Southport Yacht Club Cruisin’ Cruising — it’s the stuff of boating magazines and travel brochures. Tanned, fit boaters enjoying umbrella drinks as their boat bobs at anchor in turquoise water. Can you feel the breeze, the coolness of the water on your toes? The Southport Yacht Club allows us to live the dream by planning several cruises a year. This year, there was Myrtle Beach in May and Banks Channel in June. In a little more than a week will be the Charleston cruise, followed by a Bald Head Island cruise in August and an Octoberfest in Wilmington in... well, October, of course. Mike Gibson is serving for the second year as the Club’s cruise committee chair. Here’s what he and Sandy, social committee chair (and second mate on the Gibson’s Syringa), say about the cruising calendar: ~MIKE~ How do you decide where you’ll plan the cruises and when they’ll occur? What do you hope to achieve? Some of the cruises were in place when we started the yacht club. Boaters from the Southport Sailing club had already been taking trips to Bald Head and Banks Channel. So, those two were kinda’ grandfathered in. I think that the Wilmington cruise came from the fact that the new Port City Marina was being built and the board thought it was a good idea. I want to say that Sandy and I proposed a long cruise to either Charleston or Cape Lookout. I think we have settled into the idea of alternating those each year. We went North last year and we are going south this year. Myrtle Beach was Steve Karch’s idea because he wanted to get some golf involved during a cruise. What have you learned from your experience about planning cruises? Some of our members are focused on racing and/or day sailing. I have noticed that sailors are more likely to anchor out and power boaters seem to prefer a dock. Closer destinations are more well-attended. Closer means less expensive if you are using fuel and easier to plan based on weather windows. We have learned that organizing a large group to arrive at a marina as transients is difficult. Most marinas don’t want to talk to you too far out from your arrival. Probably because they know everything depends on weather. Personally, I have learned more about anchoring and weather routing. (Continued on page 4)
Transcript
KILO: I wish to communicate with you
Southport Yacht Club Cruisin’
Cruising — it’s the stuff of boating magazines and travel brochures. Tanned, fit boaters enjoying umbrella drinks as their boat bobs at anchor in turquoise water. Can you feel the breeze, the
coolness of the water on your toes?
The Southport Yacht Club allows us to live the dream by planning several cruises a year. This year, there was Myrtle Beach in May and Banks Channel in June. In a little more than a week will be the Charleston cruise, followed by a Bald Head Island cruise in August and an Octoberfest in Wilmington in...well, October, of course.
Mike Gibson is serving for the second year as the Club’s cruise committee chair. Here’s what he and Sandy, social committee chair (and second mate on the Gibson’s Syringa), say about the cruising calendar:
~MIKE~ How do you decide where you’ll plan the cruises and when they’ll occur? What do you hope to achieve? Some of the cruises were in place when we started the yacht club. Boaters from the Southport Sailing club had already been taking trips to Bald Head and Banks Channel. So, those two were kinda’ grandfathered in. I think that the Wilmington cruise came from the fact that the new Port City Marina was being built and the board thought it was a good idea. I want to say that Sandy and I proposed a long cruise to either Charleston or Cape Lookout. I think we have settled into the idea of alternating those each year. We went North last year and we are going south this year. Myrtle Beach was Steve Karch’s idea because he wanted to get some golf involved during a cruise.
What have you learned from your experience about planning cruises? Some of our members are focused on racing and/or day sailing. I have noticed that sailors are more likely to anchor out and power boaters seem to prefer a dock. Closer destinations are more well-attended. Closer means less expensive if you are using fuel and easier to plan based on weather windows. We have learned that organizing a large group to arrive at a marina as transients is difficult. Most marinas don’t want to talk to you too far out from your arrival. Probably because they know everything depends on weather. Personally, I have learned more about anchoring and weather routing.
(Continued on page 4)
KILO: I wish to communicate with you
2. 3.
Seven boats and 20 Club members and guests came together for a great Memorial Day weekend of boating, eating, fellowshipping, swimming, shopping, card games and a bit o’ drinking. All the boats
arrived fairly close together — between 2-3 p.m. on Friday. We gathered on the dock for a delicious evening of shared appetizers including roasted pork tenderloin, lamb chops with roasted scallion sauce and mint jelly, nachos, homemade “died and gone to heaven” pimento cheese dip, homemade guacamole, tomatoes caprese with pesto and balsamic glaze, bean salad, cheese & crackers and rolls & butter. We ended the night with a game of 99 on Syringa.
We had a leisurely Saturday morning and then all met at the state’s largest salt water pool at the marina for a day of cooling off in the water. Saturday evening, 20 of us were dinghied across the ICW via 3 trips, courtesy of Steve and Barbara Mangum, to Greg Norman’s Australian Grill for a wonderful dinner. On Sunday morning, we gathered on the dock for a breakfast of champions — three egg casseroles, bacon, sausage, grilled potatoes, peppers and onions, fruit, Burney’s pastries, coffee, orange juice, mimosas and bloodies! Sunday afternoon the ladies (and Chris, we couldn’t be left alone on our own accord without an escort!) went shopping at Barefoot Landing, ending our trip with a lunch at Bully’s with a tremendous server named Marva with the most beautiful smile. There were even alligator and turtle sightings.
Sunday evening 20 of us were once again dinghied over to Barefoot Landing for a delicious dinner at Umberto’s, for some of the best Italian food (and biggest pork chops for Steve!) that we’ve had in a while. We finished off Sunday night with a game of Left, Right, Center on The Office, courtesy of John Barbee. Monday morning we gathered for an early breakfast and (tried to) finish off the leftovers from the day’s previous breakfast. We then all headed back home and all arrived home safe, sound, sun burned, happy and a little exhausted from an all around awesome weekend. Love This Club! ~Submitted by Sandy
Myrtle Beach CruiseMay, 2017
Four boats—Gentle Breeze Too, Tidechaser, Syringa and Cacique—had perfect weather for their cruise to Banks Channel earlier this month. The boats anchored close to one another — a dinghy or paddleboard ride away — and had appetizers on Syringa Friday night. Club member Mike, who lives in the area, stopped by with some pals and all had a great time eating, drinking and socializing.
Saturday, Walt and Julia and their children and friends pulled out all the stops—and all the water toys, including a stand up paddleboard, kayak and inflatable island. Julia gave Sandy and Cheryl paddleboard lessons (where they learned just how strong the current can be!) and Pat provided a couple dinghy rescues. After a day of playing, the plan to get together that night was replaced by (mostly) quiet nights on the boats. The ride home Sunday was pleasant and sunny.
Banks Channel CruiseJune 2017
KILO: I wish to communicate with you
4.
~SANDY~
Which members have participated in the most cruises? Us, lol. Our biggest cruisers are probably the Mangums, Steve and Cindy, the Warfels, John Barbee and Pat and Cheryl. Other members have signed up for several cruises but have had engine problems or other issues that prevented them from participating. There are some new members that look to be very promising cruisers: the Baileys, Geddies, and David Jones & Billie Jo Ransom. Hmmmm, we need to get our flag officers out there!
Which ones have you and/or Mike participated in, personally? Which did you like best and why? Since we joined, we have participated in every cruise except the 2016 ILM cruise (stupid job). Pretty impressive, huh? Mike and Alex even sweated it out during the Banks Channel cruise last year through that record heat wave. My favorite cruise was the Beaufort long cruise. Spending a couple of days in the cool little town of Beaufort and my favorite part, anchoring out at Cape Lookout, is something I will never forget. Seeing all of the sea turtles swim by, the beautiful cape scenery, the isolation with no more than three or four boats out there with us, climbing the lighthouse, exploring the cape and visiting the wild horses on Shackleford Banks. The cruise was a mix of social interaction in Beaufort with other boaters, watching great live bands, shopping, walking around town and eating at a couple of really nice restaurants balanced with the beautiful, peaceful anchorage at Cape Lookout — truly incredible.
By far, the Club’s most popular cruise is BHI. We already have 28 boats signed up this year! The least attended cruises are probably the long cruises (understandably) and Banks Channel because of anchoring concerns. Mike is considering Carolina Beach next year. They have mooring balls and it may even be less lumpy. It’s a great time in the water and we’d like to see more members participate.
“It’s [cruising]a great time in the water and we’d like to see more members participate.”
