Kevin and I had an amazing experience early one cold and windy morning traveling from Jekyll Island to Sunberry Georgia. Kevin was anxious to get going and I had not finished my morning coffee when we had to quickly set-up and go. So, I may have been a little cranky.  We had just started to go when we both heard an unusual sound coming from the side of the boat.  We both looked to the port side where we heard the noise -saw nothing than looked to the bow.  We were stunned and both started laughing when we saw this Pelican sitting on our rail while we were moving down the waterway. We couldn’t believe that he stayed right on that rail for over 20 minutes. Both of us started trying to talk to him and we got little response. But in my head, I heard him say: “Look I am old and tired and I decided to take a boat ride to my next destination.” Looking at him I thought to myself he is showing his age but still is a great looking bird.

So enough about the Pelican let’s talk about the upcoming NSA Oyster Roast on February 19^th. This event has been a long traditional start of the NSA year.  Thanks to Alice and Tom we have a new site for us to set up our oyster tables. The Red Rooster will be the perfect spot. For some of our membership that have never experienced an oyster roast they may be a little nervous about “shucking” oysters. Be Not Afraid. There are always experienced shuckers sitting around the Oyster Table willing to share their knowledge. They may even offer to shuck you a few oysters for you. Members are asked to bring side dishes so there will be plenty to eat in addition to the oysters.  This event is great opportunity for new members to get involved with the club and meet new people.   There is more information about the Oyster Roast and the Shrimperoo in this newsletter and on the Events List on the website.

On Saturday February 6^th the Virtual Winter Seminar Series started with a very informative presentation on anchoring. We frequently talk about the magic and fun we have on our boats whether they are sailboats, trawlers or motor yachts. There is another side of boating we need to acknowledge. Boating can be very dangerous. If we do not maintain our engines and sails appropriately, or keep our safety equipment up to date we may find ourselves in danger. The famous quote from the movie Captain Ron : “If it’s going to happen it’s going to happen out there” is more true than not. Staying safe requires gaining the knowledge and doing the work needed to maintain our vessels. It’s also important to update our safety equipment and learn safety techniques when docking a boat.  Look on the event list for topics and dates of seminars. The information gained throughout the seminars will help you prepare your boat and equipment for the upcoming Anniversary Race on April 1, the Easter Cruise on April 15^th and the month-long Chesapeake Cruise on April 23^rd. Thanks to Chuck Gordon and the Nautical CO OP of Oriental for putting together Seminar Series 2022. If you have any questions about the seminar, please contact ncoseminars@gmail.com.  More information regarding the cruises, races and special events can be found on the NSA website, in the events list and in the newsletter.

Going back to the Pelican that started this log I was so fascinated with our hitch hiker I had to find out more about Pelicans. I found a quote by James Montgomery “Nature’s prime favorites were the Pelicans: High-fed, long-lived and sociable and free.”  Sounds like the perfect NSA Member! Looking forward to seeing you all at the Oyster Roast!

Mary Guilfoyle
Commodore
M/V Meridian

   Cruising Outlook

     Jason Keys, VC Cruising

     SV Sol Mate

   

 Hi! 

Our next cruise is Easter Cruise 15-17 of April. There will be more information on this cruise when it is available.

We have some update from the cruise captains for the Memorial Day Cruise and the Chesapeake Cruise.

Memorial Day Cruise – Cruise Captain - Chuck Gordon

• OCRACOKE - MAY 27-30 2022
• First come, first serve for the 10-13 available slips at the Anchorage Marina.
• Thursday, February 17^th, registration opens on the NSA website
• More details on the NSA website.

Call/text 919.880.7879, email chuckgordon55@yahoo.com

Contact me if you have questions.

 

Chuck Gordon, Cruise Captain

Chesapeake Cruise – Cruise Captain – Pat Thomaier & John Messier

Back to the Chesapeake!

 

It’s not too early to be thinking about the Chesapeake cruise. Planned departure is April 23, and we’ll open registration in March and close it April 1. 

 

The 2021 trip was a first for NSA. We traveled as a group to Hampton, VA, and then everyone was free to explore the Chesapeake on their own or with other boats going to the same places. 

We’ll follow that plan this year, too. If you want to get a sense of how things worked out, check out the forum here. As you’ll see, there were plenty of meetups along the way.  The chances of near-perfect weather again are slim, but we’ll have a great time anyway. Because that’s what NSA does! 

 

Any questions, contact Pat or John Cruising Captains.

Pat Thomaier & John Messer

S/V Wild Goose

Thank you for the update on these cruises.

Jason Keys

S/V Sol Mate

hank you for the update on these curises.

Jason Keys

S/V Sol Mate

 

 NCO Update

  Chuck Gordon, Director, NCO Representative

  S/V Pelikan

 

You must register for each seminar separately by Thursday of the week of the presentation Register by sending an email to ncoseminars@gmail.com  with your name and on Friday before the seminar you will receive a link to the Zoom meeting. 

NCO Virtual Seminar – Docking

• February 19 – 9:00AM Zoom
• Presented by Captain John Rahm   

 

T-Shirt

not included

with free

seminar

registration.

NCO Virtual Seminar - Auxiliary Systems:  AC, Refrigeration & Plumbing

• February 26 – 9:00AM Zoom
• Presented by Darrell Foster

 Chuck Gordon

S/V Pelikan

Membership Donna Crothers, VC Membership S/V Sanctuary

Welcome Our New Members

The NSA is very fortunate to have a number of new members who have joined the club in the past month and a half. Please join me in welcoming:

• Karen Cseh and Mike Hicks of Apex, owner of S/V Odyssea, which they keep at Northwest Creek Marina
• Jim and Linda Gay of Apex, owners of S/V Opus, which they keep at Blackwell Point Marina
• Moe Jones of Oriental, owner of S/V Mariposa, which she keeps at Pecan Grove Marina
• Richard and Liz Mason of Prospect Hill, owners of S/V Pocket Change, which they keep at Ray’s Creekside Marina
• Peter and Kelly Messikomer of Oriental (Landfall Boatworks), owners of S/V Salty Mess, which they keep at Whittaker Pointe Marina
• Erin Tracy of Raleigh, currently searching for her first keelboat

Current members, please be sure to renew your membership by April 1 to stay in the loop and enjoy some fun cruises and land-based activities. And if you have friends who might enjoy the NSA, please be sure to point them to the website or have them give me a call at 336.403.6534.

See you on the water soon!

Donna Crothers

Vice Commodore Membership
S/V Sanctuary

 Special Events

  Alice Petree & Tom McElroy, VC Special Events

 S/V Highland Fox

Oyster Roast - February 19th 2-4pm at the Red Rooster behind Silos 

This is a member only event.  Members may bring up to 2 guests, but it is not open to the general public. There will be a $10 charge for guests to cover food but not drinks.  Please bring a side dish or desert to share.

Shrimperoo – March 26th 2-4pm at the Oriental Marina and Tiki Bar 

This is NSA’s recruitment event open to both members and the community.  Non-members will be charged $10, which will be credited toward the cost of membership if they join that day.  A member center will be set up to handle renewals and new memberships.  Please bring a side dish or desert to share.

These fun parties don’t happen without the help of many volunteers.  I encourage you to get involved by helping out at of these events.  It can be a great way to get to know people and feel a part of this great organization.  If you are interested in helping please contact us.

 Alice Petree & Tom McElroy, 
 S/V Highland Fox

NSA Wear  Kathy Kenny, VC Social Media, NSA Wear Coord.  S/V Cool Change

NSA Merchandise

We will have NSA tee-shirts, caps, visors (all $20 each) and koozies (one for $3 or two for $5) for sale at the Oyster Roast.

 

Check the website for your color and size, if we don’t have your tee-shirt size, please let me know so I can make a note of what we need. Thanks to all for supporting our club by purchasing some merchandise!

 

Please snap some pictures at the Oyster Roast and post on our Facebook group as well as the website! 

 

Kathy Kenny

S/V Cool Change

  Communications

  Jean & Erik Hardtle, VC Communications

  S/V Knot Shore

Newsletter

Starting in March, my goal will be to get the newsletter back on the second Tuesday schedule. So I will need your input by Friday, March 4th. Please send your stories and photos to vccommunications@neusesailingassociation.org, and add "Neuse Juice" in the subject line.

Jean Hardtle 

S/V Knot Shore 

Website

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 me know, email me at   vccommunications@neusesailingassociation.org .

Erik Hardtle

S/V Knot Shore