Your NSA Bridge met last Saturday and voted to postpone the annual Shrimperoo until all members and guests can be invited. Bridge members expressed regret about having to restrict attendance at this year’s Oyster Roast, which is coming up on March 27, and we don’t want to do that again. With Covid numbers dropping and vaccine availability spreading, it might be possible to reschedule the Shrimperoo for this summer. More on that later.

Meanwhile, we are sticking with our dates for other events, including the Dinghy Poker Run on July 24, with one exception. We are postponing indefinitely the May 1 Anniversary Race to allow the Chesapeake Cruise boats to get under way on that Saturday.

Our cruising schedule remains as published on the website with our annual shakedown cruise, the Spring Cruise, coming up on Easter weekend, April 3-4. Cruising Commodore Howard Cheatham proposed an anchorage at West Bay for the cruise, though Cruise Captain Erik Hardtle is looking for alternatives in case the wind is not favorable for anchoring off the beach in the sound at West Bay.

(One note about the cruising schedule, the Fall Cruise is Oct. 2-3. It had been listed for Oct. 9-10, but that is the weekend of the annual Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival.)

At the Bridge meeting, Cruise Co-Captain Pat Thomaier previewed the Chesapeake Bay Cruise, now set to depart on May 1 and continue for most of May, with stops en route to Portsmouth at Dowry Creek Marina, Alligator River Marina and Coinjock.  From Portsmouth members can choose their destinations and itineraries and go in groups or individually.

Look for more detailed information in the Events List in the next week or so with registration opening. If you plan to go, please register sooner than later so Pat and John and contact marinas ahead of time with boat estimates.

For now, plan to adhere to Covid protocols at all events, that is, social distancing and masks at gatherings. Also, on cruises, plan to provision your boat with your own food and drink for socials.

Thanks to the work of Chuck Gordon and the NCO, four Virtual Seminars have been scheduled. The first will be Crew Overboard led by John Rahm on March 20, followed by a seminar on Spring Engine Maintenance by Darrell Foster on March 27. John will hold another seminar on a topic of his choice, and Darrell will hold another on other boat systems like refrigeration on April 10. Attendees must sign up individually and will be muted on Zoom. See the website Events List for details and registration information.

And finally, don’t forget to renew your membership before April 1 if you have not done so.

Be safe. I look forward to a grand NSA year with you all on land and water.

Sailing quote of the month:  “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than those you did. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Stay safe.

Carl Crothers
Commodore
S/V Sanctuary

 Howard Cheethan, VC Cruising

 S/V Misto

The  Easter cruise is coming together, we have 15 sign-ups already (if it reaches 20 boats, I might start to get concerned about group size exceeding 50 captains and crew), and Erik Hardtle has agreed to be Cruise Captain. It is still too early to predict the weather and the destination, but with so much interest we will certainly do something unless the weather is really foul! Watch out for details from Erik and myself during the last week of March.

Planning for the Chesapeake Cruise is ramping up and I'm leaving that in the capable hands of Pat and John.

The full calendar for the season is:

April 3-4 Easter Cruise secret until much closer - Erik Hardtle

May 1-23 (or 28) May Day Cruise Chesapeake Bay, free cruising - Pat Thomaier and John Messer

May 29-31 Memorial Day Cruise Cape Lookout - Tony Nelson

June 19-26 Week-long Cruise Overnight to Manteo

July 17-18 Dog Days Cruise Bath

Aug. 7-8 Lazy Days Cruise South River or TBD

Sept. 4-6 Labor Day Cruise Ocracoke - Chuck Gordon

Oct. 9-10 Fall Cruise West Bay or TBD

Oct. 30-31 Halloween Cruise New Bern

S/V Misto

Welcome Our New Members!

Please join me in welcoming six new NSA members who have joined in the past month! Joining the club recently are: Lisa and Ray Mannion of Wake Forest, owners of S/V Freedom which they keep at River Dunes Marina; Carter Hunt and Georgina Mollick, owners of S/V Chimera which they keep at Pecan Grove Marina, and Richard and Tina Marsh of New Bern, owners of S/V Bluebird which they keep at Bridgeton Harbor Marina. Please be sure to say hello when you see our new members!

Donna Crothers
Vice Commodore Membership
S/V Sanctuary

 Special Events

 Kevin and Mary Guilfoyle, VC  Special Events
 M/V Delphina

Just a few reminders about our Oyster Roast this year.  As everyone knows we are still restricted to only 50 people for an outdoor event.  We had an overwhelming response of people.

Those of you who were the first 50 people registering should have received an email from Kevin that you were registered.  Individuals that emailed after the first 50 were placed on a waiting list.  If the restrictions are lifted for outdoor events we will contact the people on the waiting list or if someone that has registered and their plans have changed please notify us and we will contact the next person on the waiting list.  The time for the event has also been changed to 1-3pm. During the event River Dunes will be serving the oysters and the side dishes.  Beer and wine plus a cash bar (cash only no debit or credit cards) will be available. If you are planning on coming by boat please contact the marina for a reservation (252-249-4908).  Currently Scott reports he has a few transient slips available. We want to encourage everyone attending to be mindful of social distancing and wearing a mask if you are in close proximity of others.  We want to insure that everyone has a good time while staying healthy. 

Kevin and Mary Guilfoyle

Vice Commodores, Special Events

M/V Delphina

I will have some tee-shirts ($20), caps ($20), visors ($15) and koozies (a deal!) on hand at the Oyster Roast if anyone would like to purchase in person. As always, you can also make a purchase online at the Marketplace on our website. 

With the beginning of Spring we should have more opportunities to be on the water taking some great photos to share on our Facebook page as well as the NSA website. Feel free to share anything of interest on the Facebook group page, whether it is something you are looking to buy, sell or an impromptu sail and feel like having someone to cruise along with you. 

Stay safe and Happy Spring!

Kathy Kenny

Vice Commodore, Social Media

S/V Cool Change

Jeff Kenyon
S/V Calitri (website)

Pat Thomaier
S/V Wild Goose (Neuse Juice)

Call for photos! 

With the 2021 events just about to get under way, this is a reminder to send any great event photos to jeff.kenyon@gmail.com for inclusion in the main website scrolling photos area. We’ll also select one photo per month as the website background picture. For the background, the photo needs to have "interesting" content along the top and sides, since the website content consumes the entire middle.

Jeff Kenyon

S/V Calitri