This Saturday, April 15, the CSS Neuse II will host its first “Breakfast on the Boat” for 2023. The Neuse II sits in dry dock at the corner of Herritage and Gordon Streets where it draws thousands of visitors each year.

“Breakfast on the Boat,” as usual, features a full country breakfast complete with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, link sausage, grits, biscuits, and beverages. You can eat on the gunboat itself or, if the weather is temperate, you can eat on the dock outside the gunboat and enjoy the sunshine. We will also offer some ground-level seating for those who wish to avoid the stairs.

“The Gunboat Boys” will be back to perform both blue grass and Civil War period music. The presence of this band – composed of four talented musicians … and me – have become as much a staple of “Breakfast on the Boat” as the country breakfast prepared on the grounds by the Galley Crew and served piping hot by volunteers.

People dressed in period clothes will add to the atmosphere. We want you to come to support this combination “thank you” and fund-raiser as you enjoy a tasty meal, music, and fellowship.

When you will step aboard the Neuse II, you can see the fruit of your continued support. The Neuse II has a full complement of implements used to man the 6.4-inch Brooke Rifle and offers realistic mock projectiles to suggest the shells the huge rifled cannon could fire at least a mile with its 10-pound powder charge. A maritime archeologist once visited the Neuse II and told us we had the only set of cannon tools for the Brooke Rifle she had seen.

Of course, ramrods, sponges, wormers, buckets, pivot spikes, and the other implements are not cheap. Each time you walk aboard the Neuse II, you will be able to take pride in knowing your support made those implements possible.

Everything begins with a biscuit, a scoop of eggs, slices of bacon or link sausage or both, and a cup of hot coffee. “Breakfast on the Boat” is a profitable fund-raiser only when we get strong public support. Our record over past years was 315 supporters during one breakfast. We hope to break that record this coming Saturday.

Don’t miss the boat.

Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. He also serves on the board of directors for the CSS Neuse Foundation, caretaker of the CSS Neuse II. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.