Map
Swansboro

Bear Island (Hammocks Beach)

ICW mile 231

NOAA ENC chart tiles · planning aid, not for navigation

🏖 Sandbar⚓ Anchorage
✈ Brief this trip–

Right now at this spot

oldest reading 1 hour ago
Rough — bigger boats only

Experienced crews in bigger hulls. Everyone else will have a bad day.

The sea state in that call was measured 27.8 nm away at NDBC 41159 — that is open water, not this basin.

What that call is built on
  • · Forecast wind N 15 kt — NWS AMZ158 · Tonight
  • · Observed seas 3.6 ft — NDBC 41159 · Onslow Bay
  • · Adjacent sounds and rivers moderate chop — NWS AMZ158
Wind, forecast
N 15 kt
AMZ158 forecast
Seas now
3.6 ft
15s period · 41159, 27.8 nm off · 1 hour ago
Inside the waterway
Adjacent sounds and rivers moderate chop
Water and airWater 74°F
NWS AMZ158 · Tonight · NDBC 41159 · Onslow Bay (27.8 nm) · NOAA 8656613 Swansboro · MLLW
What a local would tell you

Boat-in only barrier island state park, and the best beach day on this whole stretch. Anchor in the marsh channel behind it or beach on the sound side. There's a bathhouse in season — rare for a boat-in beach.

The tide today

NOAA has not returned a prediction for station 8656613 right now, so there is no curve to draw. Nothing here is worth guessing at — check the station directly.
Sand & tide

When is the sand out?

Barrier-island beach
No prediction

NOAA returned no tide prediction for today, so there is no clock to run. Nothing here is guessed in its place.

Beaching it right now
No tide curve

NOAA has no prediction covering this moment, so we cannot tell you which way the water is going. Do not nose onto sand on a guess.

About this spot

Beach on the sound side or anchor in the marsh channel behind it. The marsh channel is where the tide will catch you out, not the beach.

Rule of thumb, not a survey

This is a rule of thumb, not a survey. Nobody has measured the height of this sand to a datum, so the times are the tide curve run against a threshold we chose — treat them as give or take three quarters of an hour, and tell us if we're wrong.

Tide curve: NOAA 8656613 Swansboro, six-minute predictions, MLLW. Height of the sand: No threshold. Barrier-island state park beach above high water.

What’s biting here

All species
Red drumOpenPeak

Peak month, and 74°F is right in their band.

Min 18" total length · 1 per person per day

Spotted seatroutOpenPeak

Peak month, and 74°F is right in their band.

Min 14" total length · 3 per person per day

FlounderClosedPeak

Peak month, and 74°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
50.0 nm
by the waterway
Run time
131 min
arrive about 6:17 PM
Fuel, round trip
53.3 gal
36% of your 150 gal
Home before dark
2h 2m late
you would finish after sunset
On the ICWstatute mile 231
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
⚓MarinaSwansboro Yacht Basin2.8 nmNNE🛻RampCedar Point Boating Access Area2.9 nmNE⛽Fuel · Pump outCasper's Marina3.1 nmNNE🍤Dock & dineSaltwater Grill3.1 nmNNE🛥Public dockSwansboro Municipal Docks3.1 nmNNE
Nearest artificial reefAR-3812.7 nmNE
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

AccessBoat or ferry only
FacilitiesBathhouse in season
AnchoringSound side, sand bottom
CampingPermitted, reserve ahead
State parkBoat-inBest beachFamily

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✈ Brief this tripMap

Tide curve unavailable (NOAA 403) · Tides unavailable (NOAA 403)

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.