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Things
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Sailing
and Yacht Charters and Schools For those who want the true Oriental experience, learning to sail or chartering a sailboat is the thing to do. Oriental's School of Sailing, located at 518 Water Street in the Oriental Harbor Village and Marina, (252) 249-0960, offers programs in sailing, powerboats and coastal navigation. Sailing school alumni can also sign up for advanced classes. Lessons begin the first week of March and go through November. Instructors emphasize safety and hands-on experience. The school's programs are designed to introduce the novice sailor to sailing theory in the classroom as well as the basics of chartering and boat ownership. Oriental's School of Sailing also is a U.S. Sailing Certified School offering certifications in Basic Keelboat. Another option for learning how to sail is Carolina Sailing Unlimited, (252) 249-0850. Carolina Sailing offers chartered cruises. Or you can visit owner and captain Reginald Fidoe, who is from London by way of Detroit. He's at 502 Church Street. For the past 20 years, the school, stressing safety above all, has tailored lessons to individual needs and interests. Capt. Reg offers personalized instruction aboard your own boat. Charter cruises for up to six passengers are offered aboard the 33-foot ketch, Puffin, for a half-day, a full day or evening sails. If it's a captain's course you need, contact Captain
Larry Walker at World Wide Marine Training in Oriental by
calling (252) 249-2135 or (866) 249-2135. Coast Guard–approved PT-1
Charters in Oriental, (252) 249-1597, operated by Captain Roy
Pittman, also gives the captain's course.
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Bow To Stern Sailing
School |
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Bow to Stern Sailing School is certified by the
American Sailing Association. They can teach all levels of sailing
certification — Basic Keel Boat, Bareboat Certification through Offshore
Passagemaking, Coastal Navigation and Cruising Catamaran. They will create
custom classes for families, couples or groups. They also have a youth
sailing program and are soon to initiate a sailing program in the Pamlico
County School System. |
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Bow To Stern Yachts |
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Bow to Stern Yachts offers local and overnight
charters (sunset, half day or full day). Enjoy these charters with or
without instruction. Individualized vacation packages offer custom charters
to Ocracoke, Cape Lookout or wherever you would like to venture, on a
52-foot Irwin with all the amenities, such as refrigerator/freezer, gas
grill, washer/dryer, air conditioning and more. Corporate team-building
programs are available for groups of up to 20 people. Sailing in Oriental is
wonderful in spring, summer and fall with warm breezy weather, spectacular
sunsets and abundant wildlife to admire. |
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Cape Lookout Yacht Sales &
Charters
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When you charter a
yacht from Cape Lookout Yacht Sales & Charters for your next vacation or
weekend getaway you are setting yourself up for a truly memorable
experience. Discover blue waters, quiet rivers, sparkling beaches, deserted
islands and a wealth of interesting ports. For the price of a beach cottage
weekend you can dine beneath a historic lighthouse or explore miles of
beaches along the coast. Cape Lookout offers captained or bareboat charters.
The website, www.capelookoutyachtsales, has information on yachts available
for charter as well as smaller boats for rent. |
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Simple Boats
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Don't have a boat of your own? Rent one from
Simple Boats. They offer an array of sailboats and motorboats for your water
adventures, whether you would like a quiet fishing trip, a sight-seeing
expedition or a guided tour of the river and its views. Simple Boats has
sailboats from 16 to 27 feet and motorboats from 18 to 26 feet. Rent a boat
for a half day, all day or overnight trips. Simple Boats also rents fishing
gear and coolers to make your time on the water as enjoyable as possible.
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Fishing |
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If you want to go fishing or hunting on your
Oriental vacation, the man to call is Captain George Beckwith at
Down East Guide Service, (252) 249-3101. From the Roanoke River for
bass fly-fishing to Cape Lookout or the Pamlico Sound for more migratory
fishing, you're going to catch some fish. Ask him about his charters to
Costa Rica. Spec Fever is a shallow-water and near-coastal fishing guide service owned and operated by Captain Gary Dubiel. Join Captain Gary for some great fishing trips. In Oriental, you may fish the Pamlico Sound, Neuse River and its tributaries from March through January for redfish, speckled sea trout, flounder, striped bass, tarpon, giant red drum, black drum and weakfish. Fish from New Bern for redfish, stripers, sea trout, largemouth bass, shad and catfish. The cypress-lined shores of the Neuse and the Trent rivers can offer excellent fishing through much of the year. Charters are available in Morehead City, Beaufort and the Crystal Coast for summer cobia, dolphin, king and Spanish mackerel, bluefish, jacks, bonito and flounder, or try a fall trip for false albacore. Shallow-water redfish and family-oriented bottom-fishing and trolling trips are available as well. You can also fish out of Oregon Inlet each January for giant ocean stripers. Call (252) 249-1520. For a half-day or full-day charter tailored
to your specific needs and schedule, call Capt. Mark Hoff at Sweet
Water Charters. Captain Mark offers morning, evening and night
trips. He includes all bait, terminal tackle, lures and rod and reels in his
price, although you may bring your own gear. Bring two coolers, one with
drinks and snacks and one for your catch. Call (252) 249-2811.
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Pelican Players is the community's performance company. Organized in 1983, this nonprofit volunteer organization is affiliated with both the Pamlico and the North Carolina Arts Councils. The group stages several productions a year, with performances at the Old Theater at 609 Broad Street (across from the Town Hall). Dramas, Broadway hits and original productions make up their repertoire, along with an Annual Children's Workshop. Tickets are for sale at the theater door. For more information, call (252) 249-0477. Also part of the Old Theater is Pamlico Sounds, an independent recording studio with a spring and fall series of concert presentations. Some of the previous acts have included George Winston, Loudon Wainwright III, Leon Redbone, Mike Cross and Livingston Taylor. The Pamlico Musical Society presents eight to ten concerts a year by professional musicians performing everything from chamber music to down-home bluegrass. Season and individual concert tickets are available for sale at Croakertown in Oriental or on the web at www.pamlicomusic.org. Most performances take place at the Old Theater. To join the society or to purchase season tickets, contact Patty Rosencrantz at (252) 249-3670. At 1103 Broad Street is Circle 10 Art
Gallery, operated by Oriental's artists' cooperative. Art lovers
can admire and purchase original creations in a variety of media: acrylics,
oils, watercolors, pastels, glass work, fiber art, jewelry and more. The
gallery hosts a public reception on the first Sunday of each month to
exhibit an individual member's new artwork. Workshops are offered throughout
the year by local artists. Circle 10 is open 10 AM to 5 PM Wednesday through
Saturday and 1 to 4:30 PM on Sunday. For more information about what's being
scheduled, call (252) 249-0298. |
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Pamlico County Heritage
Center The Pamlico County Heritage Center in
Grantsboro opened in 2008 and is a work in progress. The 6,200-square-foot
museum is located behind the existing Pamlico County Visitors Center in
Grantsboro. Work has begun on a heritage village on land behind the
facility. The plans call for a working blacksmith shop, two grist mills, a
pottery, a sugar-cane grinding facility, a one-room schoolhouse, a small
country store and a small farmhouse. The 30,000 schoolchildren in the eight
nearby counties will be able to visit this unique historical display. |
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Events
In September don't miss the annual Oriental Cup Regatta — a good-time, three-day weekend party with a sailboat race in the middle. The race is geared to cruisers as well as racers, so all types of sailors, weekenders and competitors are encouraged to join the fun. Festivities start with a Friday night party with good food and live entertainment. Saturday, rain or shine, sailboats race a triangular course on the Neuse River, the silent auction tent remains open while the race is going on, and, after the race — guess what? — there's another party. Sunday finds folks at the last event, the awards brunch. All monies raised by the regatta and the silent auction go to the Bill Harris Memorial Scholarship Fund (scholarships are awarded annually to Pamlico County students who letter in at least one sport and are of good character). For registration forms and tickets, call Larry Summers at 757-508 0153. Oriental's popularity soars on the Fourth of July weekend when thousands of visitors arrive for the annual Croaker Festival. The event honors the croaker, a very vocal, tasty fish found only in Southern waters. (If you've never heard a croaker's croak, you need to spend more time on the water.) The festival includes entertainment, the Croakette and Croaker Queen pageants, lots of good food, a baking contest, boat races, a street dance and more. But the more customary traditions of the Fourth are not neglected. The festival weekend concludes with a patriotic fireworks display that inevitably draws oohs and aahs from the holiday crowd. For information, call (252) 249-0555. The Annual Oriental Rotary Tarpon Tournament is held every year around the last weekend in July. In case you didn't know, a tarpon is a big bony, silvery sport fish that averages 80 pounds and some 6 feet in length. (Tarpons have been known to weigh in at 200 pounds.) The fish winter in Florida's coastal waters and in the summer swim up the Atlantic, right into Pamlico Sound and the Neuse River. During July and August, tarpon abound in Oriental's waters. They are an excellent sporting fish, often fighting for 10 minutes to as long as an hour. The tournament, sponsored by the Oriental Rotary Club as a fund-raiser for the club's scholarship program, is a catch-and-release affair. Volunteer observers accompany the fishing boats to record official scores. The winning vessel is the one that catches and releases the most tarpon. Prizes are cash, and typically about 75 boats enter the tournament for a fee of $200. This three-day event includes a Saturday night barbecue and a Sunday afternoon awards ceremony. For information, call (252) 249-0555. The Spirit of Christmas in Oriental is a holiday gift to the people of Oriental from the town's merchants, churches and civic groups. For well over a decade, on the second weekend in December (rain or shine), Oriental dresses up in resplendent holiday finery. Businesses and churches open their doors for fellowship and yuletide refreshments, and everyone is invited to stroll the candle-lit streets and enjoy the festivities, which start in the afternoon and continue throughout the evening. Townsfolk and visitors are entertained by local choral groups, musicians, Christmas puppets, decorated boats lining Oriental harbor, a Christmas parade and the ceremonious lighting of the Tree of Lights. This beautiful, free event is the work of nearly everyone in Oriental and is guaranteed to put you in a holiday mood. For information, call (252) 249-0555. For more than 30 years, Oriental has
commemorated New Year's Eve in its own special way. Every December 31, the
community stages its annual Running of the Dragon. A huge
golden Chinese dragon, with about 40 or 50 pairs of feet, appears twice
during the evening beside the harbor. When it shows itself, New Year's Eve
revelers pursue the dragon as it winds in and out of the town's streets. How
many feet propel the dragon body depends on how many folks don't mind
running around in the dark under a blanket. Needless to say, Oriental's
Dragon Run attracts lots of visitors. Kids can see the dragon at 8 PM, and
grown-ups can stay up for the 11 PM run. For information, call (252)
249-0555. |
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Golf |
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Minnesott Golf and Country Club This course, built more than 30 years ago, is an
18-hole, par 72. It offers several sand traps, eight holes with water, and
a length of 6001 yards. Golfers can enjoy the large pines and oaks as they
play the course's new championship bermudagrass fairways. To get there,
cross the Neuse River Bridge on U.S. Highway 17 and turn right on N.C.
Highway 55 and head toward Bayboro. Right before Bayboro, take a right
on Highway 306 at the light and drive about 12 miles, following the road
back toward the Neuse River and taking a right on Country Club Drive; at
the end is the hidden treasure of Minnesott Golf and Country Club.
Minnesott's greens fees are 18 holes for $32 and nine holes for $16 every
day; afternoon golfers can play 18 holes for $27. All fees include a cart.
There's a snack bar and pro shop on the premises, and PGA club pro Terry
Bobbin is available for lessons. |
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Kidstuff |
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Camp Seafarer
and Camp Seagull Camp Seafarer for girls and Camp Seagull for boys are on the Neuse River in Arapahoe, about 27 miles north of Morehead City and about 25 miles east of New Bern by car. The camps shares an outpost and docks on the Morehead City waterfront. Both are owned and operated by the Capital Area YMCA. Campers enjoy a nationally recognized seamanship program, including
sailing, watersports and ocean excursions from the Morehead City waterfront
outpost. The camps conduct environmental education programs that serve
schools throughout the state and offer facilities for corporate training and
conferences. During the summer, the camps offer weekend and one-week family
programs. There are also two-week and three-to-four-week camps for youth.
Fall and spring camping programs for families and for kids — both weekend
and weeklong — are also available. Contact the camps for details.
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Other Attractions |
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The Aurora Fossil Museum |
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Aurora Fossil Museum, founded in 1976, is a nonprofit fossil education
resource center. The museum’s mission is to increase knowledge of the
geology and paleontology of the area by collecting and displaying fossils
that come from coastal North Carolina. The fossil pile at the museum, dubbed
the "Pit of the Pungo", is an unlimited source of Miocene-age fossils
donated by the PCS Phosphate mining operation. In these fossil-rich soils,
one may find the remains of ancient sharks, whales, bony fish, corals,
shells and other invertebrates. The museum staff will willingly provide
personal assistance and other resources to help you identify your finds.
Bring a garden trowel or sifter and plastic bags, spend the day collecting
and take home a piece of the past. There are many fossils on display here.
The phosphate mine in Beaufort County has been called the most important
source of Pliocene and Miocene fossils in the world. School groups are welcome and the museum is happy to provide free fossil material and educational information for classroom use. Schedule your group of 10 or more in advance of a visit, and they will be better able to serve you. If your school is unable to make a trip to the museum, contact them and see if they can come to you. The presentation includes an exhibit of local fossils, free fossil material and educational resources suitable for grades 3 to 8. The museum is open Monday
through Saturday, 9 AM until 4:30 PM. In addition to regular hours, from
March 1 through Labor Day, the museum is open on Sunday from 12:30 to 4:30
PM. The fossil Pit of the Pungo remains open for collecting from sun-up to
sundown. Admission is free but donations are gladly accepted. A gift shop is
open in the main building and offers fossils and souvenirs. Ample free
parking is provided. |
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