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yearly boat show in Oriental may be back on track, thanks to the success this weekend of the Oriental Boat Show at Pecan Grove Marina.

First boat sold at the show, was a LaserPerformance “Bug” (made by the folks who make Lasers and Sunfish), and sold locally by Paul Welles and the Triton Yachts crew. The Bug was out sailing through the marina much of the weekend.

Organizer Rob Lucey says there may have been as many as 2,000 visitors during the three day show. There were approximately 1300 paying attendees.

Two of the more traditional styles at the show. In foreground one of the electric boats by Budsin Boat Works in Marshallberg. In background, one of the two sails of the Periauger, the replica of the colonial-era sailing cargo ship .

Rob reports that many of the 76 vendors who took part this year are looking forward to another show in 2010.

A show next year would be “well-received,” he says, if certain elements fell together again, such as the surplus marina space that was available this spring at Pecan Grove. (Getting the same run of good weather would also help.) Rob says that he may be persuaded to organize a boat show next year if he could get some assistants to help out. He also suggests that the boat show could be a “great fundraising event if a local organization were to take it on.”

Jack Coulter of Deaton Yacht Sales in position on one of the boats Saturday.

Oriental did have boat shows for a few years in a row earlier this decade, but the event fell away until this year’s revival.

The 2009 Oriental Boat Show raised $9,000, Lucey says and those funds will be divided among local charities that have some marine orientation. (For a full listing of the charities see the last page of this story.)

More photos from the boat show follow …

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There were approximately 50 boats in the water at the show. Sail and power, old and new, large and small. And newly built boats with older traditional lines.

Bow of the Budsin Boat Works launch, an electric powered 15 foot wooden boat that offered tours of the basin at Pecan Grove Marina.

Tom Hesselink of Budsin Boat Works loads the “fuel” tank of his 15-foot electric boat with ice.

The replica of the Colonial era cargo ship known as the Periauger.

Raising sail on the Periauger, with a little help from the dock.

Periauger sail amid some more modern masts at the boat show.

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The smallest boats in the water came out on Sunday for the radio-controlled sailboat race.

Bill Creswell, with one of the radio-controlled boats.

The sailboat race that ensued.

Also on Sunday, a demonstration of emergency flares.

Where there’s orange smoke….

… there’s a demonstration of using emergency flares. Those were set off in an adjacent field — away from the boats — on Sunday.

A system to make that mainsail folding easier.

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Under wraps. The foresail of the skipjack, “Ada Mae”.

“Fantasea”, an Orion 27, which 25 years later is still with the original owner. Geoff Hollings docked the boat among the others for sale, but he wasn’t especially anxious to sell…..

Among the more unusual of the boat show vendors – The Sons of Norway recruitment table (it’s the New Bern division). Norway is on the sea they explained. No need to be Norwegian to join. Nor a son.

Don’t try this at home, or on your boat. A cautionary display of bad wiring, compiled by Carteret Community College’s Marine Technology division .

Sean Prendergast of Carteret Community College and the little red engine – the small diesel had been cut away so that one could see the inner workings. (This is among the old engines donated to the school from Deatons.)

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A 1920’s row boat and its elegant ribbing got a lot of looks.

The River Dunes boat.

Steve Leach and Dave Wright of St. Bart Yachts, steps away from the boats they had for sale. Yacht brokers have a certain exercise program that must be followed.

Jack Coulter on Sunday, once again in position on the boat he was selling. Jack complained he was working too hard, but he looked kinda comfortable.

Area organizations and marine activities that will be receiving some of the approximately $9,180 (after expenses) from the 2009 Oriental Boat Show.

- $1900 for marine exhibits at the Pamlico County Heritage Center

- $1800 for youth sailing scholarships to be administered by the Oriental Dinghy Club

- $800 for maintenance of the Periauger

- $800 for repairs and upgrades to the recently acquired Oriental Police/EMS boat

- $740 doe Public Radio East, including their recent campaign to help the NC Coastal Federation build oyster sills in the White Oak River

- $600 for Croakerfest fireworks display (which look great over the water if you’re anchored out!)

- $500 to support for Carolina Coastal Classrooms projects aboard Ada Mae

- $500 for the new Blackbeard Adventure Alliance project

- $500 to the Oriental Rotary Tarpon Tournament

- $400 to support maritime displays at the Oriental History Museum

- $400 for the Olde Beaufort Seaport museum

- $240 for tools and supplies for the Pamlico County Community College Boat Building Class

An early morning reflection of the mast and dinghy of the “Ada Mae” in the waters of Pecan Grove Marina.

Update: On the subject of the porous entry points for the boat show, Rob Lucey says that he’s had at least one person call him “asking where she could send her admission since she’d inadvertently missed our ticket booths.” If folks would like to “throw it in at the end,” Rob says the late payments may be sent to:

Carolina Boat Show Assoc.
P.O. Box 1090
Oriental NC 28571

Posted Wednesday April 22, 2009 by Melinda Penkava