Report on Mile Hammock Bay Anchorage, AICW Statute Mile 244.5
Mile Hammock Bay anchorage lies just off the AICW, hard by (just north of) the Waterway’s intersection with New River and New River Inlet.
Mile Hammock Bay lies within the sprawling Camp Lejeune US Marine Base, and Corps activities can sometimes disrupt anchorage by pleasure craft in these waters, occasionally to the point where you can not drop the hook here at all.
We anchored there for the night on the 4th. Four other boats, plenty of room. The Marines were doing touch and goes with a tiltrotor nearby and then at about 11:00pm they went to work with more Helos and made a whole lot of NOISE for about an hour and then it was quiet the rest of the night.
We anchor there twice a year. Once in a while they do amphibious exercises and it can be in the middle of the night and they sometimes make serious wakes doing it, so it’s a good idea to get all your knick knacks secure.
I used to live on short final south of the Glenview Naval Air Station when they were still flying Privateers and Cougars, both LOUD. I can sleep through anything as a result, so I’m not bothered by the noise. Besides, their noise is for our benefit – bless them.
The holding is not uniformly good around the anchorage as you will see if the wind gets stronger. Bottom is muck on top of hardpan and if you are where the muck is thinner, more on the east side, you may not get the holding you think you have. We always back down and sometimes switch anchors fluke to plow and it often takes two or three tries to get it to stick.
If you use the place, and there is any threat of serious wind, keep an eye on what your neighbors are doing with respect to anchoring and if it isn’t adequate, move. we’ve twice moved out of what turned out to be the path of boats dragging up the Marines’ ramp.
All this notwithstanding, we love the place and use it because it’s the only place that makes any sense between pipeline and adams creek beach given our 6 knot speed.
We don’t anchor in wrightsville beach anymore. The current and any serious wind make the place tricky and if you don’t really know what you are doing getting secure holding can be difficult. Again, it’s not you, it’s the neighbours – you’ll know who they are. “Rope” rodes and at most 25 foot scope.
Skipper John Ferguson aboard m/v arcadian
On rare occasions the Marines do close the anchorage. We came past a few days ago and they were doing helicopter maneuvers but there were boats anchored in the basin. So the answer is, it depends.
Capt. Chuck
We anchored in Mile Hammock Bay last night, May 18th. Very nice anchorage. We had no problem holding in 15 mph winds. Winds died overnight. There were some small camo boats the marines were practicing maneuvering when we came in but they were over by the boat ramp, no problem. Not much else going on. Four boats total in the anchorage. We recommend it.
Skipper Steve Franko aboard Yesterday’s Dream
Click Here To Open A Chart View Window, Zoomed To the Location of Mile Hammock Bay
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