Cruise Report: Moonlight Cruise

The annual NC3 Moonlight Cruise ended up being more like the NC3 Scattered Moonlight Cruise. Nine boats registered for the cruise this year and set off for Tolchester on Saturday, July 24th, just one day after the official full moon. After a lively sail over to the Eastern Shore side of the bay, Endeavor and Double Cross broke off and headed north to anchor in Fairlee. Tally Ho, Scadger and Freedom got slips at Tolchester and The Great Esc, Adventure and Sozo decided to take advantage of the wind and sailed back to Middle River. Sozo returned home, while TGE and Adventure rafted up in Seneca for Happy Hour. Chris Wise, Luci Stone and new member Gary Elmore (Sur Nuf) who were crewing on The Great Esc provided some delicious appetizers and before long we were joined by Mike and Lisa on Sheet Music along with their furry first mate. A great time was had by all!

We heard chatter from Endeavor and Double Cross on 78 as they made the trip back home. As dusk approached, we pulled up anchor and started the trek back to our respective marinas. Adventure took the lead, followed by The Great Escape while Sheet Music headed north to the Sassafras to anchor for the night. Heading back to Middle River, the wind was on the nose coming out of Seneca so we motored most of the way, while adventure put out a little headsail as we headed west and the wind was on our beam. Tally Ho and the others that ventured on to Tolchester had a wild ride home with winds in excess of 20 knots, but all returned to their home berth unscathed. And in typical NC3 fashion, it was overcast so the full moon didn’t make an appearance.