Over Memorial Day weekend you may remember that I led an “Alternate” cruise on that weekend over to Oak Island (Job Beason Marina on Double Bayou) and for what was then a brand-new event put on by Frascone Winery which they called “Music on the Bayou”. It turned out for them, and all participants, to have been a hugely successful event, and now, on July 10th, they are going to do it again with “Music on the Bayou II”.
On June 1st I posted a short Cruise Report on TMCA Facebook about the Memorial Day Cruise. (re: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TMCAgroup/posts/3830114607099141), and then also a lot of cruise photos on my Flickr site at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/15251435@N08/albums/72157719332727247 . Five boats participated in that cruise, and all, except for myself, were “newbies” to cruising to Double Bayou. And nobody ran aground either arriving or departing!!!
So here is Jim Frascone’s Facebook post for this event, and then also a poster which he sent to me.
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The band this time is called “Heated Frenzy”. Frascone wine is of course available for sale, and I am assuming that the tasty food available will be from a food trailer similar to last time.
For those not all that familiar with that part of Oak Island away from the Double Bayou waterfront, here is the lay of the land:
From Job Beason Marina where we will be staying, it is an easy half-mile walk to the winery. The winery now has two buildings, the original one, and then also a new building across the street that Jim has built for events like weddings and other events.
And then just a short distance away is a grassy area alongside a small unnamed bayou that comes in from the bay and which then cuts through parts of the town. And this is the area shown in the light blue circle on the aerial view where the fun will be!
The predicted tide levels for the weekend are quite favorable for entering and departing Double Bayou at various times (re: chart below), and although some people think that Double Bayou is too difficult to navigate successfully anymore without running aground, I submit that this is not necessarily true!! I made 4 trips to Double Bayou in 2020, and two already in 2021 and I can attest that conditions are better there than they have been for a quite some time, specifically with some excellent new pvc markers along the red side of the channel in the shallowest areas. It is true that s/v Silhouette only draws 4ft, but others with deeper drafts had very few issues over several of these trips. The key is some very careful navigation utilizing waypoints that can be found by clicking here. Don’t let Double Bayou navigation scare you!!!
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Registration for this cruise (for as many nights as you wish) will be on the TMCA website, and whereas in the past TMCA has collected the slip fees for Job Beason Marina when you registered, and then forwarded those fees to Chambers County, this time once again we will not do that and instead you will be responsible for submitting your own fees (only $25/night) to the contact person over there, and also submitting the Boater (release of liability) Agreement that they now require. And this all is supposed to be done 7 days ahead of time!! So once you register for the cruise I will contact you with the specific details on how to do this.
Other than the Saturday event at the winery there is no specific activity that I am planning for our time there. Bring your dinghy for some bayou exploring, or a boat bike for some exploring around the town! Or a good book that you have been meaning to read but have just not had the time to do so!! Some great meals can be had at Channel Marker 17 or at The Hurricane Restaurant, and we can certainly have a happy hour gathering under the pavilion at the marina if that idea appeals to all.
It seems to me that this is a great destination for us to have another summer cruise to, and I hope that you will consider joining me in the lovely little waterfront town of Oak Island! There is not much time between now and the event, and we will get the registration page set up on the website as soon as possible, and then please get signed up as quickly as you can! And if you have questions please give me a call at 713-598-6454.
Philip Kropf
s/v Silhouette
"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust our sails."
