Captain Charleys Seafood Paradise (no kidding, that’s this establishment’s full name) has been our choice for the best fried seafood and crab casserole anytime, anywhere, since 1976. And now, Skipper Fowler tells us they’ve added delectable home-made desserts. Be still my beating heart!
Do be careful when you anchor at the foot of White Oak River off the Swansboro waterfront. The tidal currents in this anchorage are fierce!

Hello Claiborne:
We took your advice and anchored off the Swansboro waterfront, then dinghied into the handy city dock and treked the two blocks to Captain Charleys. The crab casserole and fried shrimp were just as good as you described them in the North Carolina guide. Then, we got a real surprise when we learned that the manger, “Linda” is now making home made desserts for the restaurant. We both had a piece of “cookie dough pie,” which was to die for. We groaned our way back to the boat, bursting at the seams, but very satisfied.
Skipper Fowler

Captain Matthews describes the bottom at Mile Hammock Bay by graciously sharing his chagrin at being aground there. Thank you Captain Matthews! We’re all glad you were able to push your trawler to deeper water.

Anchored in Mile Hammock Bay on 19-Jul-2010. Wanted to make an early start and pulled anchor in a SE wind, blowing us NW and aground. We were NW of the last marker in. Got to do the Onslow County Dance on the floor of Mile Hammock Bay, pushing and cajoling our trawler in waist-deep-water, in the right direction until climbing back aboard, starting engine, and moving off. Marines took their hovercraft out the night before, so we were entertained by that and some V-22 Ospreys doing maneuvers before anchoring. Floor of MHB, dark mud, shells, pretty hard. Still cleaning the mud from my tennis shoes.
B B Matthews

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s North Carolina Anchorage Directory Listing For Mile Hammock Bay Anchorage

I can tell you from personal experience that Swansboro does offer a nice town dinghy dock, and that this is a welcoming community for cruisers. The posting below has been copied from the AGLCA list, and was apparently in response to some other cruisers who had problems coming ashore from the nearby anchorage.
Do watch out for the very strong tidal currents which regularly scour the anchorage adjacent to the town waterfront, on the foot of White Oak River. These waters can BOIL!
Once you are ashore, don’t dare miss a stop at Captain Charley’s Seafood Paradise, unless, of course, you dislike fried seafood in all its forms.

My wife and I are harbor hosts for Swansboro, NC (the friendly city by the sea) and was disappointed to hear of difficulty in coming ashore. There is a dinghy dock at the end of west Main street which is free and was built for transient vessels. The dock was built low to the water for easy access. There is also a trash bin available. There is no sign from the water and I will mention that to the Mayor who is very supportive of transient boaters. I am also on the town Planning and Zoning board and can tell you that Swansboro is in the process of making it’s waterfront even more desirable and user friendly to transient vessels.
Tom and Melesia

My wife and I owned a small place up the White Oak river located at Swansboro several years back. It is still a special place and holds fond memories for us. The downtown area has several shops that cater to tourist crowd. Check out the little jewelry store in the basement across from Yana’s. The restaurants are a definite must stop. Yana’s is a 1950’s burger joint with lots of 50’s memorabelia on the walls. During the summer stop by , put your name on the list and check out the shops. Ask about the water bag hanging over the door. Down the street is the ice house, good bar and the scallops are great. Up the hill is a restaurant called Riverside.This is a 4 or 5 star meal at a 3 star price ($20- 40) per person. Try the softshell crabs here. Dudleys is an older marina that tries to take care of boaters. Good fuel prices and a selection of marine parts and hardware. They also have a staff of mechanics that can help with most repairs.
Now the dock. The dock often has fishermen on the upper section and the dinghy dock is located on the left side running in and out from the bank. The tall dock to the left about a hundred yards appears to have been taken over by a restaurant. This dock would be accessible to a larger boat. There is a sign on it with a phone number, call them for details.
When my wife and I finish our cruising we have talked about selling the boat and buying a place up the White Oak river again. Please spend some time here and enjoy a small harbor town.
David and Dixie Frazier On “Kids Again”

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s North Carolina Anchorage Directory Listing For The Swansboro/White Oak River Anchorage

Click Here To View the Cruisers’ Net’s North Carolina Marina Directory Listing For Caspers Marine Servcie (in Swansboro)