Cruising Update

See the cruising dates on the calendar so you can start planning!

We will continue these perennial favorites:

1. Memorial Day cruise to Ocracoke, May 25th.
2. Labor Day cruise to Cape Lookout, August 31st.

Some cruising schedule changes this year:

1. There will be two week long cruises back to back, one going north towards Edenton and one going south towards Wrightsville Beach. Members will then have the option to do one or the other or both!
2. There will not be a NSA sponsored month-long cruise to the Chesapeake this year. If any members plan on going to the Chesapeake on their own, please let others in the club know in case they are interested in joining.

New practices started last year that will continue:

1. Sharing the job of cruise captains between 2 boats. This worked well last year. New cruisers were mentored by seasoned members and there was always a captain in case plans changed! In February, there will be a general meeting of all those interested/willing to participate as cruise captains.
2. Leave no Trace: BYO cups, plates and utensils to reduce waste at our socials. 

For most cruise locations, we will provide a list of anchorages and marinas in the area as well as the location of set socials and members can decide for themselves where they would like to make reservations at the marina or anchor out. 

There are some locations that are ‘anchor out only’, such as West Bay, South river and Bonner Bay. These destinations are wind and weather dependent but a lot fun for those who like to be out in nature and see the stars.

There will be information available to all members with route suggestions, things to look out for, and things to do in various locations. Every cruise will have a social, which is generally a potluck event with beer, wine, seltzers, and non-alcoholic beverages provided by NSA. We also try to come up with other activities and outings in the area.

We will stay in contact through the newsletter, the NSA website, and our Facebook page. Facebook and Messenger make it easy to connect with participating members during a cruise to quickly inform of changes and let people know what they’re up to so please consider joining and friending us.

Please consider being a co-cruise captain! It’s a great opportunity to learn the ropes and get to know people. Be on the lookout in the February newsletter for the date our cruise captain meeting. Check out the cruising schedule and let us know as if you are interested by February 5th. 

We look forward to seeing you all out on the water!

Christa and David Kreutz

VC Cruising

Happy New Year NSA Members!

Please join me in providing a warm welcome to the new members who recently joined the NSA!

Welcome, Lance and DeDe Richardson of Chapel Hill, owners of S/V Kalani,

which is kept at Pecan Grove Marina and John Edens of New Bern, owner of

S/V Halcyon, kept at Northwest Creek Marina.

The board and bridge have been busy planning another year of fun-filled NSA events and cruises for 2024.

We will kick off the year with the Oyster Roast in February. Please see the event list for all the seasons events.

It is time to renew your memberships for the year! We’d like to ask all members to renew their annual memberships, beginning in January 2024.

Please login to the website at your earliest convenience and do so. We will be sending reminder emails to all current members soon.

• Login to the website
• click on your name (upper right corner) to view your profile,
• select Renew April 2024
• Enter payment information
  
• voila, you’re all set until 2025

**Note: only the bundle coordinator will have the Renew option available. Please be sure to renew your membership no later than April 1st, 2024. We're looking forward to another season full of exploration, fun, and friendship. If you know of someone who would like to join us, please direct them to the NSA website or have them email me.

See you all soon!

Sharon Bellrose-McDonald
Vice Commodore of Membership
M/V Mischief
sharon@yondercove.com

NSA Merchandise

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and safe New Year!

I will be ordering tee-shirts for the new year. If you have any specific colors or sizes please reach out to me soon.

I hope to have them in time for the Oyster Roast. In the meantime we still have a few 50th anniversary tees on the NSA Marketplace website.

There is also a link to NSA Squad Locker to order merchandise on your own if you prefer to do so.

Please continue to post on our NSA Facebook group.

If you haven’t joined our group, please do so.

Remember to answer the questions asked in order to join as it is a closed group for our members only.

Kathy Kenny

Vice Commodore - Social Media & NSA Wear Coord.

Ok, so you made it to the bottom!  ... here is your prize tip:

Feeling blue is a term that originates from sailing

We know that if you feel blue, you actually mean that you feel sad or depressed. So it is actually very logical that the saying originated from sailing because in the past, when a ship lost its captain during a voyage, the sailors would sail blue flags, indicating their loss. So if you’re feeling blue, you’re actually referring to the blue flags that were used to sign that the ship’s crew is in mourning.

   ... neat huh?