chesapeake to ocracoke

[farmuse]

wondering if anyone has made the trip outside to ocracoke,nc from central bay?should i go for oregon inlet or direct to ocracoke inlet?i'm just a little intimidated by the reputation of hatteras.i'm thinking june or so and should have a month to spend.i,ve travelled the icw from fla to md with one overnight leg offshore so i wanna get more experience outside plus i wanna sail not motor most of the way.any advice about this passage would be appreciated.oh yeah,i sail a cheoy lee28 in good cond.is this boat up to short offshore stints?

[Tempest]

Farmuse,

No actual experience entering any of the three...on my last trip south there was a deep low outside that kept me inside..I didn't get out until the Cape Fear.

There's a large fishing fleet that uses Oregon. (They Buzzed by me at 5 am.)...from what local info I could gather, they are all tricky, in anything but good weather. Good Local knowledge would be advisable. Perhaps even following someone in. Once inside Oregon, the flats are pretty shoal, watch the current and your depth.

Hopefully you'll get more first hand info.. on here..

Tempest

[rdstanley]

Why not go for a little longer ocean time and come in at Beaufort Inlet. It's normally MUCH more user friendly. It's a pretty cool little sailing town as well.

[SecondWindNC]

I don't have firsthand experience with the inlets, but I'm in the same general area and my understanding is that the previous posters are right - Ocracoke Inlet should be considered a fair-weather inlet, especially trying to come in. Check with the Coast Guard for up-to-date information about the condition of the inlet and what to look for.

I would say Oregon Inlet is the better bet. By coming in at Oregon Inlet, you don't have to go out and around Hatteras shoals. Also it gets quite a bit of use, but it's more commercial and charter fishermen than sailboats. Getting some up-to-date local info would probably be a good idea here, too.

rdstanley's suggestion of going to Beaufort Inlet is a good one in terms of navigating the inlet itself, but you'd be going farther south and you'd still be at least a full day's trip from Ocracoke if that's your ultimate destination.

[Tempest]

Farmuse,

How far are you thinking of going south?

Just a thought..perhaps, you can stay inside till Ocracoke then gather local info, pick your window and exit there....come back on the outside...
by June you might...catch a nice SW breeze coming home??...

This obviously wouldn't take a month...lots of places to spend time:
Edenton, Oriental, etc

[farmuse]

thanks all for the input.i'm learning that maybe staying away from hatt is a good idea.i'm considering the other option of going down to beaufort inside then exiting on the way back[with a nice weather window of course].another option suggested is to circumnav the delmarva penn. so i'm looking into that as well.really appreciate everyones advice,thanks.fair winds to ya

[SVAuspicious]

I'm an outside guy. I sit in Little Creek at Vinings Marina (used to be Taylors Landing) until the weather looks good then head out. Beaufort NC is a good inlet to shoot for. I haven't used any of the inlets North of Beaufort.