It looks like the ocean wants to put the sand back, but a dredged out area will be welcomed by boaters.

This is a January 24, 2024 hydrographic survey of the Bogue Inlet Ocean Bar, courtesy of the Army’s Inlets & Inlet Crossings Surveys – Wilmington District:

This is why driving on the beach has been suspended at the point for the first 6 weeks of 2024.

The post 2024 Bogue Inlet Dredging appeared first on Welcome to Topsail Island.

On October 10, 2023, Mike Stanley, owner, posted on Facebook that King fishing would be ending. The end of the pier will be open for all, and King rigs will now be banned.

And on October 16, 2023, the King fishermen had a fantastic day:

Image credit: https://www.facebook.com/bogueinletpier/posts/720711246763583

You can’t make everyone happy.

Ya know, I personally rarely fish that deep and am used to King fishermen having the end of the pier for their setups at most piers that I’ve been to. I personally would’ve left it the way that it is, but, it isn’t up to me, and now that it’s open, I may stroll down to the end and fish there once or twice a year. But, it doesn’t matter what I think.

I’m sure there have been King fishermen who have been overprotective of their area, and, I’m sure there have been tourists being a nuisance and creating an unsafe environment.

Some piers allow King, some don’t. Some allow beer, some don’t. Some let people walk the pier for free, some charge. It is what it is. If someone doesn’t like it, they could always make Mike an offer and change the rules.

Read it for Yourself.

Below is the original content, posted on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/bogueinletpier/posts/716810120487029

A Note from the Owner of Bogue Inlet Pier:

If you look around Emerald Isle, it’s become quite obvious that within the past few years our little beach community has changed dramatically. We have been inundated with visitors as well as permanent residents in numbers that are perhaps 20 years ahead of it’s time.

As a result, our pier has struggled to keep pace with staggering growth that will only increase. I have always tried to stay ahead of the curve. In 2016 we demolished the Pier House and rebuilt it to accomodate a larger demand. As an individual that resists too many rules and regulations I have always kept our policies to an absolute minimum. Simple is better! In an effort to keep our operation as streamlined as possible (given the increased traffic), I have decided to open the entire pier to bottom fishing. This will eliminate the gates on the end of the pier and allow everyone access to fishing on the end 24 hours/ 7 days a week. I realize this will not sit well with the King Fishing Community on the end. I have always jokingly said that the end is a “Pirate Ship on Pilings” and there have been times when that was close to the truth! My goal in this dramatic change is to reduce current rules, and to streamline misunderstandings and confrontation. As of March 2024, ALL fishermen will be considered BOTTOM FISHING. KING FISHING as an exclusive group will no longer exist on the end of Bogue Inlet Pier. I am not saying anyone can’t catch a large fish but it will have to be with smaller (and simpler) tackle. ALL fishermen will be allowed 2 rods per person with absolutely NO EXCEPTIONS. There will not be any KING RIGS allowed and light to medium rods and tackle will be acceptable. We have been noticing many fishermen bringing more than the allowed rods on the pier for one reason or another. This practice will stop and we will be very vigilant on this rule.

Another change in the works will be the installation of automated parking. I will discuss this change in depth down the road. Season Fishing Passes will be available for the same price as this year ($300.) and it will include free parking for passholders.

I realize these changes will affect our business, but actually for the better. It will be a downward bump for a couple of years. Our goal is to throttle back the masses to include those who really love and appreciate the hard work my staff does daily. The days of free everything is over. We want our island back.

Thanks for your attention and please enjoy this beautiful Fall weather!

Mike Stanley

The post Bogue Inlet Fishing Pier Cancels Pier Fishing Effective March 2024 appeared first on Welcome to Topsail Island.

Here’s a pic which was taken by photographer Wilton Wescott:

Wilton also posted this great aerial footage to youtube:

The event was organized on Facebook here.

Another Trump boat parade is scheduled for October 24, 2020 as well.

Does Topsail Island love Donald Trump?

There is definitely overwhelming support for Trump in Surf City and on Topsail Island.

Trump 2020 flags may be seen in front of businesses, souvenir shops, bars, restaurants, beach houses and of course on the back of Jeeps, trucks and especially boats.

Support for the President varies depending on which part of North Carolina you travel to. Some liberal cities, such as Asheville, are definitely “Biden cities”, while the vast majority of the mountains are Trump towns. Major cities such as Charlotte and Raleigh are generally  mixed, however, the people who are Democrats are generally more vocal in the larger towns. In rural NC, Trump is by far the candidate of choice.

One thing is for sure…. Boaters love Donald Trump.

The post Topsail Island September 5 2020 Donald Trump Boat Parade appeared first on Welcome to Topsail Island.

Please note that if you’re a previous owner and would still like to use the house after it is sold I am open to interesting arrangements and totally cool with making that happen for you.

Wish list:

• $300,000 – $500,000 (I am open to cheaper fixxer uppers but the house must be able to appraise and be financed)
• Walking distance to beach (While I love being on the water I want to be 2 or 3 doors back)
• Near public beach access (It is amazing how fast those get repaired after a storm!)
• Must have car port or garage (to store golf cart, Jeep and fishing gear)
• I am most interested in Surf City (the area between the 2 bridges), however, I have not ruled out other areas of TI and am even considering Emerald Isle.

This will be house #5 for me and I am very familiar with the buying process in North Carolina. I’m pre-approved w/ my lender and have down payment cash in hand. Any offer I make on a property will come with significant due diligence cash. If you’re using a real estate agent they will basically be happy to see a strong, clean offer and happy to learn that I’m extremely easy going w/ no surprises.

This will be a rental home. While I fully intend on using it and will block off several weeks and months for myself, if you’ve rented from me before and are looking for a great experience I hope to be able to offer that to you again. Unfortunately, I stay pretty busy on the mainland. I’m in no rush to buy but I am indeed prepared to do so. I’ll be sure to update this page when I have news.

The post I am looking to purchase a house at Topsail Island appeared first on Welcome to Topsail Island.

A good friend of mine, Eric, who sells large quantities of homes, told me the market often takes a good 9 months to catch up with what’s happening in the real world. People’s unemployment begins to run out and they have to move, prices dive, etc. He didn’t give me any warm and fuzzy feelings.

However, 2020 has been a crazy year. People are leaving densely populated cities. They’re sick and tired of protests, riots, viruses. People are working from home. Kids are getting homeschooled. Cruise lines are closed. Nobody wants to fly. What’s that mean? People are flocking to suburbs and people are also buying beach houses. A house with 10 acres in the country 40min outside of a city in NC is in extremely high demand, like nothing seen in my lifetime. Coastal property is hot too. Not as hot, but it is doing very well.

I am personally looking to buy a beach house. We’ll see what happens in the market this winter, but it appears homes in the 300k-600k price point are in steady demand.

The post Post Covid-19 Real Estate Sales are Picking Up at Topsail Island appeared first on Welcome to Topsail Island.

Update July 2020: Topsail Island Jeep Week may happen. Stay tuned to the official Facebook page for information, especially when NC COVID Phase 3 starts.

According to the official Topsail Island Jeep Week website, the annual Topsail Island Jeep Week event will take place September 18 – 20, 2020.

This post appears to have been deleted – Over on the event Facebook page, a post from April 24, 2020 read:

It is with heavy hearts that we have decided that we will not be having Topsail Island Jeep Week this year. We will miss you all and wish nothing but the best.

Keep on Jeepin’
-Your Jeep Week Crew

The only reason I saw this page was because it happened to show up in a Google search. If you want to hide a message and be sure nobody can see it, Facebook is definitely the place to post it. Who even gets these messages? Maybe 0.4% of the people following the page?

Am I disappointed? Definitely.

Isolating people is causing great harm.

Will there be a different Jeep event?

It will be interesting to see if a separate Jeep event pops up.

I’m sure the hosts were advised by their attorneys to cancel to avoid any liability.

I know I’ll be there with my Jeep.

I’m not going to bash anyone here. It looks like this has been a great event in the past. I’ve never even been to it, so I can’t say anything negative about it. I’m definitely not upset at the people who canceled it as it’s likely out of their control.

But grown adults who choose to be outdoors may absolutely do so without anyone’s permission.

So, we’ll see.

Stay safe!

The bat virus sucks.

While I’m not elaborating here, yes, I care. I am the guy that works from home, infects nobody, understands science, and is donating lots of food and snacks and masks to frontline workers. My kids are in medical school. My father is old and has diabetes. I get it. I definitely don’t want to infect anyone who is going to die from Corona and I don’t want to take my chances with it, either.

But I’ve also had it with stupidity. The solution can’t be worse than the cure. I go up to the mountains a lot and they’ve already closed rocks, streams, waterfalls and forests. That’s BS. Hiking out in the forest miles away from other humans is a perfectly healthy activity. Some of these rules are causing more harm than good. Significantly more harm.

Let me know about your Jeep events at Topsail Island.

If you are coming down or hosting an event, please feel free to comment below or shoot me an email.

If you are attending a Jeep gathering, use common sense and don’t infect everyone.

Even if there is no event, I’ll still wave at you in traffic.

The post 2020 Topsail Island Jeep Week? appeared first on Welcome to Topsail Island.

I have been monitoring several houses for sale in Surf City and prices have been plummeting. On March 17, 2020, when North Topsail announced the COVID-19 State of Emergency, several homeowners dropped the price of their homes by 25% – 30%. Be April, many of those homeowners pulled their listings off of the market.

An agent I work with has informed me that even if the virus goes away tomorrow, we likely won’t see a bottom to the market until early 2021.

I do hope and pray that this awful virus goes away and that we can go back to “normal”. I personally own a house which is dropping in value myself, and I just bought the place 12 months ago. It’s a tough time for everyone.

If the public can access the beach in May or June, I suspect some of the real estate market can be spared, however, it just isn’t looking good, which is unfortunate as it has been absolutely beautiful in Topsail Beach this year so far.

The post Topsail Island Real Estate Prices Drop Like a Rock After COVID-19 appeared first on Welcome to Topsail Island.

The declaration took effect, March 17th, 2020, at 5 p.m. and will remain in effect until modified.

This State of Emergency was unforeseeable as there are zero cases in North Topsail.

The move comes shortly after the World Health Organization named COVID-19 a pandemic, the President of the United States issued a National Emergency and the State of North Carolina issued a State of Emergency.

Here is the Press Release:

https://topsailvaca.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/e4899e_4162f612dcdb46b08e435a3798189a2d.pdf

The post North Topsail Island COVID-19 State of Emergency Declaration March 17 2020 appeared first on Welcome to Topsail Island.

Here’s a pic of the whales from the Surf City Pier Facebook page:

Dolphins have been very active lately here as well.

Whales are rare at Topsail Island:

The last time I remember hearing about whales off of the coast at Topsail was back in 2016.

When the whales showed up this year, they stayed and remained off of the coast all day long.

Whales were indeed spotted this spring, traveling north and feeding off of the coast in Kitty Hawk.

Please comment below if you know what type of whales these are or have any additional information.

The post Whales Spotted at Topsail Island NC – December 2019 appeared first on Welcome to Topsail Island.

If you stopped in during the months prior to this you would know this was coming as there was almost no beer for sale and the refrigerators were unplugged.

The posted on their Facebook page:

It is with great sadness that we must close our doors this fall. Hurricane Florence was not kind to us and we struggled to recover afterwards. We will miss everyone and look forward to seeing what God has in store for our future. Thank you to all our loyal customers!

Did Hurricane Florence Kill Topsail Island Businesses?

Hurricane Florence was a bad one and basically ruined September 2019’s season of sales. That said, all of the liquor, wine and beer stores in the area have remained open other than this one.

The recent owners were really great people – could something have been done differently? Who knows. Maybe it was the hours, the selection or the atmosphere or the hurricane – we may never know.

It has to be tough running a business on a sandbar. The vast majority of the sales occur from June – August.

I am indeed deeply saddened to see the Swingbridge Cork and Brew close. I wish the owners good luck on their journey.

The post Swingbridge Cork and Brew Closes appeared first on Welcome to Topsail Island.