Hello from Long Island Sound

[Soundbounder]

Originally Posted by defjef

These days I move from the East end (Shelter Island) as a summer base to Glen Island (New Rochelle) as a winter "base" and get to transit the Sound twice a year.

I prefer the sailing out east to the congestion in the west. I wonder if the economic downturn will be evident on the water???

Fuel prices certainly cut the powerboat traffic this past year.
As for the economic downturn,....I think it will be evident in subtle ways.
A vacant slip or two at a normally booked marina, a couple of extra boats that don't go in the water next summer, more For Sale signs, etc.

To use a restaurant analogy, a 20% drop in overall business might not be noticed on a Friday night. Instead of waiting 30 minutes for a table, you wait about 15. Fewer people ordered lobster, and expensive bottles of wine.
And the Friday afternoon company parties might have been cut in half.The holiday parties might consist of just appetizers instead of a full sit-down meal.
The place may seem just as busy, but in reality it is not.

[jpsailin]

I noticed your recent Q's ; but I'm the one who needs help. Where do you go to post a Question?

replying is no problem!
Thanks
James

[Soundbounder]

Originally Posted by pjbsailing

Welcome! The blog is great. Looks like a beautiful area.

Thank you!!!!

[dadidoc]

Enjoyed seeing Matts blog site. I may be looking for help/advice/local knowledge in getting my boat out to Sag Harbor during Summer 2009. I normally would renew my slip in Maryland Marina in the Chesapeake, but I am answering a calling to get back out east on the Island. My wife and I are 1976 graduates from Southampton High School, and we have family and friends on the east end, south fork. My Dad ran charters on CHIPPER-B out of Sag Harbor, managed the moorings off the Sag Harbor yacht club, and he is done with sailing as I am picking it up! One of my main reasons is to return is to respect my Dads mom's wishes to spread her ashes in the waters near Sag Harbor, Gardiners Bay, etc. Economy is touch, getting time off from work is tough, getting crew is tough, heck , but I am going to make this happen. Hopeful I can meet up with some knowledgeable folks of the waters I am about to transit- hope that this forum will make my voyage that much safer, that much more enjoyable and memorable.http://sportboards.bizland.com/dadidoc

[Sandero]

Good luck and we'll be looking for you in Gardiner's Bay. Great place for a good baygull.

Moorings in Sag are obscenely expensive - good luck on that. I ocassionally anchor outside the break water and go for a walk around Sag, but it's pretty zoo like Hamptonia - Three Mile Harbor is a bit more "laid back".

[Soundbounder]

Originally Posted by defjef

Good luck and we'll be looking for you in Gardiner's Bay. Great place for a good baygull.

Moorings in Sag are obscenely expensive - good luck on that. I ocassionally anchor outside the break water and go for a walk around Sag, but it's pretty zoo like Hamptonia - Three Mile Harbor is a bit more "laid back".

I agree!!! Sag Harbor has become outrageously expensive. The trouble with Three Mile Harbor is that it is fairly isolated. Not only do you need a car, it is also a long drive to everything. I guess it depends on what someones specific situation is.

[Sandero]

I copy you on Three Mile but that's why we shoot over to get away from "the street" like Greenport and Sag. Maidstone is hamptonian enough, but I really go ashore to walk the westies and they prefer the green to the gray as it were.

There's not much appinin at the Dutch Windmill on Gardiner's either but that why we put the hook down and pass the afternoon before heading on a swift beamer back to Dering.

But once there at our mooring, we have to suffer the noisy parties at the SIYC and from way accross the bay from Claudios which exports their rumble till the wee hours.

It's the silence and absence of party people which makes the region fine in Spring and Fall.

[Soundbounder]

I spent a lot of time in Sag Harbor during my college years.
I returned there about 5-6 years ago, and was shocked to see how much it had changed. It is still a very nice village and harbor, but I was sad to see how everything had gone extremely upscale. Basic things like a coffee shop and hardware store were gone and replaced by boutiques and expensive restaurants. And the prices at Malloys Waterfront Marina were obscene. It's too bad that more of a balance could not have been kept.