Cape Fear Riverboats, Inc. began in 1987 through the passion of Captain Carl Marshburn, boat captain, businessman, and strong advocate for tourism and history. Long before Wilmington was named one of TripAdvisor’s ‘Top Destinations on the Rise,’ Capt. Carl envisioned the downtown Wilmington historic district as a major tourist attraction. He knew people would enjoy water views of Wilmington coupled with rich narration highlighting the area’s history, legends, and charm.

“I love to entertain people and this seemed like something good for Wilmington,” he said. “I saw the need for family-friendly, fun riverboat cruises departing from downtown on our popular river that would not only be a great adventure for people of all ages, but also to accurately interpret the region’s nautical history, natural beauty and the unique river ecology.”

“Captain Carl Marshburn is truly a tourism leader”, states Kim Hufham, past president of North Carolina Travel Industry Association. “Since the early days of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, he has been a strong supporter and advocate of local and state tourism. It is due, in part, to Captain Carl’s efforts that Wilmington’s historic district has become such a popular and thriving tourist attraction.”

Our current tour boats, Jacob’s Run and the Captain J.N. Maffitt, run both daytime and evening cruises on the Cape Fear. We encourage you to try our one of our exclusive nature tours to the Black River. Narrated by local ecologist Andy Wood, our twice-monthly nature tours (April-October) take you to some of the oldest forest in North America. Individual tickets can be purchased for friends and families, plus, group charter opportunities also are available for parties up to 48.

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