June 1, 2026

Hello Fellow members,

June already? Where has the time gone?? It’s been a very busy year in the Hills household. Several milestones are upon us with a granddaughter getting married, our first great grandchild due this month and our grandson finally over his football injuries and able to resume his place on the UNC Pembroke team. My Jersey Speed Skiff project is moving along slowly and I’ve kind of given up on setting a launch date. All I can say is it will be done when it’s done. Enough of my personal news.

Due to the aforementioned wedding, I am writing this a bit earlier than I usually do so I can’t report on the Cape Fear Community College show on the 30th, but our chapter was well represented at the NC Maritime museum show and we mostly had a great time in spite of the less-than-ideal weather; see article in the newsletter.

We are getting closer to receiving the funds for the Bill Baker Memorial Scholarship. Thanks to John Justice, Jim Alexander and Bill Conley for getting us to the point where we can start making the funds available to educational programs that are in line with Bill’s wishes. Our chapter has also provided funding for a new drill press for the Maritime Museum with the monies taken in by the sale of Bill’s tools. This item will bear a plaque honoring Bill’s memory.

There will be several events you might consider attending, highlighted by the Chesapeake Bay chapter show in St. Michaels, MD. If you have never attended, I highly recommend going. Also, the newsletter may be a little late. Our editor has gotten a new computer and she has a software issue that involves her publishing program. We’re hoping it gets resolved quickly.

That’s all I have for now and I do hope y’all can do some fun boat activities in whatever form that it takes.

Yours in classic boating, 

Yours in classic boating,   
Alan Hills, President