New Year, New Boats

We’re super excited to officially announce the addition of 2 new boats to the fleet! Not only does this expand our versatility, it triples our availability during the busy summer months!

As with our original True North 38, Civility, both new vessels keep with our love of classic lines and timeless style.

Starting off, nothing exemplifies class and style like the fully restored 1930 Elmo Flat Top, Duchess. Truly in a league of her own, she turns heads up and down the waterway everywhere she goes. A trip along the Intracoastal to Beaufort or Charleston will transport you back in time and make for the vacation of a lifetime.

Not to be outdone, the Ellis 36, Sea Smoke is a classic hailing from the downeast cruising capital of the world, Maine. She sports a 14 ft beam, 2 dinette tables and immaculate bright work making her ideal for sunset cruises and cocktail charters.

And of course we can’t forget about our first love, True North 38, Civility. She got a myriad of cosmetic and mechanical upgrades during the offseason including these amazing underwater lights! Anchor up at dusk on a sunset cruise or better yet, kick back at a marina on the Pamlico Sound on your way to the Outer Banks and watch fish, shrimp and other marine life play in the soft green glow…

We can’t thank enough our ever expanding list of “frequent floaters” who have made this expansion possible and look forward to adding more wonderful folks to the family! 2023 is going to be an adventure, we can’t wait to embrace all it has to offer and see what the future holds. See you on the water!

Real Wedding - What a way to say “I Do” in Wrightsville Beach NC!

Photo Cred: @lightbloomphoto

What an honor! Ever heard of a surprise wedding?!? Well it was a new one for us too. This lovely (and clearly very trusting!) couple let their friend (and surprise officiant) plan their special day from top to bottom. If you want an amazing, unique and intimate setting you won’t be disappointed. It went so incredibly well we will be singing the surprise wedding praises for months to come!

A cool fall morning warmed up to an ideal 75 degrees under sunny skies giving us the perfect conditions for our trip out to Masonboro Island. A pod of dolphins set the stage for a day to remember. Another advantage of fall boating in Wrightsville Beach is the ability to find a private spot even on a weekend.

A secluded anchorage with an endless expanse of marsh provided the dream backdrop for this couple to say “ I do”. Masonboro boasts 9 miles of beaches, marsh and islands so with the right tide (and the right boat!) you can find your own private paradise.

Celebratory champagne and a beautiful brunch board from Collective LAW finished off the cruise in style. Just another unique niche we have the pleasure of filling in Wrightsville Beach, “Civility” continues to expand on her already vast versatility.

Lea Island Staycation

After a night (or 2 or 3!) out here it sure is hard going back to the real world. The beauty of area is astonishing, especially after the handful of day boaters head out leaving you with your own personal, pristine barrier island. Lea Island stretches for about seven miles between Figure 8 and Topsail Island. It used to be 2 separate islands (Lea to the north and Hutaff to the south) with an inlet in between. After the inlet naturally closed up, most folks refer to it as Lea although I still hear both. And of course there’s no better way to start the cruise up from Wrightsville Beach than a beautiful brunch board from our friends at Collective Law!

Known for crystal clear water, huge sand bar flats ideal for paddle boarding, fantastic beach combing and surf fishing, Lea Island is a popular hotspot for locals as it’s a few miles off the Intracoastal Waterway and a bit tricky to reach.

We always provide the 4 person dinghy and SUPs for transportation to and from the beach, sandbars, etc. Some of the best paddle boarding of my life has been on the sandbar flats and back creeks in this area. Catch the incoming tide to really get fantastic water clarity and paddle around with hundreds of sting rays, red drum, terrapins and more!

One of my favorite things to do is catch, clean and cook some fresh caught seafood. Whether it’s oysters and spanish mackerel ceviche in the fall or blackened drum and clams in the spring, there is always something in season year round. Catch an upper slot red drum on a paddle board in 1 foot of water and just hold on and try not to fall in!

After an evening of fresh seafood and a beautiful sunset, settle down for a relaxing night on Civility. After hours you can play Yahtzee and board games, read a book out of the on board library, watch a good movie on Amazon Firestick TV or just enjoy each other’s company in the climate controlled cabin with full bathroom and shower. The gentle lapping of the water against the hull beats any white noise machine in the world!

If you’re an early riser, sunrise out here is tough to beat. I love to brew some fresh coffee and take a morning jog along the ocean while it’s still cool and beach comb for treasures along the way. The mako tooth below is 2.5 inches long and incredibly rare, the author of the book had only found a partial fragment in all his years of hunting!

This is truly an experience that does not disappoint. The only complaint I ever get is, “we wish we had more time!”. We can customize your staycation to include an offshore fishing or diving trip, waterfront dining and more! Never be afraid to think outside the box and get adventurous, that is precisely why we do this. These trips are ideal for birthdays, anniversaries or just taking a break from the craziness of life. Give us a call and start dreaming today!

From Beaufort NC to Charleston SC - Shaking off the cabin fever with amazing Spring multi day trips.

After the (not so) long winter, nothing says spring time like a long boat trip up the waterway with friends and family to really kick off the season! We were incredibly fortunate to have 2 great back to back journeys with some fantastic clients. Here’s the rundown on some of the sights and sounds on Civility.

March 26 - 28 Beaufort Bound!

Such a cool town! One of my favorite destinations for a weekend getaway or even a stopover on the way up to the Outer Banks, Beaufort is a quaint waterfront town that boasts wonderful shops, restaurants and a rich history (Blackbeard anyone?!?). We left Wrightsville Beach around 10am on a warm but breezy Friday so we decided to run in comfort up the Intracoastal waterway for the 80 mile trip up. One of the more interesting stretches is 15 or so miles going through the Camp Legeune Military base. The ICW goes from beautiful beach homes to an almost desolate stretch broken up only by the occasional shot up tank!

Even with a leisurely pace, we arrived by midafternoon and cruised through Taylor Creek to our accommodations at the gorgeous Beaufort Hotel. The clients (3 couples) could not have been happier with the amenities, from a restaurant right on the property to the convenience of a golf cart rental for trips to town, we were set up for success. The icing on the cake was this stunning sunset!

Saturday gave us the the perfect weather (mid 70’s, no wind) and tide (mid height and rising) to run Civility through the skinny backwaters over to Shackleford Banks in search of the famous wild Spanish Mustangs which have roamed the island since 16th century shipwrecks brought them ashore.

Not only did we see horses, we even had a sea turtle surface right next to the boat on our way back to town! After another successful adventure the crew spent the rest of the day shopping, dining and enjoying one another’s company.

After a late brunch on Sunday we started our cruise back down the ICW. I usually mention in passing that Civility has wifi and TV although clients rarely use it (for obvious reasons). However, nothing says Sunday in spring like March Madness basketball! We had an absolute blast hanging out and watching a game or two with a backdrop you’ll never get out your living room window. I told my wife after, they were having so much fun we could have kept going right past Wrightsville Beach and nobody would have even noticed!

April 3 - 8 Civility In The Low Country

Probably the #1 most inquired about trip, Charleston is a bucket list journey that doesn’t disappoint. While it’s certainly possible to accomplish in one day, it’s a much better if broken up into two. We had the great fortune of having an amazing family of 5 as clients and had a blast! We started out from Figure 8 Island on an unusually crisp April morning (turned out to be the LAST day using the heat in the cabin but it sure was nice to have a 72 degree salon when it was 40 outside). Even though it was chilly to start we caught an amazing piece of good fortune with slick calm offshore seas. Running offshore is not only beautiful but cuts travel time significantly, especially bypassing the busy Little River/Myrtle Beach section of the ICW

Along the way we trolled for Spanish Mackerel, watched dolphins feeding and enjoyed the view before we stopped at Georgetown for the evening. Georgetown SC is a quaint but sometimes overlooked town about 2/3 of the way between Wrightsville and Charleston. It grows on me every time I stop there and has a beautiful downtown area with shops, restaurants, historic homes and a cool little riverwalk. It also feels like the entrance to the low country of South Carolina, so for day 2 we decided to cruise down the ICW for the remaining 50 miles or so to Charleston. One of my favorite stretches of ICW, there is pretty much nothing but stunning marshland as far as the eye can see with the historic fishing village of Mcclellanville being the only sign of civilization. The waterway narrows to almost a ditch during this stretch and we were treated to 3 Bald Eagles fishing in the shallows and a pod of dolphins playing in our wake. Being Easter Sunday, we celebrated our arrival in Charleston with one of the best lunches I’ve ever had from Halls Chophouse!

From the historic waterfront, Fort Sumter, a day trip to Kiawah Island and trip through a creek no wider than the boat in Daniel Island, it was truly a great time. I’ll spare the details of our 3 days and let you fill in your own when you book this memory making dream trip.

Well all good things have to come to an end so we headed back north on the 7th. We decided to mix it up and try a stay in Little River on the way back. We were once again fortunate with a great offshore forecast so we were able to hang in Charleston until noon before departing. We ended up timing it perfectly and were greeted in Little river with maybe our best sunset of the entire trip!

On the final leg of the journey we cruised up the ICW into NC and after a stop at the always popular Provision Co in Southport for lunch we made our way back to Figure 8 and home.

When we started Airlie Pointe we knew multi day trips were an untapped niche in the market and it has been a blast! This is of course just the tip of the iceberg, we’ve got clients on tap with their sights set on the Outer Banks, Florida and beyond. Stay tuned for many more good things to come. Take care, stay safe and see you on the water!

Bountiful Winter Shellfish

A lot of folks have the misconception that there isn’t much to do on the water in the winter. Well we are here to tell you this couldn’t be any further from the truth! Probably the most overlooked recreational fishery, shellfish harvesting in south east North Carolina is an amazing experience on multiple levels. Not only does our area produce world class oysters, clams and mussels, but it is a ton of fun that can be enjoyed by the entire family (we’ve done it with with everybody from grandparents in their 70’s, to 4 year old kids and everyone in between). Couple this with a success rate of 100% (good luck finding that on any other fishing trip) and ending the day indulging in the freshest seafood possible and you’ll see why we have clients already planning return trips to take advantage of this untapped niche.

Worried about being cold? Well the fully enclosed and heated salon and galley on Civility makes weather a non issue (more about this later)

Here’s what a day of harvesting “marsh gold” looks like:

Just about the only thing you really need for a successful shellfishing trip is a good low tide. Up in the Chesapeake bay and other areas harvesting requires special dredge equipment but our large tide swings essentially drain the marsh twice a day exposing oyster beds and mud banks which hold clams. The only equipment required is a good pair of waterproof boots and rubber gloves (oysters are sharp!!). We usually like to start the trip by cruising up the Intracoastal Waterway towards Figure 8 Island. North Carolina restricts shellfish harvesting around certain high population areas, so the vast marsh systems around Figure 8 Island make for a fantastic scenic cruise on the journey up as well as providing great, clean water essential to harvesting quality shellfish.

After cruising the creeks and scoping out the oyster beds, it’s time to drop the anchor and get to work!

First step is to launch the dinghy, gear up and get to shore! Oysters don’t require anything besides boots and gloves, but clams are hidden just beneath the surface so while they make “clam rakes” which work great, a garden hoe will certainly suffice! Every oyster bed consists of literally THOUSANDS of oysters. The trick is to find and separate “selects” (term referring to preferred restaurant size) from the “clusters” (groups of oysters stuck together) and “spent” (empty) shells. This process is easy enough but certainly gets easier with practice as they all look the same at first glance.

Clams can be found in the same areas but the most effective way to target them in our experience is to look for spent shells around the outer perimeter of the oyster bed and start digging. Clams grow in groups so when you find 1 there’s usually more in the same vicinity. You don’t have to dig deep, usually clams will live 6 inches or so below the surface. The key is to keep moving until you land on them, once you find them it’s amazing how fast you can fill your bushel basket up!

Clams are generally separated into 3 sizes with the smallest (little necks) being the most desirable. Medium sized (cherrystone) are also still tender and delicious steamed or on the half shell while the large (chowder clams) are reserved for chowders and soups.

After some fun in the mud, it’s time to head back to the boat and indulge!

Whether you enjoy them raw (our close proximity to the ocean make for a delicious salty raw bar style!), grilled or on the half shell, you will never find fresher shellfish that tastes even better with the sense of accomplishment gained by working together as a family to produce a 5 star meal.

With Civility boasting hot water, heat, fully stocked galley and restroom, it’s a quick turnaround from harvesting in the marsh to a clean and comfortable feast!

One final perk of the shorter winter days is after harvesting and indulging in the warm afternoon hours, a sunset cruise is the icing on the cake on the way back to town. A great bonding experience perfect for first timers, locals and out of town visitors alike, a day of shellfishing on Civility is an adventure that’ll keep you coming back! Contact us for more details or to book your trip!

Bald Head Island Weekend Getaway!

With 2020 throwing curve balls at every turn and putting a wrench in vacation plans, we are incredibly fortunate to have such an amazing gem essentially in our own back yard!

The Village Of Bald Head Island is a truly unique destination that is a must see for visitors and locals alike. Located at the mouth of the Cape Fear River and accessible only by boat, BHI boasts pristine beaches, nature trails and canopy covered roads where golf carts and bicycles are the only allowed modes of transportation.

We had the pleasure of spending a long weekend on the island with a family of 5, and with November giving us high temps in the 80’s, it didn’t disappoint! To travel by boat only enhances the natural beauty and truly gives the island lifestyle feel. The trip from Wrightsville Beach is fantastic as the scenery changes constantly.

We left Figure 8 Island Yacht Club around midday Friday and enjoyed a seafood lunch of local steamed shrimp and smoked mackerel dip on the cruise down. We started by heading south on the Intracoastal Waterway down to Carolina beach. Next we headed under Snows Cut Bridge and out into the Cape Fear River. Once in the shipping channel we encountered Sunny Point which is one of the largest military munitions terminals in the world.

After avoiding the off limit areas (patrolled 24 hours a day by a couple heavily armed vessels!) we meandered down the river until reaching the quaint town of Southport. From there it’s just a quick trip accross the mouth of the river into the Bald Head Island Marina. The Marina is protected and comfortable with multiple restaurants and shops as well as golf cart and bike rentals.

We are happy to give clients the option to either stay aboard the boat or have us arrange other lodging. For this weekend our family decided to stay in one of beautiful Villas overlooking the championship George Cobb (famous for the par 3 course at Augusta National!) designed golf course.

The remainder of Friday afternoon was spent settling in, exploring on the golf carts and taking in an amazing sunset.

Saturday was warm but a little breezy so instead of running out to the Frying Pan Tower for some snorkeling and spearfishing, we decided to troll the beach around Oak Island for Spanish Mackerel. Luckily BHI is naturally protected from a north wind by Frying Pan Shoals, and given Civility’s seaworthiness and comfort, it was still smooth sailing even with 3 kids on a breezy day! After catching dinner, we headed into Southport for lunch at the iconic Provision Co.

What a great way to spend the day! Just goes to show the possibilities are endless regardless of what mother nature gives us. As all good things must come to an end, we had to say goodbye on Sunday but the trip back was anything but uneventful. Warm temps and peak transient (snow bird) season had the ICW hoppin’ with all kinds of beautiful boats heading south for the winter.

Great times and great people! These are the kind of trips we love. Exploring new places, teaching kids catch clean & cook style fishing and making memories.

Take care, be safe, enjoy life and see you out on the water!

Overnight At The Frying Pan Tower

This was one of those trips you’ll never forget. When Airlie Pointe Yacht Charters was still just an idea, I dreamed of having a boat capable of pulling this off. The iconic Frying Pan Tower sits about 35 miles off the tip of Bald Head Island at the end of the Frying Pan Shoals. Built in 1964 and manned by a 4 person USCG crew until 1979, the tower marks the edge of the shipping channel into the Cape Fear River which is still widely used today.

As it sits about 45 miles from Wrightsville Beach, it can be a long day trip to run out and back. The solution? Take advantage of Civility’s versatility and make it a 24 hour dock to dock epic overnight adventure!

The forecast was perfect for our crew. 3 friends and the captain turned out to be the perfect size group. We loaded up and left Wrightsville beach for our scheduled leisurely 1pm departure.

After clearing Masonboro Inlet, we engaged the autopilot, had lunch and spent the cruise tying up fishing rigs and plotting our strategy. The slick calm seas were only broken up by the occasional school of False Albacore blitzing bait fish on the surface. After a couple hour run, there she was! One of the most incredible parts of the journey was even with the perfect conditions and it being a Sunday, we were the only boat around. It’s hard to describe the feeling, but it’s almost eerie to be at such an amazing, iconic destination without another human as far as the eye can see.

After a brief moment to take it all in it was time to go to work! We decided that even though the focus of our trip would be bottom fishing, the best strategy would be to troll for a couple hours before dark to really dial in on the live bottom spots we would fish at night. This turned out to be the the right move, and after getting anchored on our first waypoint, the first keeper fish came in the boat in about 30 seconds! After that it was game on with our first priority to get a couple of nice keeper Black Sea Bass to make a Catch, Clean & Cook ceviche for dinner. From sea to table in less than an hour gives a whole new meaning to the term “fresh catch”!

The action was absolutely nonstop the rest of the evening. As one of the guys put it, “this isn’t fishing, this is catching”. We called it a night just before midnight with only the faint glow of container ships out in the shipping channel and the shadow of the tower visible in the light of the moon.

After taking in the sunrise with bagels and coffee (typical “fishing” boat huh? :)) we put together our game plan for the day. Since we already had lots of fish in the cooler, the pressure was off so we decided to spend the morning anchored right on the tower and do some snorkeling and just see if any nice fish showed up… Well sometimes you’re just in the right place at the right time!

I can’t even begin to describe how awesome this next part was (but I’ll try!). The underwater visibility was some of the best I’ve ever experienced, at least 75 ft. This of course made for some incredible snorkeling under the tower but where it led us was truly the part of the trip I’ll never forget.

I’ve sight casted for Red Drum in the shallows and Stripers on the surface, but the visibility was SO good and massive schools of Barracuda and Amberjack kept showing up so I literally spent the morning swimming around sighting fish for the crew and helping to instruct them on depth, size of fish, when to set the hook etc. This was amazing and we didn’t think it could get any better until out of nowhere I spotted a massive stingray cruising our way with a big Cobia following directly behind him. Cobia are known to follow rays and turtles but to see it with my own eyes from the surface 50 ft above was mind blowing. I quickly alerted the fellas who got a couple bottom rigs in his vicinity and bam! The fight was on. Pound for pound one of the best fighting (and table fare) fish in the world, Mark battled him for 10-15 minutes on a medium heavy spinning combo before we were finally able to haul him in!

You know karma is smiling on you sometimes after an experience like that. That big cobia filled the cooler to the brim and was our cue to ice everything down really well (take care of your catch!) and head back to Wrightsville Beach.

This was a bucket list trip if there ever was one, we’re truly honored to create these memories for friends and family that last a lifetime. Check out some more underwater footage below and give us a call if this is a trip you want to recreate with your own crew (how could you not?!?). Take care, be safe and see you out on the water!