-
Put In -
In Beaufort on Front Street right
across from the BB&T Bank. Very close to the
Inlet Inn, the hotel
we stayed at.
-
Distance/Time - Two trips one around Carrot Island(8 miles/4 hours) and the
second around Radio Island(5.7 miles/2 1/2 hours).
-
Difficulty - Above average as this was the first time for me to paddle in the
ocean. The sound side paddling was very much like lake paddling, but
the ocean side had some tricky currents and waves.
-
Trip Directions - The first day we arrived around 10am and were in the water
by 10:30am using the towns kayak launch near the town pier. Lots of
parking, either for 3 hours or 5 hours. We were staying at the Inlet
Inn, so we could park in their parking area right on Queen Street. The
first trip was to circle
Carrot Island looking for the ponies that inhabit this island. We
were not able to see them till the evening of the first day from dinner on
the waterfront and then on the second trip early in the morning they were
grazing on the north side of Carrot Island. This trip was interesting
since we got stuck in the marshes near Carrot Island and had to portage over
the sandbar to the ocean. The ocean paddling was all new to me.
We tried to find a cut through to Taylor Creek but it was all dry, as the
tide was heading out. Not sure if it even exists because of the
changing sandbars in the area. So, we slogged our way to the start of
Taylor Creek and once here it was easy paddling back to the put-in The
second trip was to do a similar circle around
Radio Island,
we were on the water by 8:30am and was able to catch the ponies grazing on
the south side of Carrot Island. We then had to head up the main
channel to the tip of Radio Island, it was a fun paddle with all the waves
and currents from the boats heading out. After getting around the tip
of Radio Island we then paddled down to the Morehead Bridge and then back
around to the Beaufort draw bridge to
Taylor Creek.
-
Scenery -
All kinds of scenery from natural to man made large industrial settings.
Had a grand time visiting the small town of Beaufort. Very quaint and
friendly. Had a fine lunch at the
Beaufort Grocery, lunch is
reasonability priced, dinner is quite pricey. The desserts are home
made. Also visited the
NC Maritime Museum,
the
Queen Anne's Revenge is showing and is a very interesting exhibit on one
of Blackbeard's ships found recently.
-
Hazards -
Ocean
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inlet Inn and Front Street |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South end of Carrot Island |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Portage across the sandbar to the ocean |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lunch Stop at the entrance to Taylor Creek |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paddling down Taylor Creek |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Boathouse, boats stored by a fork lift |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
View from the third floor Inlet Inn room |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another view of the put-in from the town pier |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The ponies in the distance |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Not much fat on these ponies |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paddling under the Morehead bridge |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
