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Frostbite
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Frostbite
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CAROLINA CRUISE…and Frostbite Follies!
Memories and musings from Stan & Dee… your Cruise Directors!
Thanks to Marcia, Gerry, Dee, Bob & Bob for photos!
“Stay warm…be happy!
It’s true, from the mouths of new members oft times come gems. On her first trip with the club, Ingrid’s quote of the week certainly summed it up well. Most of the time though, with enough clothes on and cozy sleeping bags (Charlotte’s new best friend), we were happy. The skies were Carolina blue, the winds favorable, our destinations fun and interesting, and of course, the company…outstanding! In traditional Sailing Club fashion many of the crews began
their reverie while en route to our departure point in Oriental, NC.
On Friday evening Gerry and Tom started
their adventure in the south with the “Good Vibrations” show at
The Carolina Opry Theater in Myrtle
Beach. Clara, Stu, and Ingrid enjoyed
some southern hospitality with Ingrid’s sister and brother-in-law in
Maryland. Charlotte stopped off in
Williamsburg, VA to harass her brother.
Steve and the majority of Jazzy’s crew (Cheryl, Rebecca & Joel)
stopped in Norfolk, VA and discovered the
9th Annual Masquerade in Ghent Halloween
Block Party and Costume Walk, a little dancing in the street, and a fun dinner
at the No Frills Grill.
All of our Skippers…Stan, Steve, Tom, and Bobby D.…together with their able First Mates…Joe B., Joel, Stu, and Bob R…had completed their boat checkouts on Saturday; so Sunday morning we said farewell to Grace Harbor at River Dunes (Evening Star, Jazzy, and Savvy) and Whittaker Creek Yacht Harbor (Carolina Dreamer) and headed into the Neuse River to head upstream for New Bern, the first capital of North Carolina. We all arrived in New Bern just in time to see a slow freight train rumbling past our slips at The New Bern Grand Marina (Sheraton), and a beautiful sunset. After casing the joint…gotta locate the heads and showers!...the Evening Star crew settled in for dinner aboard while the crews of Jazzy and Carolina Dreamer hooked up with Bobby D.’s handsome Marine nephew Matt, stationed at Cherry Point, and set off for the boating atmosphere and good food at Captain Ratty’s on Middle Street. Stu and David had done a little reconnoitering on foot and returned to A dock to pick up Savvy’s other crew members for dinner at the Harvey Mansion on South Front Street. 
For the Richmond’s there was one heretofore-unknown advantage of sailing in your own back yard. "Personalized delivery service". Marcia discovered the first day out that she had forgotten to take her frozen lasagna meal out of the freezer at home! Solution -- a cell phone call to her neighbor in Fairfield Harbour and hand delivery of said dish on Sunday night to their boat at the Sheraton. Now that’s room service! …and a wonderful neighbor! 
Monday morning found us all clean and shiny and ready to explore New Bern’s historic downtown, with its many restored homes and colorful shops. But first…making friends on the dock! As a few of us set off down A dock to meet the trolley, we fell in to step with a couple walking down the dock in search of the farmer’s market. The usual conversation ensued: “Where are you from?” After we said that there were 22 of us with a sailing club from New Jersey the tall, handsome, gray haired guy said, “My sister belongs to a sailing club in New Jersey!” Wouldn’t you know it? He was long time club member Anne McCormick’s brother! You just never know where connections to The Sailing Club will turn up. 
After loading up on coffee in the Sheraton lobby, our first
adventure of the day was a great orientation to the city via the New Bern
Historic District Trolley Tour and our excellent guide Bob (What a
surprise…another Bob).
Monday evening the wind picked up a bit, the temperature dropped, and there were even a few sprinkles…boohoo. Having had a big lunch, Jazzy’s crew hunkered down for an evening of “salon games”, while Evening Star’s crew braved the breezes up Middle Street to Chelsea’s for Marcia’s favorite shrimp and grits. Carolina Dreamer’s gang headed to Morgan’s Tavern on Craven Street, and after kidnapping Ms Cheryl, the crew of Savvy was right behind them. Dinner in a 1912 car dealership was pretty cool! With so many great restaurants to choose from, none of us left New Bern hungry. 
The Skippers decided on Tuesday morning that, given the
northeast winds, rather than our original anchorage in Adam’s Creek we would
head for a more protected anchorage in Club Foot Creek.
This proved to be a great decision.
We enjoyed a beautiful sunset, and a
wonderful raft-up and hors d’oeuvres party.
Once our four boats were all safely and snugly tied together, crews
started to drift from boat to boat sampling each other’s culinary
delights.
On Evening Star, a cut throat game of bridge got under way…sending Charlotte, and Joe & Helen B. (and Helen’s delicious meatballs), next door to Savvy! Team Janet and Stan thoroughly drubbed team Marcia and David! Who dealt those cards anyway? Do I hear rematch? 
Wednesday morning we hauled anchors and were off, down Adam’s Creek and the ICW headed for Beaufort. Passing through the Newport River just north of Morehead City and Beaufort we were treated to lots and lots of playful dolphins. Many very close to the boats, too! Next it was past Radio Island to Taylor’s Creek, and into our slips at the Beaufort Municipal Docks downtown, on Front Street. Beaufort is a very pretty small coastal Carolina town with a long maritime history, and our digs there gave us the perfect spot from which to take in the town. Once again, after casing the marina - heads and showers
located - most of us took off on foot to explore Beaufort.
Late afternoon found many of us prowling the shops on Front Street, wandering the back streets to see the beautifully restored homes, or poking around in the mysterious Old Burying Ground. Most also managed to find time for a little libation at the Dock House Restaurant, compliments of our handy little tokens from the Dock Master. For dinner - oh boy food again - we all hopped across the street to Clawson’s (a Beaufort landmark) to enjoy a group feast. Club founder and Skipper extraordinaire Jim Nixon, and his wife Jan, even drove down from Oriental to join in the fun too. “Somehow” …while spending her token at the Dock House, Cheryl met a nice Australian sailing solo, and being her thoughtful self, she brought him across the street to Clawson’s. Always the more the merrier at any Sailing Club gathering. Toasts were made, jokes told, and compliments extended. Another wonderful evening made even more so by the great company. 
Thursday it was all hands on deck, crank up the engines, and head out Beaufort Inlet into the Atlantic. Breezes were blowing and sails were up as we passed Shackelford Banks and cruised to Cape Lookout. As we sailed in to Cape Lookout Bight, wind speed and direction dictated that the most comfortable spot to anchor for the night would be the west side of the bight, opposite the Lighthouse. From our anchorage, it was too far to dinghy there. But dinghies were in the water in short order, and the Miller & Mack ferry was operating a regular service back and forth to the beach. And what a beautiful beach it is! Tons of shells, beached puffer fish and octopus (No Matty, you can’t bring them back to the boat to make calamari), and even a whale skeleton! It was wonderful just to walk on the beach, and in the dunes. A few of us made it to the old Coast Guard Station, and Bobby D. and Cheryl did it even one better…scoring a ride to the Lighthouse, and ferry service back to the boats, from a local fisherman. Way to go! The rest of us had to be content with an awesome view of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse from our boats, and as the sky turned from pink to gray to dark, we looked up to a crystal clear sky and the most amazing stars. Now that’s a room with a view!
Sadly, but fortunately, the sun rose on Saturday, the last day of our trip. Jazzy and Savvy headed back to River Dunes for an early start home. Evening Star and Carolina Dreamer got in a little more sailing before heading in. Most of their crews spent Saturday night in Oriental or New Bern, with a stop at Stan and Marcia’s for brunch on Sunday. Stan said it best in his note to everyone a couple of days after the trip: “Now that you have had a taste of coastal Carolina some of you may wish to visit again. I hope so. If the trip was a success it's because of all of you, your energies, enthusiasm and camaraderie (a cornerstone of the Sailing Club). May we meet under sail again.”
Be sure to check out the photos posted on our trip "group room" on Snapfish http://thesailingclubcarolinacruise.snapfish.com/snapfish |
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Helen and Joe B. made a bee line for New Bern to check out the Richmond’s new carpeting.
Bob D. and Bob R., with Janet and John, got
up in the very wee hours on Saturday and drove to Oriental in one day.
By Saturday evening all boats were loaded up
and their hungry crews descended on the unsuspecting village of Oriental.
Most of us found our way to great food (and
the Ohio State game!) at M&M’s Café.
Finding it too long a wait, Jim and Jan Nixon steered Steve and crew to
BBQ and dancing at the Oriental Volunteer Fire department.
Oriental’s description as "A
sleepy little drinking village with a big sailing problem” was just fine with
us!
It took us all
over the city passing Tryon Palace, many restored homes and Craven County
buildings, historic churches, and the birthplace of Pepsi.
We made stops at the Cedar Grove Cemetery
and New Bern’s Weeping Arch, and at the New Bern Academy Museum for little
stretch breaks and closer investigations.
Most of us returned to these places on foot in the afternoon for tours
and even closer inspections. One place
on Middle Street that I don’t think any of us missed was the Baker’s
Square. It’s a fantastic Mennonite
bakery and coffee shop with pastries and pies that I’m still dreaming
about! Their pecan and cinnamon buns
alone are worth a trip to New Bern.
With both the lovely Janet
Foord and Chef Matty on board, the wonderful smells floating up the
companionway on Carolina Dreamer captured people and immediately drew them
below. Once there though, it was Bob
Rainey’s stuffed mushrooms that got my attention.
Yum! On Savvy there was
hardly a square inch available on the table.
Clara’s guacamole, as always, was a big hit, and delicious cheeses, hot
pepper jelly, hot sausage and sweet potato skewers, and southern pimento cheese
kept everyone busy for quite a while.
It is all about the food…right?
One of the biggest treats of our trip
awaited us at the North Carolina Maritime Museum!
Charlotte’s roots extend deep in to the history of Carteret
County…her great-great-grandmother was Charlotte Mason one of the keepers of
the Cape Lookout Light! Well before our
visit, Charlotte had been in contact with people in Beaufort and had arranged
for her newly discovered cousin, Connie Mason, to meet with us in the afternoon
at the museum. We all trotted off,
looking forward to hearing all about the area.
Little did we know Connie would put on a show fit for TV!
What a character and wonderful performer she
is!
It was a very special afternoon of
folk tales, songs, history, and laughs.
Joe B. even got recruited to help us “haul for better weather.”
The Maritime Museum itself was pretty great
too.
