Sunset Cocktails Off Wrightsville Beach, Six Guests at a Time
The crew mixes drinks, the captain reads the swell at Masonboro Inlet, and the marsh lights up on the way home.
Bella is a 44-foot Lagoon catamaran, built in 2006, and she splits her year. The operator's calendar puts her in Wrightsville Beach from March through October, and the rest of the year she is down in the islands. In the Wrightsville months she runs this two-hour evening sail out of the docks on Banks Channel.
The sail has 22 reviews. Twenty-one of them give it five stars.
Seats are priced per person at USD 150, the same at every age. Booking closes 24 hours before departure, and confirmation comes back right away.
Wrightsville Beach Sunset Cocktail SailTwo hours aboard Bella, a 44-foot catamaran, from the Banks Channel docks. Soda and bottled water included.www.viator.comWhat the Crew Pours
The booking page promises a Caribbean-inspired cocktail, and the operator's own page says the captain and crew serve their signature cocktails on this sail. The listing's formal inclusions name only soda and bottled water.
The crew handles more than the drinks. The listing says they share local knowledge along the way and will take a few photos of your group on request.
Out the Inlet, Back Through the Marsh
From the docks the boat makes for Masonboro Inlet. The run out through the inlet into the Atlantic depends on the swell: the listing says the boat goes out only when the sea is calm enough. Wind permitting, the engines go off and Bella sails.
The long beach south of the inlet is Masonboro Island. North Carolina's coastal reserve program describes it as the largest undisturbed barrier island on the southern part of the state's coast, 8.4 miles long and reachable only by boat.
The return leg runs through the marsh and along the Intracoastal Waterway, past waterfront houses. The listing says the crew often sees dolphins, egrets and great blue herons back there.
From a Michigan Lake to Banks Channel
Phoebe Whitbeck is Bella's primary captain, though the operator notes that the crew changes with the seasons. She learned to sail as a child on a small lake in Michigan and moved to Wilmington in 2019 to attend UNCW. She sailed on the university team all four years and graduated with a double major in marine biology and French.
She holds a US Coast Guard six-pack captain's license with a near-coastal rating, plus a US Sailing Basic Keelboat Instructor certification. The listing invites guests to ask the crew about the ecology of the Masonboro reserve. When she is at the wheel, it goes to someone who studied marine biology.
Six Seats, Four to Sail
The listing caps a shared sail at six guests, the same ceiling the operator puts on a private charter, and one booking can take all six seats. The operator's own page says four guests are needed for the sail to run, and the listing notes that a departure can be called off for too few travelers or for bad weather. A couple booking alone is counting on two more guests.
All sales are final, and the listing offers no refund when you cancel. Gratuities and parking are extra.
- Children 12 and under wear life jackets, and the boat provides them.
- Infants are allowed with supervision at all times.
- The listing rates the sail suitable for all physical fitness levels.
- Bella has three bathrooms on board.
📍 The listing and the operator both place the docks across the street from Trailborn Surf and Sound, the resort formerly called the Blockade Runner. Departures run between 5:00 and 6:30 PM, and two hours later you step off at the same dock.