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March means Spring Break. And for some, Spring Break means fine tuning their sailing skills. Last week, Bow to Stern hosted several colleges with that goal in mind. Next week, they’ll host a few more. Click for the bigger picture and look at more collegiate sailing

4:09p It’s the first day of New Village Brewery’s new schedule. They’re open five days a week beginning Wednesdays at 3p. New brews and a birthday party (without cake) are on the schedule.

11:44a The Pig has deals on filet mignon steaks and boneless pork roast, as well as fresh fruit and vegetables. Check out the weekly deals here.

Have you voted for Lois and Pamlico High School today? You can vote over here.

8:47a Cycle NC may be coming to town next year. Commissioners spoke with former Cycle NC president Chuck Hobgood at March’s Town Board Meeting. Commissioners also asked for the public’s help – to take a quick survey from the NC Department of Environmental Quality about hazard mitigation. The survey, Cycle NC discussion, award of Hurricane Florence repair contracts, and more from the meeting can be found here.

6:49a It’s the first day of Spring. Supposedly. A high of 55 today with a 70% chance of rain may make you think otherwise. But it is the Spring Equinox, one of two days a year when the day and night are almost the same length. For a while, the days will get longer and the nights shorter.

In Oriental, that means more light to sail. You have just over a week to prepare your boat and your crew for the return, on March 27, of Wednesday Night Sailing. Every Wednesday, boats and crews meet at marker #1SC for a casual race. For those new to racing, it means the opportunity to learn and participate in a race start sequence.

Today, Prime Time offers a new learning experience. Prime Time hosts Dementia Live, an interactive event that gives participants a heightened awareness of the challenges facing those who live with dementia. Sessions are 30 minutes, between 1 – 4p, and registration is required.

11:47a Hodges Street was clear this morning. Northeast winds, peaking at 27 mph at 9:17a, have changed that. A look at the HarborCam captures the result.

Marine Weather on the Neuse shows Northeast winds at 15-20 knots through Wednesday.

On the Pamlico Sound, the marine weather forecast is NE 20-25 knots with a small craft advisory through Wednesday morning.

9:03a Spring birding classes start today. Birding is a big deal around here; Oriental is a designated bird sanctuary. And those birding classes happen in Winter and Spring, through Pamlico Community College.

Last winter, the town was inundated with Killdeer, Woodcock, and Wilson’s Snipe.

PCC offers continuing education courses year round. Their schedule of classes, including learning to play Golf and Bridge or becoming a Phlebotomy Tech, is all in What’s Happening.

3:18p It’s said the Lord works in mysterious ways. And thus, theatrical blessings may be upon us.

This Thursday are auditions for Nunsense. It will involve singing nuns.

As frightening as it may sound, you might be one of those singing nuns.

To find out, show up Thursday night @ 6:30p at the Old Theater for auditions. More about the play here.

2:55p Even though one of the chowders bravely combined lobster and Boston pork butt, it was classic clam chowder that won the day. Check out the 2019 Chowder Cook-Off.

10:39a There are more local Globe Girdlers:

9:34a Re circumnavigation (see below) Doug Sligh writes in:

8:02a Sunday had Irish song, corned beef and a few dark brews consumed in town.

It also had talk of sailing & circumnavigation. Holly Martin spoke at Town Hall, much about her life growing up with a sailing family, but also about her plans to begin a circumnavigation in the next few weeks. She will be departing from Oriental (and returning we hope, unknown years in the future.)

It also prompted Oriental resident (and sailor/boatbuilder) Tom Lathrop to point out there have been a few circumnavigation stories with a degree of Oriental and/or Pamlico roots. Bernie Harberts literally started at the town dock in 1998, returning 5 years later. Ed Boden moved to Pamlico County, prompted by Carla and Graham Byrnes, friends he’d met while sailing around the world. Graham & Carla themselves circumnavigated. Jim Brown circumnavigated.

Some TownDock circumnavigation related links:

• Seabird Lands Back In Oriental
• Ed Boden, 1927-2012
• Boat Designer And Teacher Graham Byrnes Honored
• Graham Byrnes With Ed Boden And Jim Brown
• Holly Martin And SV Gecko

12:08p Lois Moye. NC School Teacher Hero Contender. Have you voted for Lois yet today?

If you see Sailcraft Service’s Mike Pawlikowski today… it’s Happy Birthday time.

8:27a Holly Martin was raised on a boat. Now, the 27 year old solo sailor plans to begin a circumnavigation later this month.

TownDock did a story on Holly and her sailing life recently.

Today, Holly will speak about her sailing plans at Town Hall @ 3p. You’re invited.

Frank Murphy brings his Irish music to New Village Brewery this afternoon from 2:30 til 4:30p. FYI, today is the first Sunday the brewery is open this year. For the warmer months, the brewery is now open 5 days a week: Wed & Thu 3-9p, Fri & Sat Noon-10p, Sun 2-6p.

Over at M&Ms Cafe it’s Corned Beef and Cabbage on the menu, all day… 11a til closing.

The day started out cold. Overnight the low was 38… we’re forecast for upper 50s (mayyyybe 60) and mixed clouds & sun today.

4:52p Woo hoo! Pamlico County High School Hurricanes Girls Basketball are the 1A State Champions. They defeated East Surry in the 1A state title game this afternoon 62-55.

It’s the third-straight year the Lady Canes played for the championship. The first two times they came back in 2nd place. But not today. They are the 2019 State Champions.

11:31 Yeah, it’s cloudy. But still dry. Clear skies are forecast to return late this afternoon or early evening.

8:14a We are down to the last few days of winter. And they are great days. Sunshine & 60 today. The days are forecast to stay dry & mid 50s to near 60 now through Wednesday.

You can’t complain about an empty dance card today. There’s chowder to be consumed (and judged.) Coffee brewing lessons. A sailing safety seminar. Wine to be tasted. Plates of corned beef and cabbage.

Check it all out in What’s Happening.

3:57p Whoaaa, Nelly. It is breezy out there. The Oriental Weather Station recorded a 35 mph wind peak this afternoon.

3:20p What’s for dinner tonight? The NEST Cafe food truck is at New Village Brewery now through 7p. The brewery also has live music on tap for both Saturday & Sunday. Sunday dinner? M&Ms Cafe is serving up Corned Beef n Cabbage for St Pats starting Sunday at 11a and all day.

It’s breezy out there… gusts to 25 knots and a Small Craft Advisory til 9p tonight on the Neuse.

Another $500 added to the dredging fund this week. Now $84,490 collected.

2:16p NCDOT has proposed replacing two bridges on Highway 55, both between Bayboro and Oriental. Getting that done may involve closing existing bridges and at least one temporary bridge. That has raised some concerns. Here’s the story.

9:45a Tonight is Friday Flicks at the Old Theater. Going In Style… Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin. A preview:

8:48a If you haven’t voted for teacher Lois Moye yet today… go ahead and get that done. FYI, you can vote more than once (with your laptop and phone for example.) It all helps get some $ for new calculators at the school.

The first day of spring is next week… Wed March 20. But today is feeling pretty spring~ish. Sunshine and mid 70s. The weekend stays clear and sunny but gets cooler. Saturday 60, Sunday high just mid 50s.

Check out those weekly specials at The Piglet.

11:35a Tonight there is a bridge replacement meeting in Bayboro. NCDOT is proposing to replace two bridges along Hwy 55 between Stonewall and Bayboro: Bridge No. 36 over the South Prong Bay River and Bridge No. 37 over Alligator Creek.

From NCDOT:

Representatives from the county and from Oriental have asked for construction of a temporary bridge between Oriental and Bayboro during construction of the new bridge, in order to retain access between the two areas. Otherwise, traffic will need to be rerouted to Hwy 306 to reach town.

The meeting is in the Commissioner’s Meeting Room, Pamlico County Courthouse Annex, 202 Main Street, Bayboro.

9:19a There’s a lot going on in Oriental this weekend: contests, tastings, seminars, and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

New Village Brewery releases two new brews of their own: Red Beard Brown Ale and a new single hop ale, and live music throughout the weekend. Going in Style is the Friday Flicks movie for March.

Croakertown Coffee talks Aeropress brewing starting at 9a Saturday. This week’s Winter Sailing Seminar is given by the Coast Guard and is all about USCG Inspections/Safety At Sea. It’s also Saturday, beginning at 9a. Shipping News alum Holly Martin is at Town Hall, Sunday at 3p to talk about her boat (the Danish designed Grinde 27) and her circumnavigation plans.

The Oriental Women’s Club holds their annual Chowder Cookoff on Saturday, 11a-1p. St. Peter the Fisherman holds their St. Patrick’s Day dinner on Saturday, March 16. It’s a ticketed event and often sells out quickly. Nautical Wheelers has a wine tasting at their Oriental store on Saturday, at 3 & 4p.

Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day, M&M’s Cafe serves corned beef and cabbage from 11a to close.

12:31p Town Manager Diane Miller writes in with an update on one of Oriental’s long-term projects:

Engineering company Quible & Associates at work on Whittaker Point.

This is the first step in restoring Whittaker Point, the spit of land that protects Whittaker Creek and that has been eroding. The town estimates Hurricane Florence took an additional 20 feet of shoreline. Environmental groups working with the town advised them to quickly drop rock outside the point to preserve what was left, before another storm hits.

Oriental has received several million dollars in grant money to restore the point over the next three years.

10:37a Have you voted for Ms. Moye today? The numbers are climbing but she and Pamlico High School still need more if they’re going to make it into the top 10. Read more about the math teacher, her efforts to get $10,000 for Pamlico High School, and how to vote right here.

7:33a It’s the last day of the Friends of the Library Book Sale. The library is open from 9a-8p today and $5 gets you a bag of books.

Temps will top out in the low 60s today, but will warm up into the 70s for Thursday and Friday. Clear skies and east winds up to 10 mph today.

8:33a The Whittaker Creek Dredging fund has received a few more contributions bringing the total to $83,990. The fund is $25,399 shy of the $109,389 matching money needed to release the grant funds to dredge the creek.

The Whittaker Creek Channel is central to Oriental; it comes in off the Neuse and brings boats to boatyards, marinas, and many homes.

You can keep track of the fund’s progress, or find out how to donate, here.

The Old Theater is holding auditions for the play Nunsense March 21st @ 6:30p. It’s a play about a fundraiser, a few accidental deaths, and an amnesiac nun. You can read more about the play and the audition process here.

8:52a All this abandoned boat talk. Often, boats aren’t abandoned. We hear folks even spend lots of money to get one.

There will be boats in-the-water and boats onshore and boats on the brain at the Oriental In-Water Boat Show, coming April 12-14.

The show began in 2009, first held at Pecan Grove Marina. After a few years it moved in town to Oriental Harbor Marina. This year it moves downtown. The show will be on Hodges by the harbor, with boats in the harbor. Most in-water boat show boats will be at the Oriental Marina Inn transient docks, which have been reserved for the show that weekend.

Mark your calendars for that weekend, April 12-14. It will be a great time to be in Oriental. Not only will the show be downtown, NC State and the Sailpack sail team will be hosting over 100 collegiate sailors with racing on the Neuse that same weekend. They will all be racing FJ sailboats from the Bow To Stern fleet. That fleet is what brings these collegiate sailing events to Oriental.

Here’s are links to previous news stories about these events:
• 2018 Oriental In-Water Boat Show
• Sailpack Regatta 2018

8:41a Larry Summers writes in with some detailed info on dealing with abandoned boats:

• NC Legal Options Re Abandoned Boats
• Larry Summers Chart Of How To Deal With An Abandoned Boat

8:21a Sunshine. Low 70s. You might not even need socks.

More thoughts on that abandoned sailboat: