Trawler Rendezvous - New Bern, NC

Our first MTOA (Marine Trawler Owners’ Association) Rendezvous in New Bern, NC this weekend was a success!  About 25 boats attended from all over the East Coast and Canada - many are in the process of making their way south like we are.  It was a good combination of planned events and free time to explore the city, and we met lots of other fun and interesting couples. 

If you have never been, New Bern is a wonderful place to visit.  The residents are extremely welcoming and friendly, and the city has quite an interesting history extending back to colonial days.  Apparently the author Nicholas Sparks has a home there, and many local landmarks are mentioned in his novels; great restaurants and quaint shops added to our enjoyment.  The original settlers of the area came from Switzerland and thus named the city after Bern, Switzerland (although almost all of these settlers were later killed by the Native Americans).  As “Bern” is the old Germanic word for bear, bears are the symbol for both of these cities, and New Bern definitely has fun with this.  There are carved and decorated bears all over the city - similar to the mermaids of Norfolk and the guitars of Cleveland.  New Bern is also the birthplace of Pepsi, and it is definitely a faux pas to request Diet Coke, as I learned the hard way.

A big highlight for both of us was the opportunities we had to tour other boats/yachts during the weekend.  Wow - there are some beautiful boats out there, and we really appreciate the gracious hosts who allowed us to gawk and drool for a while.  I have to say I’ve warmed a little to the idea of someday upgrading - mostly to improve our sleeping accommodations.  If you’re not familiar with Quality Time, our only “stateroom” is a small V-berth in the bow.  The beds on each side are roughly two-thirds the width of a twin bed at their widest points and narrow down from there.  Many of the boats we saw had true queen or full-size beds that you could actually walk around (what a luxury!).  And all of the bigger boats had at least two staterooms, which would allow us to accommodate guests!!!

We decided to make our next stop at Ocracoke, NC on the southern end of the Outer Banks - an island which can only be reached by ferry or personal boat.  We’ll likely stay a couple days then make our way south once again.  Thanks for tagging along!!!