September 13, 1984 - Sailing Under a Full MoonSeptember 13, 1984
The, Suffolk Times
Sailing Under a Full Moon
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
Planning ahead is most important,
but sometimes spur of the moment ac-
tivities become the remembered ones
for they carry with them, the unex-
pected. If you plan to leave at 9 a.m.,
arrive at 12:30 for lunch, see a show
and return on the 4:30 bus you are
pretty well locked into doing just that.
All that's well and good, and most of us
have to operate on some sort of
schedule. Yet when you do the "let's do
it now" kind of thing on the spur of the
moment, it seems those occasions often
outlive, in your memory, those that
were well planned and more routine.
We had asked some friends out for an
afternoon sail sometime after one. It
was one of those sparkling days we had
recently, blue sky with puffy white
clouds, and most important, a good wind
for sailing. We'd done up the chores
around the place, picked late raspber-
ries for freezing and were ready for the
afternoon.
Conditions couldn't have been better
so the sails were up in no time and we
were off. Luckily we had no special
place to go so we sailed with the wind.
Southwest is our predominant summer
breeze and so across the bay we went,
close hauled, to the south side. How
good it was to see no jellyfish around.
We all wondered what had chased them
away. Knowing they live only a year
and cool weather had arrived, we specu-
lated it could be the combination of both
that had hopefully done them in.
What with good chatter with old
friends we soon found ourselves having
to come about off the south shore. We
sailed in a westerly direction under the
great sand banks of Southampton.
These huge banks had always caught
my eye even from far across the bay to
the north.
Climb to the Top
As young teenagers we often sailed
across the bay and anchored under their
towering heights, and, of course, we al-
ways had to climb their "quicksand -
like" banks. One foot up and a half a
foot back, but youthful energy would
always prevail till we reached the top.
There we would gaze in awe at the
sweeping view below us. Once we were
caught atop during a typical summer
storm. The sky blackened and the wind
blew. It was an exciting time to be up
there watching the world unfold around
us.
Soon we were off Cow Neck where I
remember seeing an osprey nest years
back along its rugged banks. It was
gone, but further along another active
nest has taken its place. Since ospreys
mate for life, and use the same nesting
area, I'm sure it is still the same family
we saw years ago.
As we fought the swift current of the
South Race, we finally broke its hold
and moved out into Great Peconic Bay
with Riverhead on the horizon. After
spending the afternoon sailing in this
great bay, my stomach felt the pangs
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of hunger which meant it was time to
head for home. Then the thought
flashed through my mind, "How about
eating at Shinnecock ?" "Does anyone
have to get back ?" "Not me." "Not me."
And so we came about and headed for
the entrance to the canal.
The sails came down outside the red
and black buoys and with the motor
purring, we headed in. The snapper
fishermen were still trying their luck
along the bulkheaded sides. Inside the
wind had dropped off completely and it
was calm and quiet. Ahead, the high-
way and railway bridges blocked our
way so we swung into the county's
newly outfitted marina.
Once tied up, we headed for a
dockside restaurant along the canal's
side. We sat right at the edge of the
canal and enjoyed a delightful dinner
while watching boats move back and
forth on their way through the locks.
Slowly, lights came on around us. Dark-
ness was taking over. The red and green
lights that directed the boats to and
from the locks became brighter as night
approached.
Moon to Sail Home By
With stomachs well satisfied, we
headed back to the boat. Car lights and
street lights lit our way. As we walked
along the low road we could see a white-
ness to the east above the trees; it would
be a full moon to sail back by.
Aboard, we started the motor and
kept it as low as possible for we didn't
want to disturb the quiet. We slipped
out of the canal without running lights
the only lights aboard. One lone fisher-
man still stuck to his post. I wondered
what he thought as we sneaked by. Pro-
Page 21
tected by the land, there was no wind,
so we kept the motor on, and not to be
tied to a tiller, we put the automatic
pilot on and all went up on the bow to
enjoy the evening.
By now, the moon was up in all its
splendor. The farther from land we got,
the more the breeze built up, so much
so that it was soon unanimously voted
to shut off the motor and sail. What a
difference that makes!
What would be the appropriate adjec-
tive to describe the evening? Delight-
ful? Beautiful? Splendid or even roman-
tic? I guess, all of them. We had once
done the same thing years and years
ago with the very same couple on a spur
of the moment decision, but this night
seemed even more spectacular.
We sailed for hours talking of this
and that with only the lapping of the
water and the glow of an occasional
phosphorus struck by a fleeting fish to
distract our attention. The truly silver
moon entranced us.
Far off to the north, the twinkling
green buoy off Robins Island guided us
on our homeward journey. Tied up and
secured above, we all went below to
toast the day. Sailing at night is excit-
ing but sailing at night with a full moon
becomes something special and memor-
able.
AARP, CHAPTER 1915
Peconic Area Chapter No. 1915 of the
American Association of Retired Per-
sons will meet Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 1
p.m. at Moose Lodge, Riverhead.
The Reverend Wesley Nelson, first
'vice president, will be installed as chap-
ter president since president Wilma
Hurney has been appointed assistant
state AARP director for Suffolk County.
Guest speaker will be Rosemary of
Rosemary Tours.
Guests are welcome.
LILA HARTIN
85 EAST MAIN STREET, RIVERHEAD
• 727 -9824
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