Once upon a time, Topsail Island was home to Salty’s Pier, Ocean City Pier, Scotch Bonnet Pier, Barnacle Bill’s Pier, the Surf City Pier and the Jolly Roger Pier.
Doug Medlin, Surf City mayor pro-tem, remembers when a handful of business owners and fishing pier owners gathered at Breezeway Restaurant in Topsail Beach. He said fishing was the magnet that brought tourists to the island. They met to discuss ways they could get the North Carolina legislature to recognize tourism as an industry.
Those founding fathers of tourism would be proud of the fishing that continues to lure folks to the area.
In Topsail Beach, the Jolly Roger Pier remains an Orr family business.
“We’re open 24/7 in season,” said Robin Orr, the owner of the Jolly Roger Pier.
Orr’s father, Lewis, built the Jolly Roger Pier in 1954.
“We’ve had rebuilds, but the pier has always been owned by our family,” said Orr.
The Jolly Roger Pier offers the convenience of selling tackle and bait as well as cleaning stations with running water and benches. Inside is a grill that serves hot coffee and a variety of food.
The pier has “blanket fishing licenses.” Visitors to the pier are not required to have their own fishing license, but are covered by the Jolly Roger Pier. The cost to fish, in season, is $14 per person for a day. The cost to walk out onto the pier is just $1 per person. If the timing is right, visitors might spy dolphin playing nearby.
Fishing is a pastime for all ages – for the young and the young at heart. It’s also a sport that is not regulated by a scoreboard time clock. Folks can fish well into the night and early morning hours. The pier offers lighting for night fishing.
On the wall in the Jolly Roger Pier are photos of smiling men, women, and children with their prize catches. Photos also appear online at thejollyroger.com along with a fishing report of what fish are running.
Fishermen land red drum, flounder, kings, and more from the pier. When the spots run, fishing is good.
The Jolly Roger Pier participates in two fishing tournaments each season. The tournaments are sponsored and organized by the Fisherman’s Post.
“We’re a point to fish and we’re also a weigh station for the tournaments,” said Orr.
The Jolly Roger Pier, 803 Ocean Blvd., is located next door to the family owned and operated Jolly Roger Inn and Motel.
“We have 65 units,” said Orr. “One half of the units have full kitchens. We have oceanfront rooms. We’re a destination in itself.”
The history of the Jolly Roger Inn is directly linked to Operation Bumblebee, the secret rocket and missile project that was developed and tested on Topsail Island in the late 1940s. The concrete launch platform was one-foot deep, and 75’ by 100’ in diameter. The launch pad is now part of the Jolly Roger Inn’s patio. During the rocket launches, a bombproof room was built. The 14-inch reinforced concrete walls are now part of the inn’s basement foundation.
The Jolly Roger Pier and Inn are centrally located in Topsail Beach. They are just blocks from the Intracoastal Waterway and the Missiles and More Museum, and a block from fine dining at Beach Shop and Grill, Breezeway Restaurant, and Cora’s Isle-End Deli, as well as family entertainment from the Patio Playground, the Topsail Island Skating Rink, and Quarter Moon Books and Gifts and Wine Bar.
For more information about the Jolly Roger Pier and Inn call 910-328-4616 or toll free at 1-800-633-3196. Find them online here or on Facebook.
