Wine, Dine And Wet A Line
Jennings Rose (standing) has partnered with Capt. Scott Tinney to offer scenic and dinner cruises on the "Karen," a completely remodeled 1943 Core Sound Sharpie offering morning, afternoon, and evening trips out of the Wrightsville Beach area.
If the kids aren’t happy, then there’s a good chance that Mom isn’t happy. And if Mom’s not happy, then Dad certainly isn’t going to be allowed to be happy.
In the spirit of keeping Mom and the kids happy in my household, I was happy to run into an old friend that has converted and completely remodeled an old homemade fishing net drop boat into a comfortable classic that’s perfect for their new venture into providing dinner, sightseeing, and sunset cruises.
I first met Jennings Rose, then merely a high school student, at a CCA meeting. He came up and politely introduced himself—looked me in the eye, gave a firm hand shake, and kept using the word “sir” even after I told him repeatedly to call me Gary. Jennings went on to volunteer to help out with our annual Spring Inshore Challenge, and everything about him made a favorable impression with me.
Flash forward about seven years later and Jennings is calling me up and inviting me and my family to join him and his new partner, Capt. Scott Tinney, for a dinner cruise out of Wrightsville Beach to do an article in Fisherman’s Post.
Guide Time trips are fishing trips, but I think many of you can identify with me seeing this dinner cruise as an opportunity to bend the rules, and in doing so earn some points with my wife that I could cash in later (most likely for a fishing trip).
Leslie, Owen (age 4), James (age 3), and I met Jennings and Scott at Dockside Restaurant on a late Tuesday afternoon, and we were joined by the Hardgrove family—Eddie, Randall, and Preston (age 3).
The Hardgrove and Hurley families enjoy dinner and drinks aboard the cruiser "Karen" heading down the ICW towards Shinn Creek and Masonboro Inlet.
We hadn’t seen photos of the boat in advance, so our first sight of the vessel was striking. As the kids put on their life jackets and ran around checking out all the rooms, my first questions to Jennings and Scott were mostly about the boat.
Their 1943 Core Sound Sharpie, named “Karen,” was originally built in Sea Level, NC, towards the end of World War II, and it was powered by surplus engines from landing crafts. The boat clearly had personality, including a big back deck (that for our cruise was outfitted with four wooden beach chairs), two staterooms with beds, a bathroom, a full kitchen, and a cabin (air-conditioned if you like) with a sitting area that was enclosed in clear plastic so everyone had a view no matter where they sat.
“In 1987 it was still a commercial fishing boat,” Capt. Scott told me standing at the wheel while Jennings answered lots of kids questions about all the buttons and dials. “We’ve had it for six years, fixing it up, varnishing it, and adding lots of amenities and finishing touches. We’ve made it much more comfortable.”
“The teak decks,” added Scott, “are very similar to what would be on the battleship. It’s a very vintage way of doing decks that you don’t see much any more.”
Our cruise this evening was set up like many of the cruises they will do this summer. We met around 6:00 pm, and the plan was to spend 2-3 hours on the water watching the sunset, drinking wine, and eating dinner.
“We’ll be picking up clients,” Jennings told me, handing a photo album documenting the history of the “Karen” to Eddie, “from Dockside, Creekside Yacht Club, and Anchor’s Bend.”
Preston Hardgrove (age 3), cheered on by Jennings Rose (left) and Capt. Scott Tinney (right) and the rest of the dinner cruise crew on the "Karen," works a spanish mackerel (caught on a little Clarkspoon) to the back deck.
By now the “Karen” was pulling away from Dockside and heading down the ICW at 6-8 knots. The sightseeing was underway, with the channel flanked by spartina grass, spoil islands, tidal creeks, terns, herons, and oyster catchers. Leslie and Randall were resting in the beach chairs on the back deck enjoying Duplin Winery’s Hatteras Red and Magnolia, and Eddie and I were already digging into the Honey Baked Ham buffet that Jennings had out on the center table in the cabin.
“Most of our catering will be done with Honey Baked Ham,” Jennings said. “They offer everything from classic sandwich stuff to BBQ ribs and pulled pork. However, if the client wants a little more fine dining, then we can accommodate that as well. Hot dogs to prime ribs—we can pretty much do it all. I’ll even bring my propane tank and we can cook clams on the back of the boat.”
Customizing a trip to the client was a reoccurring theme that both Scott and Jennings stressed. They plan to offer morning, afternoon, and evening cruises. They can take out a couple of families, like tonight, but they’ve had as many as 15 adults on a “booze cruise” trip.
“We’ll leave early in the morning and stay out all day if you like,” mentioned Jennings. “Just call me up and tell me what you want to do, and I’ll quote you a price.”
Their cruises vary in pricing, depending on food cost and length of trip, but trips start as low as $300.
As Leslie, Randall, Eddie, and I enjoyed a quiet, kid-free moment, Scott was discovering an added benefit to the wireless autopilot he installed. He had Owen, James, and Preston in a line taking turns sitting at the wheel and navigating the boat, but the whole time he had full control of the vessel (and the kids didn’t know they weren’t “driving”).
Scott and Jennings are young captains, and their enthusiasm worked well with the kids. They kept up a high energy level while being bombarded with Owen’s and Preston’s repeated questioning, “What does that do? And what does that do?” And then James, keeping things philosophical, flanked every answer with the classic, “Why? Why? Why?” The captains were also patient when questions turned to a noisy and competitive lineup where each kid wanted to repeatedly sound the horn.
James Hurley (age 3) celebrates with his dad, Gary, and brother, Owen, after successfully hand lining a small spanish mackerel in Masonboro Inlet. The action was part of a sight seeing cruise on the "Karen."
Eddie and I were content with our family dinner cruise, but there’s a reason why we work for Fisherman’s Post. It was Eddie that spotted the first spanish mackerel jump in Masonboro Inlet. Then it was my job to point out the spanish activity to Jennings, and do so in the form of an implied question.
Jennings was quick to play to his audience. He put out a couple of hand lines with spoons, and soon the kids were dragging little spanish over the rails.
The kids were buzzing with the excitement of catching fish (as well as from numerous juice boxes), Leslie and Randall were relaxed and taking a well deserved break from entertaining kids, and Eddie and I were proud fathers able to scratch our fishing itch by living vicariously through our boys.
Scott and Jennings had delivered on their promise to deliver “a good way to relax in the coastal environment where we play to the wants of the customer.”
The sun was starting to drop below the horizon, so Jennings and Scott headed the “Karen” back to Dockside, giving us new sightseeing opportunities by traveling down Banks and Motts channels.
If a scenic or dinner cruise (or any type of custom cruise) sounds like an enjoyable trip that you’d like to schedule, then call Jennings at (910) 231-7741, or you can also get more information online at www.gametimecharters.com.
