September 1, 2026

Hello Fellow members,

I don’t know about y’all, but this hot weather has really affected the enjoyment of outdoor activities here in Eastern NC. I did a quick search to see how 2026 ranked as far as high temps are concerned and discovered that since the year isn’t over a complete comparison cannot be made. However, July has been the hottest month on record for the U.S. ever. This is since 1895 when temperatures started being officially recorded. Hopefully, cooler days will be with us soon.

We have finally received the funds from the estate of Bill Baker. I say finally because we had gotten a check from the estate’s account this month and deposited it in our scholarship account. A few days later we were notified that the bank (which will remain nameless) did not honor the check. John Justice got on the case and finally, after about 10 days, we were issued a cashiers check with an apology, or maybe an excuse, for the “bank error.” Now we can start funding scholarships to our designated recipients. Thank you, John, for getting this straightened out!

Chapter member Jim Hartman has been busy hitting the boat show circuit in upstate NY. John Dougherty also was in the area and they attended the Finger Lakes chapter show in Skaneateles. Jim’s 20’ Continental was featured in the show program. After that, it was off to Clayton, NY for the show held at the Antique Boat Museum. The weather wasn’t very cooperative that week but the rain held off on show day. Not so much on Sunday. It poured so bad that they had to cancel the boat parade.

The local (Southern) classic boat activities start to pick up this month. I know that many of you are disappointed by the cancelling of the Smith Mountain Lake show due to low water levels, but here are a few shows coming up that you might choose to attend. Next month, chapter member Steve Weaver will be putting on a workshop on steam propulsion on October 10th at Cape Fear Community College. He will have his steamboat there to explain to us all there is to know on the subject. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about how boats got around before the invention of the gasoline engine. Save the date and plan to attend!

That’s it for now. Go for a boat ride and have fun (safely)

Yours in classic boating, 

Alan Hills, President