Every once in a while, the stars align for an ACBS Chapter where dynamic leadership and enthusiastic participation take things from ho-hum to WOW! Judy and Alan Hills, at the helm of the North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont Chapter, are working hard to create engaging opportunities for classic boating enthusiasts. Judy, a Florida native, has…
By Judy Hills, NCC&P Chapter In the July 2024 North Carolina & Coastal Piedmont Newsletter, Messing About in Boats, the chapter featured an article on the ACBS Port Captain program. Port Captains offer ACBS member who wants to visit a new place where other ACBS members live to connect. The hosts might provide a tour…
North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont Chapter Submitted by Judy Hills, Newsletter Editor The weather forecast leading up to the chapter’s show scheduled for Chocowinity, NC, on Saturday, September 27th, was ugly. Participants were calling, asking if we were going to call the show off. We decided to proceed—after all, boats are made to get wet. …
By Alan Hills, North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont Chapter The weather prediction for the week leading up to the day of the Poker Run (Saturday, June 7, 2025) was for a lot of rain, but it improved as the week progressed. Our chapter had seven members with boats signed up to attend. Here is the…
On Saturday, August 16, the North Carolina & Coastal Piedmont Chapter of ACBS coordinated a Sea Scouts weekend of camping and leadership education in conjunction with International Vintage Boating Day. Five captains from the NCC&P and the Blue Ridge Chapters brought their four boats to Lake Norman. Rob Weller (NCC&P and BRC Chapter) came with…
The North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont Chapter organized their first and hopefully annual National River Cleanup Day event held on May 17, 2025. Cleaning up the shores and waterway of the Tar-Pamlico River in the Washington, North Carolina, over 30 volunteers and 12 facilitators removed about 25 bags of trash, and larger items like lawn…
Next weekend, Thursday, May 29 through Sunday, June 1, 2025, the Northern California/Lake Tahoe Chapter presents the 27th annual Wood and Glory Antique and Classic Boat Gathering in Lakeport. With tons of fun events, including a “conga-line” cruise from Konocti Harbor Inn past Buckingham, Anderson Island and across the Narrows looping through Paradise Cove and…
The North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont Chapter of ACBS is fortunate to have a chapter member, John Olsen, who is an instructor in the boatbuilding program at Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) in Wilmington, one of six boatbuilding schools supported by ACBS scholarships*. In addition to ACBS International support, the North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont…
It all started with Merl W. “Bill” Baldwin, Jr. (June 6, 1935-October 14, 2015). Known as “The Helmsman,” Bill wrote science fiction–specifically military space opera. The Helmsman Saga (8 books) was his best-known work, hence his nickname. He worked at NASA at Cape Canaveral supporting Project Mercury and later as a contractor for the NASA Manned Spacecraft…
By Amy Scanlin Slow down. Disconnect. Unplug. There is art in nature for those willing to take a look – clouds reflecting on a mountain lake, the gentle curve of a polished gunwale, a new day dawning as oars pull through the water, leaving ripples, like fingerprints, fading into the the shoreline. The breath slows…
Tips from a Recent North Carolina Coastal & Piedmont Chapter Workshop By Judy Hills, North Carolina & Coastal Piedmont Chapter When the North Carolina & Coastal Piedmont Chapter gathers in John Justice’s workshop, AKA The Piglet, you know it will be a good time. It was a rainy day when the Chapter recently got together…
By Judy Hills, NC Coastal & Piedmont Chapter Our North Carolina Coastal and Piedmont Chapter is committed to supporting events of chapters that are nearby. One of those is the Blue Ridge Chapter which covers the western area of NC along with parts of Georgia and South Carolina. The Blue Ridge Chapter held a boat…