NC Battleship Memorial

Just up highway 17 to Wilmington is the immortal showboat, the USS North Carolina.

She survived every major pacific naval offensive of World War II and earned 15 battle stars. The USS North Carolina Battleship was brought to the Cape Fear River in 1961 by the citizens of NC as a memorial to all the men and women who served in WWII.

The self-guided tour includes an orientation film, crew’s quarters, galley, sick bay, engine room, pilot house, guns, Kingfisher float plan and more. The Battleship NORTH CAROLINA is open every day of the year, including all holidays, as the ship is a memorial.

Summer Hours: Open Every Day! (Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day) are 8 am – 8 pm. EXCEPT Independence Day when the ship closes at 6:00 pm to prepare for fireworks. Winter Hours (After Labor Day weekend through Thursday prior to Memorial Day weekend) 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, EXCEPT Christmas Day when the ship opens at noon. Admission is charged. 910-251-5797,

Local Author’s Books: Huge Hit!

Local Author and Illustrator Miller Pope has spent a lifetime as an artist Read more

Museum of Coastal Carolina

If you think museums are stuffy, quiet places that people visit for research, contemplation, or when there’s nothing else to do, then you haven’t visited North Carolina’s only natural history museum on a barrier island. New exterior murals predict some of the things you’ll see inside the Museum of Coastal Carolina at nearby Ocean Isle Beach (15 minutes from Sunset Beach, NC).

Happy, interactive voices are encouraged! One might hear toddlers calling out “Boat, Daddy, boat!” as they climb into the wooden strip boat made here in Brunswick County. Staff and volunteers often hear “Whoa!” when visitors approach the shark jaw exhibit. Carolina residents track their local rivers to the sea and parents teach their young children to keep the beach clean and protect the animals from trash as they pass the Litterbug Hall of Shame.

Imagine getting up close to the area wildlife on display in the Green Swamp diorama. Then touch or hold a sea star, an urchin, or a hermit crab at the touch tank. Learn the inside story of shells at the newly updated Carolina Shells and Fossils exhibit. Don’t forget to bring your beach treasures to identify.

Hear “oohs and aahs” as you take a walk through the Ocean Reef Gallery that depicts a reef habitat about 65 miles off the coast of North Carolina. The toddler area in the Barrier Island Gallery has puppets, toy ocean animals, puzzles, and lots of happy noise. Then there’s silent awe at the Legacy of the Loggerhead sea turtle exhibit’s short video filmed on Ocean Isle Beach about the life cycle of the loggerhead turtle that includes a mother turtle laying eggs and the hatchlings crawling to the sea.

In the Coastal Plain, visitors exclaim “Wow!” when they see the American bald eagle up close and eye-to-eye. Identify the shorebirds you saw on Brunswick beaches. Children like to pretend they are a coyote or a bear with the pelts thrown over their shoulders. Fisherman are heard to exclaim that they learned to fish with a bamboo rod just like the one in the antique fishing equipment exhibit.

A visit to the Museum of Coastal Carolina is a treat for the young and the young at heart. Many vacationers include it as a multi-generational activity for the whole family. Local residents know that it is one of Brunswick County’s best family activities.

Summer afternoon family programs are held at 3:30 p.m. on Monday—Friday from June 14 through August 20. The programs include Know Your Knots on Monday, “What Kinda Fish Is That, Mister?” on Tuesday, Seven Steps to Shoreline Safety & the Firetruck on Wednesday, Megabites! on Thursday, and Touch Tank Feeding and Shell ID on Friday.

Evening programs are Ghost Lore and Legend Walk on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Snakes Alive! on Thursday at 7 p.m. Come early to tour the Museum before the program. Family vacation passes with unlimited Museum visits for one week are available for $49. (Family vacation passes are for a family that resides together year-round, not multi-generational families vacationing together. The Plus membership may be a better value for multi-generational families.) Annual memberships are also available.

The Museum of Coastal Carolina is located at 21 East Second Street, Ocean Isle Beach beside the playground and just a block from the beach and the pier. Enjoy coastal natural history . . . for the fun of it! Summer hours are June 1—September 4 on Monday, Tuesday, Friday & Saturday from 10—5, Wednesday and Thursday from 10—8:30 and closed Sunday. All-day admission includes programs. $8 for adults, $6 for senior adults 60 & over, $6 students K-12 & College ID, and $4 Preschool ages 3-5, Ages 2 & under are free. Check www.museumofcc.org or call 910.579.1016 for further information.
For educational and entertaining gifts and toys, visit Nature’s Treasures Gift Shop at the Museum or Galaxy Gifts at the Planetarium.

Brunswickland Realty

A great way to experience Holden Beach, a true gem of North Carolina’s barrier islands, is in one of Brunswickland Realty ’s many Holden Beach vacation rentals.

These rentals offer families a vacation experience of a lifetime at one of the nicest family beach destinations in the country. Holden Beach vacation rentals come in all different shapes and sizes, which is perfect for accommodating just about every need. You can choose from oceanfront homes, cottages, condos, and other waterway property. Brunswickland Realty offers the best Holden Beach vacation rentals for you and your family.

Brunswickland Realty offers everything from budget friendly beach cottages to magnificent beach homes for families looking for spacious living. Many Holden Beach vacation rentals come with superb amenities including easy beach access, fishing docks, pools, Jacuzzi, internet, and much more. All of the rentals are well maintained and clean, ensuring you and your family an unforgettable beach getaway. Holden Beach vacation rentals are top of the line and offer families a vacation they’ll never forget. http://www.brunswicklandrealty.com

Spend An Unforgettable Day!

Come to the beach and take in some history at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson Historic Site and Orton Plantation. Read more

Local Surfers Rule In CA Again!!

Local surfers Mike and Ben Powell have once again ruled the waves the in the NSSA Collegiate Surfing Championships in Dana Point, CA!

Michael Powell took 1st Place and his brother Ben Powell 3rd Place NSSA Nationals Mens Division! What a way to represent the Holden Beach / Brunswick County NC area!

HoldenBeachNC.com salutes the Powell brothers (from Ocean Isle Beach) significant accomplishment.

Mike and Ben Powell came to the NSSA Collegiate Surfing Championships in Dana Point, CA with the hope of proving to the California-dominated contest that East Coasters schools could surf too. Instead, the brotherly duo from Ocean Isle Beach (surfing for UNC-Wilmington) almost took the whole thing!

Last year the brothers took second and third place and they ruled the national contest again this year,

Brothers Michael and Ben Powell together operate The Carolina Surf School which offers private and group lessons.

With more than twenty years of surfing experience combined they are semi professionals that can really are help you push your ambitions to the next level as a surfer.

Contact Michael and Ben Powell: 910.233.8908 or 910.233.4004 http://www.carolinaschoolofsurf.com

Sea Turtles

Here are three videos showing a Turtle laying eggs, eggs hatching and baby turtle making his (or her) way to the ocean! This time of year the Turtles are coming ashore to lay their eggs – you can help by observing the rules at the bottom of this page!

Sea turtle laying 209 eggs on bird island:

—————————————————–

Sea Turtles Hatching at Sunset Beach,NC during August, 2009 near midnight:

—————————————————–

A Sea Turtle makes his (or her) way to the ocean!:

You can help the turtles when you visit Sunset Beach by following a few simple guidelines:

Do Not Disturb: If you see an adult sea turtle coming on shore, stay quiet and keep your distance! Otherwise she may get scared and go back into the ocean without nesting. They are an endangered species and it is a federal offense to harass them.

Turn Off All Flashlights! Lights may scare or confuse the adult female and cause her to leave without nesting.

Lights Cause Hatchlings To Go In the Wrong Direction: Please turn off all outside lights each night. Also if there are curtains or blinds use them so your indoor lights do not lead the hatchlings away from the ocean.

Never Pick Up A Hatchling. It is critical that they crawl on their own.
Do Not Disturb The Nest Area. Watch for the nest markers.

Stay Off Sand Dunes & Do Not Pick Sea Oats. Sand dunes provide critical habitat for sea turtles and help prevent flooding during times of extreme tides and storms. Foot traffic kills plants and severely damages the sand dunes. The penalty for failure to adhere to this requirement is a $100 fine.

Help Us Keep Our Beaches Clean -Sea turtles may mistake a plastic bag or other forms of litter for a jellyfish (they eat them). All personal items and equipment must be removed from the beach each day- these items may trap a sea turtle.

Please Fill In All Holes On The Beach When Done Playing.- Holes can trap sea turtles and are a safety hazard to humans.

Keep Dogs On Leashes At All Times!- No dogs shall be permitted on the beach strand between the hours of 9:00am and 6:00pm during period of Memorial Day through Labor Day regardless of whether they are leashed or not.
Fireworks can scare off nesting sea turtles and leave behind trash that may be mistaken for food by marine wildlife.- Discharge of fireworks is not permitted per North Carolina state laws.

Please Report all sightings of nesting turtles, dead turtles, unmarked nests or crawls (looks like a bulldozer came out of the water).Call the Holden Beach Turtle Watch 24 Hour Pager at 910-754-0766

Keep up with the Turtle Watch at: www.hbturtlewatch.com

Resort Makes Top Spot On List!

A nearby resort is #1 on list of Top 10 North Carolina Beach Resorts compiled by ResortsandLodges.com. The Winds Resort Beach Club was selected as the number one beach resort in the entire State of North Carolina!

The Winds resort is located on the oceanfront of nearby Ocean Isle Beach just ten minutes away from Holden Beach, NC.

Leatherback Sea Turtle

On the night of May 31st, 2010, Holden Beach, NC  had a vary rare visitor. A Leatherback sea turtle laid a nest in the 700 block of the island.

While she was laying her nest, she was discovered by a small group of college students from the Chicago area, who were vacationing on the island.

The visitors remembered seeing a sign that listed the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol pager number. They called the number and a Turtle Patrol volunteer responded. As soon as the volunteer saw the turtle she recognized that this turtle was not the typical Loggerhead. It was a Leatherback!

This is the first time that a Leatherback has nested on Holden Beach since the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol started 21 year ago. There were only three Leatherback nests in all of North Carolina last year, so this is a very special occasion.

Unlike other sea turtles, Leatherbacks change their nesting beach, but they stay in the same general location. With so few nests each year in North Carolina, we feel extremely fortunate to have this turtle pick our island.

Leatherbacks are the largest turtles on earth. They can be up to seven feet in length and weigh up to 2000 pounds. The carapace of the Leatherback is somewhat flexible and almost rubbery to the touch, in contrast to the hard, bony shells of other sea turtles. Hence the name Leatherback. Leatherbacks can dive as deep as 4,200 feet (deeper than any other turtle) and stay under up to 85 minutes.

Leatherbacks undertake the longest migration between breeding and feeding areas of any sea turtle (an average of 3,700 miles each way). Leatherbacks can be found in the  Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. They travel as far north as Canada and Norway and as far south as New Zealand and South America. Leatherbacks are currently designated as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act and are the subject of much study around the world.

Visit the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol’s website at http://hbturtlewatch.org if you would like to know more about the progress of the Leatherback nest and other facts about sea turtles or attend Turtle Talk. Turtle Talk is a one hour program held at 7:00 p.m. each Wednesday night from June 16th through August 11th in the Town Hall Public Assembly.