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Topsail Beach - Break Data
Surf spot travel photo of Topsail Beach
Description
The southern beach on Topsail Island, Topsail is much what you would find in Surf City, just less of it. That means less surf, less restaurants and less dunes to protect this weak-ass town from being wiped off the face of the earth, which Hurricanes Fran and Bertha almost did in 1995. The only break worth half a shit is the Jolly Roger Pier, and it's horribly inconsistent. The locals are dicks too -- both of them. Basically, the scene here is about small numbers and surprisingly large attitudes, so just get in and get out. To get to the Jolly Roger Pier, take a right instead of going straight toward Surf City. The pier's about 10 miles down the Beach Road, you can't miss it. Best Tide:
mid- coming in
Best Swell Direction:
SE
Best Size:
chest
Best Wind:
NW
Perfect-O-Meter:
1 (1=Lake Erie; 10=Jeffreys Bay)
Bottom:
sand, dog tags
Ability Level:
novice
Bring Your:
full tank of gas, so you can split as soon as possible
Best Season:
fall
Access:
easy, plenty of lots
Crowd Factor:
small and greedy
Local Vibe:
dicks
Bicep Burn:
1 to 2 (1=1ft Waikiki; 10=15ft Ocean Beach)
Poo Patrol:
3 to 4 Rundown beach, trailer park trash, no dunes and lots of flooding. (1=clean; 10=turds in the lineup)
Hazards:
The sea lice are notoriously bad here. Try aloe after-sunburn lotion to kill the buggers.
 
Places To Eat
Right in the parking lot at the Jolly Roger Pier in Topsail is a Pier Grille (910-328-4616), where you can watch the surfing from the safety of a bug net.
Places To Stay
Campgrounds are cool in Surf City (try www.carolinanow.com/recsites/rvparks.htm for various options), and to the north in Topsail, there are some really cheap hotels. The campgrounds in Topsail are not recommended because of the bugs and the Jolly Roger Pier's (910-328-4616) 65-unit motel/restaurant complex is pretty dingy. Really, this place sucks.

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Things To Do
It's all military in Surf City. If you like sunbathing with marines and their beefcake friends, then this is the place for you. Other than that, there are a few laid-back surfers here. As for Topsail, there's good fishing in the sound. See what they say at www.insiders.com/wilmington/main-fishing.htm
Surf Shops
Spinnaker Surf Shop (910-328-2311) if you really want to know what's up. There's also a Bert's Surf Shop (920-328-1010).
Surf Schools
Listings for surf schools in North Carolina

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Have a correction, update or addition for this spot? Contact us at travel@surfline.com