Welcome to Bald Head, NC

Boating in Bald Head, NC Map View

Berthage with electricity, gasoline, diesel fuel, water, ice, a pump-out station and marine supplies are available at Southport.
Navigation:
Click the “Map View” button above to see a chart of this harbor.
Cape Fear River, 370 miles long and the approach to the city of Wilmington, empties into the sea immediately westward of Cape Fear.
Prominent features:
Oak Island Light (33°53’34″N., 78°02’06″W.), 169 feet above the water, is shown from a 155-foot cylindrical tower, upper part black, middle white, and lower part gray, on Oak Island on the western side of Cape Fear River entrance. It is the most conspicuous object in the approach. The abandoned lighthouse, known as Old Baldy, on the west side of Smith Island, and the buildings of the Oak Island Coast Guard Station, westward of Fort Caswell, are also conspicuous.
Water tanks at Yaupon Beach, Southport and at Kure Beach and two silver radar domes about 1.3 miles southward of the tank at Kure Beach are visible well to seaward. The floodlights at the buildings on the beach about 1 mile westward of Oak Island Light are reported to be highly visible at night. The lights on the stack, microwave tower, and on the buildings of the nuclear powerplant, on the west side of Cape Fear River 2.5 miles above Southport, are prominent at night.
Frying Pan Shoals platform tower (33°29’06″N., 77°35’24″W.) is reported to be a good radar target in the approach to Cape Fear River. It is also reported that under ideal conditions the configuration of Cape Fear and Oak Island Light prove of some value as radar targets when closer in; these targets, however, should not be relied upon too strongly.
Frying Pan Shoals are the principal danger in the approaches to Cape Fear River. Isolated wrecks, some marked, and obstructions with varying depths over them are in the approaches.
In 2007, a rock was reported with shoaling to 28 feet at 33°42’38″N., 78°02’08″W.
Bald Head Shoal and Jay Bird Shoals (Middle Ground) are dangerous shoals on either side of the bar channel.
Caution should be exercised in Cape Fear River at times when tides are higher than normal and after heavy rains as logs and floating debris may be encountered.

Coastal Stories See All

Is Offshore Construction Noise Stressing New England's Lobsters? WHOI Scientists Want to Know

9/8/2026

By Kiran Johnson, whoi.edu. As offshore wind farms multiply along the New England coast, a question with real consequences for one of the region’s most valuable fisheries is getting its first rigorous scientific investigation: does the noise from wind farm construction affect the American lobster? WHOI scientists are working alongside… SEE MORE

The future of fisheries-independent surveys will include traditional capture-based surveys as well as advanced technology such as acoustic, optical, and molecular tools deployed from survey vessels, uncrewed vehicles, and moored to the seafloor. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Su Kim

Charting the Future of Fisheries-Independent Surveys

9/7/2026

Ocean Science

By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. Fisheries-independent surveys operate on dedicated survey vessels and are the foundation of sustainable fisheries management. They provide the consistent data on marine resources we need to inform stock assessments. These data are collected using a scientifically rigorous sampling framework and are used to set catch limits. As… SEE MORE

Coastally-trapped Kelvin waves, a signature of El Niño, traveled north along the West Coast during the 1997/1998 El Niño, as shown in a map of sea surface height anomalies. Darker reds show sea levels higher than normal, while darker blues show heights below normal. Scientists are now watching for similar waves to move up the West Coast this fall. Credit: Dillon Amaya/North Carolina State University

Ocean Indicators We’re Tracking for El Niño’s Arrival on the West Coast

9/5/2026

By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. Has El Niño reached the West Coast? You might think it has. After all, the ocean off Southern and Central California is unusually warm. But that is from a recent marine heatwave predates the current El Niño. Much of the Pacific Coast is experiencing relatively normal conditions while still… SEE MORE

Bald Head, NC

Welcome to Bald Head, NC

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Boating in Bald Head, NC Map View

In The Zone: The Sabre 51 Salon Express

Coastal Stories See All

Is Offshore Construction Noise Stressing New England's Lobsters? WHOI Scientists Want to Know

Charting the Future of Fisheries-Independent Surveys

Ocean Indicators We’re Tracking for El Niño’s Arrival on the West Coast

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