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Columbia Expedition – Part Two: Saturday, October 14

At the Scuppernong River Festival

Early on this first cold (40F) Saturday morning of the Fall, Alan Thompson picked me up for the drive from Hertford to Columbia. This was the day of the Scuppernong River Festival to which Miss P had been invited. We were going there, in costume, to tend to the crowds that would, we hoped, come by and ask about Periauger.

We arrived at 0900, about an hour before the Festival was to start. Main Street was abuzz with vendors of everything from food to pottery setting up their tents.

Ken McClung and Buck had departed Columbia with 2 Tac E on Friday morning, but

we found Ken Ries at the boat already. As planned, he had driven his “road home” over on Friday and had stayed overnight. (His galley was our coffee life line for the day.) The traffic on the bridge had kept him awake for awhile during the night, but he said he heard very few trucks before he fell asleep. (His adventure with his alarm clock is another story.)

Despite a brisk breeze blowing from the northwest up the river, we hoisted Miss P’s sails for the best visibility, which added to the festive air to the event. Our spot on the bulkhead put us right in line with the view down Main Street. It was an ideal location for us. Alan took this photo from the new Rte 64 bridge.

Even before the parade started at 10, we had some curious folks come by.

These two young lads were the first.

The parade started right on time, coming right at us up Main Street and turning in front of the park where we were tied up.

There was a very good marching band from the new First Flight High School (Kitty Hawk). The Bear Grass Marching Bears band was also good and put on a colorful show. (I suspect each of the majorettes in their skimpy attire was wishing for warmer weather and less wind!) Three restored vintage Tractors, a 4-H float, a Cub Scout troop and two other marching bands filled out the rest of the parade. There was a fire truck from Plymouth, as well as fire trucks from Hertford, Durant’s Neck and Bethel.

Once the parade had finished, the crowds pressed back into the street. Here is what we looked like from Main Street. The sails did their job of drawing a lot of attention.

In the course of the day, Ken, Alan and I managed to get a number of youth and an occasional adult on the boat for a rowing lesson. We took them however they came - singly or in bunches. This is Ken with an aspiring mariner.

Once this young girl with me had the sweep in hand, she rowed until she finally got tired!

We gave our ‘spiel’ about Miss P and Abraham Sanders and periaugers and plantations and the colonial river transportation in the Albemarle and Pamlico region - until we could talk to the crowd while doing some rope work and whistling at the same time.

(That is one our ‘rum’ kegs that Ken is sitting on.)

Here is Alan taking a breather.

All the while we were “interpreting” for the crowds, the wind grew stronger. It kept us pinned against the bulkhead (but protected by her fenders). Miss P, who normally sits quite upright, heeled toward the dock quite a bit at times.

All in all it was a very productive day for introducing Miss P to people. There were also quite a few visitors who had seen Miss P before, but returned for another look, thanks to the fact that the newspaper advertisement for the Festival contained a photo of Periauger! Many asked if we were taking her out for a sail and could they come along. We would have loved that, but with the stiff wind, we risked being blown against the bridge or other boats – if indeed we could to get her off of the bulkhead!

We heard reports of two pontoon boats from Hertford, that had returned across the sound that afternoon, being pummeled by 4 foot waves. We were content to stay tied up.

Sunday, October 15, 2 pm:

Joan Ernst, Janet Benton and I drove Chris Lane’s truck to Columbia with Miss P’s trailer in tow. We were met by four Columbians, one of whom had a small run-about. Joan followed Harry with the truck and trailer to the ramp about two miles away, while Janet and I and the rest of the crew towed Miss P to that same ramp.

With help from Howard, John, Harry and one other, we made short work of unstepping the masts and putting Periauger on her trailer. After thanking our able bodied helpers, we tied things down and drove back to the Newbold-White House. We arrived near sundown and parked Miss P and her trailer – most likely until next spring. This week she’ll have her cover put on and some time in the spring will get her annual ‘frou-frou’ of varnish and bottom paint.

All in all it was another very successful season. But, it took a village of volunteers, who put in what I estimate to be a total of 1200 “man hours,” beginning with the 9 hectic days of maintenance in the March. I am grateful to all of them for the shared experience, and the volunteer time and effort put toward our common goals.

-John Ernst

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