Carolinas' Fleet - South River Float Plan, May 5th.

[Pete]

CDSOA Carolinas Fleet
South River Shakedown Cruise & Float-in
May 4-6
Contact Event Organizer and Cruise Captain:
Kurt Weinheimer

Hello to Carolina Cape Dorians!!!

The Carolinas Fleet of the CDSOA, Inc. is hosting the South River Shakedown Cruise and Raft-up, May 5-6, 2007 to kick off a series of events this summer and fall. All Cape Dory owners, both members and non-members, and families are welcome to attend.
Yes, our "shakedown cruise" for the weekend of May 5-6 (Cinco de mayo theme) is fast approaching, and we wanted to give you some heads up as we look forward to our first event of the season.

Nothing pours water on an exciting weekend faster than equipment problems. Also, you need to shake the dust off of your sailing shoes and get back into the nautical groove! Our busy lives inadvertently causes our Cape Dorys to languish inactive for protracted periods of time, giving us no real assurance that required and complicated systems will function adequately when called upon to perform. This is not, as you know, a failing of any Cape Dory boat, but rather the harsh environment we keep our boats in, and Murphy's Law trying to express itself whenever and wherever possible. So, to keep things working properly, find things that need repair, and generally inspecting our beloved boats to ensure seaworthiness, the "shakedown cruise" has been perpetuated.

The general idea is to make your vessel ready and come to the cruise location, bringing with you tools and materials you may need to make small repairs and/or test system functionality. Additionally, you may have a special tool someone else does not, such as a Loos Tension Gauge for rig adjustments, or have special knowledge to help another Cape Dory Sailor. Or, you may have everything "shipshape" on your own vessel, and would like to lend a helping hand to others in some routine task. Let's network our resources, spend some time with fellow sailors, and have fun at the same time! Mosquito activity is unknown, so it would also be prudent to have some bug spray in your travel gear.



The float plan is as follows:
You can cruise to South River at your own pace, arriving either Friday evening or Saturday daylight hours.
The entrance to the river is a Flashing Green "1", at 34°59.37'N, 76°35.39W, aligning the channel with Flashing Red "2", at 34°58.89'N, 76°35.05'W, and can be found on NOAA Charts 11548 and 11544. The entrance is a little tricky in that there is a narrow segment between markers #1 and #2, and you can go aground if you're not in the middle of the channel. As you negotiate between these two markers, look astern frequently to assure you're lined up within the channel. You then enter a curved segment to the right, fairly well marked, but with more reported markers than on the chart. Under less than optimum conditions, my advice is to douse the canvas and motor in after passing #1. We intend to raft up, weather permitting, between Green Day Marker #5 and Flashing Red #6, where the river widens somewhat with depths between 9-11'.

Hailing and general conversation will be on VHF channels 16 and 72, respectively. The raft-up will last as long as is feasible, with drinks, cocktails, and snacks the later order of the day before suppertime. We'll break up the raft before the evening hours, and continue our refurbishing efforts through early Sunday, when it will be Captain's Choice on choosing a departure time.

As always, navigation is the responsibility of the Captain, as well as the safety of vessel and crew. The information contained herein is intended as a guide, and not for explicit navigational purposes.

Your Fleet Captain plans to take a few photographs during the festivities, and record all notable happenings. If you have any intention of becoming famous among your fellow Cape Dorians, it's not the time to be bashful. Please check our web site often to ensure that you have the most current information regarding this event. Good luck with your cruising preparations, and hopefully we'll see you on May 5th!

If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact
Kurt Weinheimer, Bristol 29.9 (with a Dory attitude),
Sailing from Pecan Grove, Oriental. Ph: 252-638-4743
Email: wkurtsails@earthlink.net

[Pete]

Due to a wonderful weather pattern, this past weekends sail to South River (a.k.a., Shakedown Cruise) had to change course. With winds forecasted to be 25-35 knots Sunday, the fleet decided to enjoy the day sailing (Saturday), then finish up the evening with a pot-luck dinner at Captain Lou's.

While not the shakedown cruise we all had planned, a fun time was had by all. Special Thanks, goes out to Kurt W. (our Cruise Captain) for putting together our weekend, adjusting plans, etc.

Great job Kurt and thank you Lou for making your home available to us.

Pete