Join Us in Ocracoke!
Cruise Captains: Tony Nelson, Ros & Howard Cheetham
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- BYODC – Bring Your Own Dishes and Cups to events to cut back on trash and be environmentally friendly.
- Make sure to fly your BURGEE during the Event!
Hello everyone, it’s almost that time of year where the NSA honors our service members who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation by sailing to Ocracoke.
This year, we’re looking for a fantastic turnout with the largest armada ever assembled. See the photo of the previous year. [Since every sailboat should have flares, our fleet qualifies as an armada]
An annual tradition, we’re returning and taking back Ocracoke Island, bringing fresh provisions of dollar bills to help shore up the local economy and ensure democracy with every American’s right to choose their beer, wine and liquor of choice. We’re returning like General McArthur to Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. The primary mission for this landing is to have fun, more fun, and more-more fun (how’s that for grammar). Laughter and smiles are mandatory and the lashings will continue till morale improves. Don’t end up being that pirate stuck swabbing the decks.
Starting with securing Silver Lake, supply sailboats will drop anchor while sailboat landing crafts will secure beachheads at the Gov’t docks and the Anchorage Inn Marina.
In partnership with the Coast Guard, US Geological Survey, Naval Intelligence and Space Command, for the first time, we’ve acquired a highly detailed map of the Ocracoke landing area detailing beach heads, hot spots, fun spots and a swimming pool.
The timing of the arrival is officially Friday or Saturday as the fleet crosses the Pamlico Channel, though there will be some advanced parties and reconnoissance and survey sailboats arriving as early as Tuesday. So reach out to bridge command if you are planning to get a head start and we can coordinate various departure dates.
S/V Hemispheres will be the flagship sailing vessel of Admiral Nelson, First Lord of the Admiralty who will be leading the advanced party reconnaissance fleet on Monday or Tuesday along with S/V Misto, performing recon and mine sweeping operations around the island ensuring all is good for the main armada to arrive later in the week. Inspections will be conducted prior to the full sailing armada arrival by checking that SmacNally’s has fresh beer and Spanish Mackerel, 1718 Brewery is fully tapped and the Ocracoke Coffee Shop has fresh beans and Zilly’s is ready with a table for Chuck Gordon’s and Lord Nelson’s Grapefruit Shandy. We cannot afford to have any mishaps on this mission, a lot is at stake! Most importantly, the advanced party will have to delve deep inland to ensure that Eduardos is liberated and ready for delivering their world renowned Chorizo Roll Taco (chorizo, egg, cheese, salsa)
There will be a victory social at the gazebo command post at the Anchorage Marina that Saturday. Planning for a time of 1600 hours (google it) and a followup victory social on Sunday at ~1500 hours to finish the “provisions”. If you don’t know what time that is, just stare at your phone and say, “Hey Siri, when the heck is 1500 hours in normal time?”
At the end of the second victory social, we will....well....declare victory and a successful mission and commanders return to their vessels to prep for the channel crossing Monday morning, either before or after the first ferry leaves “my” island. Undoubtedly, there will be vessels remaining a day or more or a week even, with the excess of...”my engine won’t start” or “my anchor is stuck, have to wait for it to free itself”.
Fair Winds and a successful crossing!
