NEW BERN NC BOATING, SAILING, PADDLING and FISHING

Water Sports Are NOT a Luxury in New Bern: They are "Our Thing"

Looking for waterfront property or a home in a boating community in New Bern, NC?
Talk to Bob Bartram of CENTURY 21 Zaytoun Raines, New Bern's most knowledgeable realtor and avid golfer. Call Bob at (252) 636-7313 for immediate assistance or request more information by filling out our confidential Online Request Form

New Bern NC is a beacon to all power boaters, sailors, kayakers, and sports fishermen. We understand the addiction. We consider that "messing about on boats" is a necessity of life!

NEW BERN BOATING INFORMATION ON THIS SITE:

New Bern Coordinates	Marinas, Storage & Launches	Boating Courses	NC Coastal Boating Guide
Neuse River	Trent River	Brice's Creek	Boating and Sailing Events
Paddling	Power Boating	Sailing	Fishing

NEW BERN COORDINATES	NC COASTAL BOATING GUIDE Boaters, paddlers and sailors should order the North Carolina Coastal Boating Guide from the NC Department of Transportation. "This handy NCDOT guide serves as a reference for boaters, showing area marinas and points of interest along the North Carolina coast." To request a printed copy of this free publication, call 1-877-DOT-4YOU or request your free copy online at the NCDOT web site by clicking here for the NC Coastal Boating Guide. You may also view the map online or download a digital copy by clicking here.
New Bern NC Latitude and Longitude: Decimal Degrees: Latitude: 35.10833 Longitude: -77.04444 Degrees Minutes Seconds: Latitude: 350630N Longitude: 0770240W
New Bern NC Map Coordinates: 35.11991 N, 077.07883 W

NEW BERN NC NAVIGABLE WATERWAYS

NEUSE RIVER

The New Bern NC area is a sailing, kayaking, canoeing and power boat nirvana. The mighty Neuse River has miles of sandy beaches, clearly marked channels, and provides easy access via the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (or ICW to those in the know) and Pamlico Sound out to the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the shoreline forms a boundary of the vast Croatan Forest and there are public recreation areas with swimming and picnic facilities near the Minnesott Ferry terminal and at Flanners Beach south of New Bern.

A clearly marked channel up the Neuse from the ICW will bring you into historic New Bern. The natural channel runs between 8' and 12' with little noticeable tidal effect. A strong easterly wind will raise the level, while a sustained westerly breeze (25 knots) can lower this level by as much as two feet. Also note the sapling net stakes dotting the river, strung with nets in the early spring and late fall. The Neuse is a very wide river, inviting day or night sailing in addition to motor cruising and water skiing.

TRENT RIVER

The Trent River meets the Neuse River at Union Point Park (named for the union of the two rivers).

The Trent is a deep river with marked channels and is navigable all the way to Pollocksville, and is wildly popular with kayakers and canoers. It connects with the Neuse River at Union Point.

BRICE'S CREEK

Brice's Creek, a major tributary of the Trent River, winds deep into the forest offering excellent fishing and wildlife observation.

Narrow at places, it offers great views of wildlife, and is used by both power boaters and paddlers.

POWER BOATING

You would imagine that the home to the manufacturer of Hatteras Yachts would be a motor boating heaven, and you'd be correct! Power boating is a New Bern tradition, and its many waterways and public boat launches lend themselves to their use. Just get a hitch on that pickup or SUV and a trailer, and drive to the nearest boat launch, and you're set to go.

MARINAS, BOAT STORAGE, AND BOAT LAUNCHES

MARINAS: There are several existing marinas in New Bern with wet slips for sale or rent, and many more in the works, including a huge one in Bridgeton. Others belong to the residential community or private club to which they're attached, including a small one at Queen's point on East Front Street and the New Bern Country Club's small marina.

Large marinas with some transient wet slips and others on long-term lease or sale include: The Sheraton's New Bern Grand Marina, Bridgepointe Hotel's Marina, Fairfield Harbour's Northwest Creek Marina, and River Bend's Marina are the major ones.

DRY BOAT STORAGE: It sometimes seem that every other house has a powerboat of some type tucked behind it (This is if your community covenants allow. For example, in Greenbrier, boats and RVs have to parked behind the front edge of the house (must have parking slab on the side of your house.)

If your community doesn't allow boat storage on your property, many local storage facilities keep your boat very handy for when the fish are running! One great RV and Boat storage facility is behind Gold's Gym on MLK Blvd.

PUBLIC BOAT LAUNCHES: The City of New Bern Parks and Recreation maintains several excellent boat launches with parking in New Bern, including Lawson Creek Park and Union Point Park (both of which have wonderful fishing piers as well) and Glenburnie Park on Glenburnie Drive.

Click here to read about the various parks and their public boating services.

River Bend Marina has a private boat launch with a $5 fee, and overnight.

PADDLING

Kayakers and canoers find joining the Twin Rivers Paddle Club or the New Bern Outdoor Adventure Club to be great fun in organizing group paddles.

One of the most hilarious and fun paddling events of the year is the great Neuse River Raft Race held during Neuse River Days at Union Point Park. Groups (separated into two groups for either private or commercial entries) build homemade paddling crafts and race them around Union Point and back.

Click here for a list of all the Paddle Trails in the area, mapped by local expert enthusiasts

SAILING

Small sailboats can be seen in River Bend's remodeled marina and outside doors, but low bridges out the Trent limit mast height. Fairfield Harbour's Northwest Creek provides deep water access to the Neuse for larger, ocean-going sailboats. Blackbeard's Sailing Club, a private, member-only club is located there, and the Harbour residents hold many raft-ups and group sails.

Down Highway 55 from New Bern is Oriental, NC, sailing haven for the area. There are more boat slips than there are residents, as many New Bernians and other NC residents leave their boats there for sailing. It boasts several top notch eating establishments Oriental is a tiny fishing village that was discovered by the sailing crowd a decade or so ago, and has a number of sailing retirees and local sailing fans making their home port there.

NEW BERN BOATING AND SAILING EVENTS

Many midnight or twilight raft-ups, group sails or trips to Beaufort or Wilmington, and regattas are held by local clubs such as the Blackbeard Sailing Club and other boating clubs and groups.

A very popular event with local boaters in the summertime is to sail or power their way to the Sheraton Grand, where a huge outdoor deck party is held on Fridays in the summer.

The boating residential communities of River Bend and Fairfield Harbour both hold a number of boating and sailing related events throughout the year. Contact your Homeowner's Association for information.

The River Bend Cafe at the River Bend Marina encourages boaters to dock during lunch, dinner or Sunday brunch by having temporary slips available for this purpose. Call the River Bend Marina at (252) 636-5701 for information.

BOATING COURSES

Oriental, NC is justly proud of its famous sailing school that draws sailors from all up and down the coast.

Blackbeard Sailing Club offers courses as well.

The local Coast Guard Auxiliary offers regular courses in basic or advanced coastal navigation, covered are the Nautical Chart and Tools, dead reckoning, piloting, current sailing, currents RDF, radar, Loran, and tides. Call 1 800 336-BOAT.

FISHING in New Bern NC and Coastal Carolina

When you live in coastal Carolina, you "dig" fishing. Newcomers are puzzled at first, at the pick-up trucks with swivel chairs mounted over the beds. (think about it.... makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Back your truck up to a stream or lake pull out the bait box and sit back and reel em in!) The elaborate (some are chrome plated) racks on the front of the truck might stump the inner city dweller, but you knew that these high tech racks are fishing pole holders, didn't you? They safely hold a number of different poles for whatever is biting. Fishing is serious business. Whether you fish the rivers creeks or ocean, you'll rarely go home with an empty creel.

Check this link for more specific Coastal Fishing Info and Reports.

Fishing is so ingrained in the coastal Carolina, that when the fish are running, you probably won't find a handyman or carpenter-- or lawyer, for that matter, who doesn't take off early and go load up the bass boat and cooler.

The youngsters start early. In-town communities with fishing lakes and "throw-back" policies always have boys and increasingly- girls with their rods and worms heading for the water.

Check the local bait stores for info, they will tell you what is running, what they're biting, and the owner might just close up the store and go with you if business is slow.

Ocean fishing tournaments are well-publicized. Morehead City (35 miles from New Bern) is the closest spot that the Gulf Stream comes to the east coast of the US. It's a river of fish. Many boat rentals for singles or crowds are available. Boat rentals in New Bern are available as well if you want to cruise...or pull up some dinner.

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This useful New Bern NC info is brought to you by Bob Bartram of CENTURY 21 Zaytoun Raines, New Bern's most knowledgeable realtor!
Bob is an expert in helping New Bernians with all their real estate needs, from buying a home or lot, selling a home or land, buying or selling investment property, custom homes or new construction, waterfront property or parcels of land or buildable lots. Bob can help you find the right neighborhood and amenities, and discover activities and recreation to help you feel at home in beautiful and friendly New Bern, North Carolina!

For personalized information about buying or selling real estate in New Bern NC, fill out our confidential Online New Bern NC Real Estate Request Form or
call Bob Bartram TODAY at (252) 636-7313 for immediate assistance.

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