Albemarle Sound Cruise - North Carolina

[GL-WindPower]

Hi everyone, from Michigan here. Hard to think of sailing when the temp for the day is only 24 degrees. However I am thinking about summer. My son is in Raleigh at NCS finishing up his first year of graduate studies. I would like to find someone in the Albemarle Sound area that would like to take us out sailing for the day or let us know where we could rent at 24-28 foot sailboat for a day or two.

I have owned a Hunter H240 for 5 yrs now and usually sail solo or with my son when he was home. I have also served as a crew member on several cross lake Michigan races on a CC36.
I am thinking sometime in June or July, actually anywhere near the Outer banks area is fine where ever open sailing is available without a lot of speed boats, if that is possible.
This picture is my Hunter H240 at its home port of Muskegon MI.

 

[jibes138]

Look into Oriental NC as a possible place to find a charter or rental. The Neuse river and Pamlico sound are a lot more prolific sailing areas than the Albemarle. Also there are a few boats in Beaufort that take folks sailing, one is a catamaran and another a ketch if you don't mind going with a crew. New Bern is another place to consider but I don't know specifically what is available there. Lots of sailboats dock there.

 

[rgranger]

I have chartered the demo boat from General Boats out of Elizabeth City. It is a Rhodes 22 but the Rhodes 22 is a VERY large 22 foot boat. It is designed for that area. It has a partial keel with ballast and a swing keel that will kick up when you hit bottom. The Albemarle is very shoal. And because it is shoal it gets very choppy when the wind gets going... so the bow is flared to kick the spray away and keep the deck dry. The boat is very comfortable, with a lot of creature comforts. The guy who owns the company is named Stan. Here are a few pics of the boat from our cruise (we were six people on that cruise -- just to give you an idea of how large 22' can be made) and a link to General Boats...
http://www.generalboats.com/http___www.generalboats.com/home.html

 

[GL-WindPower]

Thanks for the recommendations and pics. The Beaufort and Oriental areas look pretty awesome areas as well. I will check them out.

 

[rgranger]

I've also sailed a few times out of Oriental. I highly recommend a marina called Whittaker Point. It is off the main drag a bit so it is very quite.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

GL-Windpower;
Call Paul Wells at Triton's Yachts in Oriental, NC whose phone number 252-249-2001 as he is a respected boat dealer and has a yard for repairs. Tell him Crazy Dave sent you over and ask for his suggestions. He is highly respected on the east coast and is an old honest fellow whose roots include VMI. My dealership use to be located in Zebulon, NC where US 64/264 split and on occasion had some representing me in Oriental.
CRAZY DAVE CONDON