New Bern, NC is a great little town with a very nice marina right downtown within easy walking distance of many shops and restaurants. On Saturdays, there is a small farmers market that mostly has crafts, but there are some stalls with fruits and vegetables. We planned to spend about a month doing repairs and then head to the Chesapeake Bay. We had committed to working the Annapolis Boat Show Panama Posse booth in October, so we figured it would be nice to explore the ICW and Chesapeake Bay on the way to Annapolis, MD.
I received a text message from some Panama Posse friends we had met in San Diego. They were visiting friends in New Bern, NC and wanted to get together while they were in town. After a couple of tries, our schedules finally matched up for the 24th of August and we met them for lunch and a tour of our new boat. It was fun catching up on the adventures we all were having living and cruising on our boats.
It was a month of visits, as Lynette’s sister and brother-in-law came to visit us on the 29th of August. They drove down from Grand Island, NY, and stayed in an Airbnb as she gets seasick easily. They came to the boat for about 1 hour just to get a tour and that was enough for her. They were here when Hurricane Idalia came close to the North Carolina coast, so they got to witness plenty of rain and some flooding. We enjoyed driving around the area with them in their car as our only transportation had been Uber, which we only used to go grocery shopping. It was a great visit, but way too short as they left on the 31st.
Meanwhile, between visits from family and friends, I attacked the project list with zest. The list was as long as the Beaufort, SC one and included some critical fixes like getting the generator working again and replacing the rotting port shower ceiling. I had also done some research on refrigerator organizers and installed two that have kept the refrigerator more organized. Chest refrigerators aren’t that easy to keep organized. Everything seems to be on top of what you are looking for.
We were originally going to sail/motor up to Annapolis but decided that it made more sense to rent a car, drive up, and stay in a hotel, so that became the new plan. I’m glad we had changed our plans because tropical storm Ophelia was a direct hit on New Bern before we left for Annapolis, and Cerca Trova got badly beaten up at the dock. This left our boat unable to go anywhere as we had extensive damage along the port hull. Sigh, one more thing to repair.
It had been years since we attended the Annapolis Boat Show, so it was fun to drive up and spend a few days working the show for the Panama Posse. There were way more catamarans on display than monohulls, and I did go on a few, but why tempt myself with things I couldn’t have, so I spent most of my time visiting with people at booths that had products of interest to me for our boat. It was also great to get off the boat and stay in a hotel for a few nights. Long, hot showers and a big bed were welcome benefits.
Back on our boat, I was faced with the storm damage and still way too many other projects to complete. Based on multiple recommendations, I contacted the best fiberglass repair person in the area. His name was Bruce as well. Unfortunately, he splits his time between New Jersey and New Bern, NC, and he was currently in New Jersey working on his boat. He came into town two weeks later and started on our boat right away. My job was to prep the damaged areas and purchase supplies. Manta catamaran owners are a tight-knit group with multiple channels of communication. We have a very active user group, so I reached out to see who had extra rub rail material, as about 6’ of ours had been damaged. Someone got back to me quickly with two 8’ sections, so I purchased them and had them shipped to us at the marina.
Bruce did a fantastic job of repairing the fiberglass and gelcoat. He was done in a week, and we gladly paid him the $3200 he requested. It was a big dent in our budget though. I still had some projects that needed attention before we could leave, so I focused on crossing the remaining tasks off the list.
With the fix and repair list completed, we were finally ready to head south at the beginning of November 2023. We were sad to leave New Bern, but it was getting colder, and we needed to seek warmer weather. We left New Bern on the 2nd heading south in no real hurry.
Up next, our trek down to Florida to prepare for our winter adventures, or not.
Sailing into our next chapter 