Cape Lookout Bight
NOAA ENC chart tiles · planning aid, not for navigation
Right now at this spot
oldest reading 1 hour agoExperienced crews in bigger hulls. Everyone else will have a bad day.
The sea state in that call was measured 32.3 nm away at NDBC 41159 — that is open water, not this basin.
What that call is built on
- · Observed wind N 3 kt gusting 8 — NDBC BFTN7 · Beaufort
- · Observed seas 3.6 ft — NDBC 41159 · Onslow Bay
- · Adjacent sounds and rivers moderate chop — NWS AMZ158
The best natural anchorage in North Carolina — a full hook of protection behind the cape, and the lighthouse right there. Big enough to hold a hundred boats. Plan on an overnight, not a day trip.
The tide today
When is the sand out?
NOAA returned no tide prediction for today, so there is no clock to run. Nothing here is guessed in its place.
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.
Deep, huge and protected. This is the one spot on the list where the tide is not the thing that decides your day.
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 8656841 Cape Lookout Bight, six-minute predictions, MLLW. Height of the sand: No threshold. The Bight is an anchorage inside a cape, not a bar.
What’s biting here
All speciesPeak month, and 74°F is right in their band.
Min 18" total length · 1 per person per day
Peak month, and 74°F is right in their band.
Min 14" total length · 3 per person per day
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
Getting there
from Wrightsville BeachWhat else is out here
straight line, true bearingLive from the water
Know before you go
Comments
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.