We had another week available for boating in late June. Once again this summer, it was hot and humid. The temperature gauge in the car on our way to the boat hit a high of…………104 degrees!
Out on the water the temperatures were lower.
Thank goodness!
The plan was to spend a little time on eastern Long Island, mostly the South Fork. It has been a few years since we visited Montauk and Sag Harbor.
Limerick arrived at Shenny after their Watch Hill R&R and we were ready to depart for Montauk the next morning.
Limerick with UCONN’s Avery campus in the background.
We had a good view of the barge (?) carrying blades for the windmills under construction in New London.
Race Rock Light Station is a granite lighthouse built at the western end of Fishers Island. The Lighthouse was constructed here on a mostly submerged rocky ledge where Block Island Sound, Long Island Sound and Fishers Island Sound all meet. The name “The Race” was given because of the fast currents and conflicted seas. These conditions also resulted in lost lives, ships and cargo so the lighthouse was deemed necessary regardless of the difficulty and expense involved in the construction. After seven years Race Rock Light became functional in 1878.
We haven’t visited Montauk in eight years, since the summer of 2017. Montauk as the easternmost point of Long Island is known as “The End.”
There are still RVs camping on the beach here, but not nearly as many as I remember. Perhaps because it was still early summer.
Restaurants on both sides of the entrance channel – The Inlet and The Inlet Cafe. I wonder if anyone thought about more distinguishing names for these two restaurants?
The Coast Guard Station is still actively engaged here because of its location at “The End.”
Fishing is still a key industry on Montauk.
Lake Montauk is a great place to anchor and enjoy a peaceful setting. We had the lake almost entirely to ourselves.
It was so hot that Cindy and I jumped in to cool off. Not only is it peaceful here, the water is delightful.
There was rain overnight followed by clouds and wind the next day. A day to be spent on the boat. During the morning a Grand Banks 36 arrived and anchored nearby. A couple and their dog hopped in their dinghy and headed our way.
You can’t make this up. Andre and Kathleen on Good Tidings are from Pennsylvania. Me, too. Kathleen graduated from the same high school that I did – Plymouth Whitemarsh! Our paths never crossed because she graduated 13 years after I did, but still, what a coincidence!
We caught a weather break on Friday June 27th – there was some sun! Eager to get off these boats, we hopped in the dinghy and headed over to Gosman’s Dock.
Gosman’s Dock, a family owned and operated complex of restaurants and shops since 1943. It is one of the few easily accessible places when anchored in Lake Montauk. We have always made a trip in for a walk about, a little shopping, and a bite to eat. Last year Gosman’s was bought by a billionaire private equity investor. Although the restaurants were open, all of the retail shops except one were closed and empty. Change is inevitable, but not always for the better. IMHO.
Gosman’s Fish Market looked much the same with displays of delicious fish and meats, prepared foods and produce, all at hefty prices.
Lobster tacos and lobster roll at The Inlet Cafe.
Time to move on!
We left Montauk on Saturday morning and headed west to Sag Harbor, another port we have not been to since……. wow, I can’t even remember. My most vivid memory of Sag Harbor is back in 1996. We planned a trip to Sag with our friends, Steph and Chuck, all of us on Patience, our 1997 Irwin 37 center cockpit. There was a hurricane forecast for North Carolina. We took the chance that we had time to make the trip before any remnants arrived in New England. HAHA. When we arrived in Sag Harbor we had to take a slip at the Sag Harbor Yacht Club where we were directed to strip all of the sails and double the lines on the boat. We hunkered down and waited out the rains and the winds which were not hurricane status by then but were still fierce enough to be disturbing. I don’t think we would make that decision today.
The Sag Harbor Yacht Club today (view from our dinghy.)
One big change since we were last here maybe 12-15 years ago (?) was the anchorage. What anchorage now??? It is filled with moorings now like so many other once quiet anchorages. We found a good spot between the buoys marking the edge of the mooring field and the breakwater.
It may be hard to tell in the photo but we are anchored outside of the large mooring field. There were a lot of very big boats out there.
Just a few of the really big yachts at the Sag Harbor marina. It is still a playground for the rich.
We walked around the town for a good leg stretching.
Hydrangeas in bloom.
“The Church” is a non-profit whose mission is to “foster creativity on the East End and to honor the living history of Sag Harbor as a maker village, championing new and traditional technologies through collaboration, education, and outreach.”
The Sag Harbor Whaling Museum. We did not go inside but enjoyed the creations displayed on the lawn. These sea horses hanging in the tree were pretty cool.
The Ark and the wood horses were even better!
The headquarters of the Sag Harbor Historical Museum is locally known as the Annie Cooper Boyd House. The Summer 2025 exhibition is Wedding Dresses, 1840–1925 From Victorian Fashion to the Roaring 20s, celebrating bridal fashion and the women of Sag Harbor and the East End who wore and donated these dresses. Both the house and the garment display were quite interesting.
It was a very very warm afternoon so we deserved an ice cream break at “Big Olaf’s.”
Back at the boats we learned from the harbormaster’s crew that we could not anchor where we were even though we were outside the field. Since we were only staying for the one night he said it was ok. OK, cross Sag Harbor off my future list of places to visit. Just not hospitable enough.
We left Sag on Sunday, June 29 with the sun shining.
The entrance to Coecles Harbor is always a bit twisty in and around the shallows.
Our grill was not performing well this season. Al had installed a new regulator and tried some other fixes but nothing worked as evidenced by his singed arm hairs when we tried to grill. (Found a “used once” identical grill on FB marketplace and got it on the way home!)
It is so nice to see him finally relaxing.
Another hot day prompted everyone to (yes, even Al and Don) to jump in the water. Coecles has always been another great place for a swim.
A lovely sunset for our last evening of the Two Forks cruise. Coecles was sooo quiet after all of the Sunday daytrippers left.
beautiful pictures…I love the fact that you “travel” with another couple who have as much fun as you do. it’s great. it was a perfect time to be “out of dodge” too hot for man or beast…what are you doing this week??? do you worry about thunderstorms out at sea? continue to enjoy yourselves…all too soon it will be back to reality!
The four of us have a great time together! We always watch the weather, thunderstorms and high winds are worrisome.
We are mostly home for a couple of weeks. Al has a cardiac procedure next week so we will be home recuperating for a bit.
Ellen Seltzer
beautiful pictures…I love the fact that you “travel” with another couple who have as much fun as you do. it’s great. it was a perfect time to be “out of dodge” too hot for man or beast…what are you doing this week??? do you worry about thunderstorms out at sea? continue to enjoy yourselves…all too soon it will be back to reality!
xo
watsons
The four of us have a great time together! We always watch the weather, thunderstorms and high winds are worrisome.
We are mostly home for a couple of weeks. Al has a cardiac procedure next week so we will be home recuperating for a bit.