Coming Soon!Oyster Roast |
Commodore's Ball The New Year affords the time to look back, and naturally 2020 is one to remember in a lot of ways, not all so good. I hope that the pleasure of being on the water and time with NSA is something that makes memories of 2020 special in a good way for us all. It was for me, and I was proud to steer the NSA ship throughout 2020 as your commodore. I do want to give a summary of the Commodore’s Ball which was a lot of fun. As with all things 2020 it was not without its challenges. The day of the event a call came to let me know the area under the beautiful tent was more akin to a mosh pit than a party venue. “That is OK the rain has stopped and we’ll set up in the parking area in front of the clubhouse”. Like there was another choice! Next was the DJ who was supposed to arrive by 11:00 and by noon was nowhere to be found. What would 2020 be without a little stress? That said, the setup in front of the clubhouse was great, plenty of room to spread out the tables, nice lights along the back and a good porch area for the DJ to set up. The food was great, the DJ got us dancing, and we installed the new officers and board. What a great time we had in challenging times – the pictures below tell the tale. And yes – masks were part of the affair, with the winner Tom McElroy in a mask you must see to appreciate!
Doc Hyde Award - Congratulations Chuck!!! There was also a special award made that you should know about if you were not present. That award is the Doc Hyde award. A little background is in order, since this is the first year that NSA has participated. Many years ago, a retired Orthopedic Surgeon living in Oriental encouraged sailing and promoted it with infectious enthusiasm like no other. Over time he got more and more people into their boats and out on the water. He did much to make Oriental the Sailing Capital of North Carolina. He was said to be the initiator of Wednesday Night Racing in Oriental, and his leadership had 20 plus boats out there and were started with a shot gun. Doc Hyde is no longer with us, but the memory of what he did for sailing in our community lives on. For each of the past 20 years the Sailing Club of Oriental and the Oriental Dinghy Club, and now the Neuse Sailing Association jointly honor his memory by awarding the Doc Hyde award to that individual who has demonstrated a similarly high level of promotion of sailing in the Oriental community. This year it was my pleasure to be part of the selection committee that chose NSA’s Chuck Gordon as the recipient of this important recognition. Congratulations and my thanks to Chuck for everything you have done to contribute to Oriental being the Sailing Capital of North Carolina! Jeff Kenyon |
Happy New Year! We exchange this greeting every January by rote, but this year it carries a greater sense of hope that the new year indeed will be a happier one than 2020. The Covid vaccine is being distributed rapidly and Dr. Fauci last week predicted that all those in the four priority groups could get their shots by spring. This doesn’t mean we’re going to run willy nilly, as my mother used to say, back to our old routines or let down our guard, but it may indicate that there is a bright lighted buoy on the horizon. Speaking of the new year, thanks to those intrepid captains who participated in the cold, wet Jan. 1 Instead of Football Regatta. A remarkable 13 boats went out on the river, including some representing the NSA. We don’t have a list of the participants, but if you were in the fleet, thanks for your perseverance. Alas, Sanctuary wimped out, but we enjoyed watching the boats from shore. As I reported by email last month, your 2021 Bridge met Dec. 12 at Whittaker Pointe Marina and adopted the Events Calendar for next year. You can view it now on the website. The Bridge also agreed that if restrictions continue, we will look for outside venues for land events where we can control, within reason, who comes and goes. The Bridge will meet again in late January to reassess our plans based on conditions. We’ll keep you posted. We went ahead and moved the dates back for both the Oyster Roast (March 27) and Shrimperoo (April 24) to allow more time for the pandemic to start to ease off, and we will investigate catering options for individual servings so there is no communal oyster shucking or serving from large trays. Our Vice Commodore for Cruising Howard Cheetham has developed a fantastic cruising schedule for this year. Howard is looking for cruise captains for some remaining cruises. Being a cruise captain is an easy way to get involved in the club without biting off too much. If you’re interested, contact Howard at vccrusing@neusesailingassociation.org. We are particularly excited by the proposed Chesapeake cruise in May and the overnight sail to Manteo for the Weeklong in June. My sailing quote for the month: “On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty.” — Rumi Onward, faithful sailors. Carl Crothers |
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We’re happy to announce the first ever (that we know of) NSA Chesapeake Cruise. We planned to go last year, but you know… Anyway, we’re hoping to have lots of company. We’ll leave May 2 and travel together to Portsmouth, coordinating our travel plans with lock and bridge schedules. With cooperation from the weather, that should take four days. Once in Portsmouth, we can venture north individually or in groups, depending on who wants to go where, and for how long. The Chesapeake area holds so many interesting destinations- well known spots such as Yorktown, Annapolis, St Michaels and Solomons, and many smaller, quiet spots that invite you to drop anchor and take a day off. We’ve made this trip twice, the first time with a pitifully small amount of sailing experience. It can be done! Email Pat (pthomaier@mindspring.com) or John (jmesser@mindspring.com) and we’ll be happy to answer any questions if you’re thinking of joining us. Pat
Thomaier & John Messer |
Welcome Our New Members!
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This year is going to be much different than in past years. These will be a members only events. In complying with the COVID-19 requirements, we are going to have to make some changes. The Oyster Roast will be on March 27 at River Dunes from 2-4 pm and the Shrimparoo will be held at River Dunes on April 24.
M/V Delphina |
As we begin the new year take a look at our online store. I will arrange to have your order delivered in Oriental if you would like to receive it before an NSA event. Who doesn’t need a new NSA tee shirt & koozies for the boat? You want to be ready for that 1st event/cruise of the season! Our Facebook page is open to paid members only so please continue to post photos and anything else of interest to our members. Also follow NSA events on our website as not all members are on Facebook. Happy New Year! Kathy Kenny S/V Cool Change |
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Jeff any I are sharing the VC Communications duties, and I'll be pulling the newsletter together each month. I'll email the bridge each month for their contributions, but all NSAers are welcome to share news. I'm especially hoping that we'll hear from our traveling members. Those of us wintering in NC will enjoy your photos, adventures and misadventures. Send your stories and photos to pthomaier@mindspring.com. Happy new year to all! Pat The website has been updated with the 2021 Officers and Directors listing in the About section, and all email from the NSA addresses will route to their personal email addresses. We’ll be working to update the rolling photos to more recent photos ad archiving the many not in use. If you have a need for a photo in the future, they are all being saved offline. One more change coming is the payment system may be updated to the internal Wild Apricot system from PayPal. The start of the new year is a good time to make sure your NSA info is up to date in your profile. It’s super easy, just click on your name in the upper right after logging in, and click the “edit profile” button. If you’ve forgotten your password, just go to the NSA website (www.neusesailingassociation.org), click on the “Log in” link and click on the “Forgot password” link to reset your password. Finally, if there are any errors, mistakes or updates needed on the website, be sure to let vccommunications@neusesailingassociation.org know! Jeff S/V Calitri |
Adventures on Solveig To enjoy a some warm island currents, check out Robert and Tracy's blog at Adventures on Solveig. They've chronicled the preparation, leave taking and the adventures throughout. You can commiserate with their leaking hatches, enjoy their holidays in Paradise, and celebrate New Year's on Great Harbour Cay. Tracy and Robert, thanks for sharing your experiences! |
Neuse Sailing Association | PO Box 253 | Oriental, NC 28571