It's Friday May 9, 2008
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING
Lots of boats come to Oriental, some tie up at the Town Dock for a night or two, others drop anchor in the harbor for a while. If you've spent any time on the water you know that every boat has a story. The Shipping News on TownDock.net brings you the stories of the boats that have visited recently.
The American Cruise Lines ship, American Star pulled in to Oriental Monday morning for a short visit of a few hours.
The cruise ship has been coming to Oriental for several seasons, yet its size still drew attention as it maneuvered in to a space at Oriental Harbor Marina’s “A” dock.
78 passengers were on board. The trip had started in Baltimore this past weekend and left from Norfolk midday on Sunday. The final desination is Jacksonville, Florida.
For passengers this cruise is called, the Mid-Atlantic Inland Passage. For the cruise line, this trip south on the ICW is a “repositioning” cruise. They operate in the cooler climes of New England in the summer, but once fall comes, they bring two of their cruise ships south for the winter. In the spring, the process is reveresed, and the ships travel north up the ICW. That is why Oriental has seen the ships come to town and tie up at the “A” dock a few times a year.
However, on this trip, Oriental had not been on the official itinerary. Some passengers who got off the boat to take a walk around town, say that Coinjock had been a planned stop but that passengers asked that Oriental be visited instead.
Posted Tuesday November 6, 2007 by Melinda Penkava
