While we were there, we came across some bird watchers and they pointed out the Great Horned Owl and her nest.