Reviews: Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Teresa Scott on May 12, 2024
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 40'
Draft: 5.5'

Anchored closer to the inlet for an early start the next morning. About 20 feet of water and good holding. Boat wakes during the day are a bit annoying but it quieted down at night. Beach area on the nearby island looked like a nice place for a walk but we didn't go ashore.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Brian Marshall on Apr 29, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 47'
Draft: 5.7'

We dropped the hook around 3pm on a Sunday in 18 feet, you may as well have been in Miami, the boat traffic was crazy. After the "get home from the sand bar for dinner" rush finished, it became a very nice anchorage. We are still here on Monday and it's totally different with very few boat passing by.
We didn't go a shore so we can't comment on access or shopping.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: David Mann, Now or Never, on Apr 21, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 44'
Draft: 4.7'

Good holding and few wakes except for some of the boats that don't come off plane as they sift through the anchored boats. Dinghy docking available at the Wrightsville City Docks.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Francis Gravel on Nov 10, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 36'
Draft: 6.7'

Good anchorage but a lot of people in not so big place. I watch the scope of my chain so I can leave some place for other one. The dinghy dock is right by the bridge. Easy access to the beach and playground for kids.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Dave Skolnick on Nov 8, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 52'
Draft: 5.0'

Close to and easy access from Masonboro Inlet. Very pleasant night and excellent holding. Good access ashore for dog walking with multiple options. Note that as a practical matter boats anchor from the marked location all the way back to green over red WC. This is a huge anchorage.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Roy Mccormick, Apricus, on Jul 17, 2023
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 50'
Draft: 6.0'

Our anchor (88lb Rocna) held well and came up mud-free. Dock your dinghy at the public dock by the bridge--none of the other marinas and restaurants in the area allow transient dinghy dockage for a few hours. Make sure to see Airlie Gardens. It's beautiful.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Sean Barnes, Horizon's Call, on Nov 16, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 43'
Draft: 5.0'

Came in at night, 18+ knots, and I have never seen so many boats anchored. I wanted to go down by the city dock but there was no room so I opted to squeeze in here. Not ideal wind protection but I would anchor here again. The is a beach/marsh area to run your dog. Shore access is a bit of ride.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Teresa Scott, Vayu, on May 22, 2022
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 40'
Draft: 5.0'

Anchored on a Thursday with plans to leave on Saturday. Good holding and nice breeze due to proximity to beach but currents were very strong. Wakes from boats zipping around at high speed were annoying and seemed dangerous in such a busy and crowded area. Glad to have left before the weekend traffic really got going.
On the bright side there was a race at the nearby yacht club and the small boats with colorful sails was an awesome sight.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Richard on Sep 5, 2021
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 45'
Draft: 5.0'

Labor day weekend 2021. Anchored close to the causeway bridge. Moderate boat traffic until dark but good anchorage. Highly recommended.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Jeremy Hatch on Aug 30, 2021
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 49'
Draft: 5.0'

Large open anchorage in 13' of water. But read the charts folks, this is one of 2 main channels leading to Masonboro inlet. It is NOT a no wake zone. Especially on weekends, everyone will be going past or even anchoring near you. Sport fish in the early am, & center consoles all day. Quiets down at night. In summer, good breezes with moderate chop in the afternoon are the norm. It works well for us as a mid-late afternoon stop heading N.or S. Longer than that, a bit tiring.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Barry ONeill on Dec 7, 2020
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 43'
Draft: 5.0'

Great holding in 12 ' with a couple of knuckle head power boaters screaming through the anchorage. But we're used to that. Would definitely come back!

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Jason Spitz, Breathe, on Jun 20, 2020
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 40'
Draft: 4.0'

WORST Town Anchorage FL to NC!!!! We read some of the negative reviews but chalked them up to people not liking Beach towns. But bar none, the entire Wrightsville Beach area is the worst we’ve experienced from Ft Lauderdale to here! We spent two days here and I’m writing from the anchorage. The boat wakes are nonstop from about 10am to after dark. The boats speed full throttle from the inlet and each of the rivers all the way into the town docks. Some don’t even slow down for the town bridge. They speed through the anchorages within a couple feet of your boat, often towing multiple tubes of kids on the back. Small dayboats anchor throughout playing music and partying. The entire town throughout all the anchorages becomes like a washing machine. There are several “long term” boats that the police actually came and put in warning stickers yesterday afternoon but that is the only police presence we saw in the water or on land. The anchorages are crowded and boats turn all different directions as the current and tide shifts. Be sure to give quite a bit of room. There are kayakers and paddleboarders and the boats with their 750hp engines don’t slow down for them either. The award for rudest boaters in the South goes to Wrightsville Beach! The new town day docks are nice, but someone actually loosened our stern line while we were ashore allowing our dinghy engine to be firmly planted in the mud with wakes bouncing it up and down so they could add their boat to the crowded dock. People put there 30-40 foot boats at the town day dock and there was no respect for surrounding boats! There is no way I would use a marina here as all boats in the water are bounced around. The beaches are long and pretty. However there is not much to the town. The restaurants are uninspiring. We stopped at Roberts Grocery which is small and more drinks/chips than anything. Tried a crab salad sub. Totally uninspiring bland and boring on a so so sub roll. This is our first and LAST visit to Wrightsville Beach. We stopped for a day about 7 miles South in Carolina Beach. Highly recommend stopping there instead. Nice town with strictly enforced no wake zone. Plenty of space to anchor, plus 10 mooring balls at $20 a night and a variety of marinas. In Summary, believe the reviews and Do yourself a favor and skip Wrightsville!

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Thomas Jones, Sauvage, on Nov 1, 2019
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 39'
Draft: 3.5'

Anchored at sunset, did not use shopping and shore related amenities. Caution on a Green 19 down the Motts/Banks Channel, it’s on the wrong side of the channel. Lots of power boats speeding by causing wakes.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Robert on Oct 25, 2019
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 50'
Draft: 5.0'

One night 10-25-19, anchored just in side G15 22 ft under keel add 5 ft to waterline. Laid out 150 ft of chain. Entered at G129 as we went south. Very popular and busy anchorage and up near fixed bridge anchorage #1 no swing room and if I dragged I did not want it to be into a bridge. This will do for one night and may turn on Nav Lights in addition to anchor light.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Elena&Meg on Dec 14, 2017
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 46'
Draft: 6.0'

Holding: Excellent, fine sand - actually, muck. This is a crowded anchorage that is relatively deep (sailboats without chain put out miles of rope to swing on - thus taking up a lot of room, and currents swing boats in random directions), windy and choppy. Lots of traffic, crab pots. Leave mooring AND NAV lights on at night, lots of fast moving smaller boats at all hours that might not be looking up in the sky for tiny little lightbulbs. Also lots of vessels show up after dark to drop anchor with limited visibility and questionable sobriety.

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Review for Motts/Banks Channel Bight

Reviewed by: Skipper Bob on Jun 1, 2016
Draft: 0.0'

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