July 10, 1986 - Under Sail AgainPage 8A/The Suffolk Times /July 10, 1986
Under Sail Again
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
The first thing I can remember
about sailing was when my cousin
and I played down at the bay with
our homemade sailboats. They
weren't too successful -- when the
wind blew, they usually flipped over.
It was the time when my Uncle
Henry was building his house on
Pequash Avenue and there was al-
ways scrap wood out of which we kids
could make boats of all sorts and
shapes. It taught us that you had to
have some sort of keel or centerboard
if you ever expected to do more than
just go down with the wind.
Later, my cousin Gordon got hold
of a homemade sailboat that looked
like a glorified version of one of our
homemade toy boats. It surely wasn't
a lady of the sea, as its shape was
anything but graceful.
It had a keel that looked like an old
trap door nailed to the bottom that
was held vertically by bands of metal
that ran from the bottom of the keel
to the sides of the boat. When it was
under sail, the bands vibrated like
crazy and gave you the idea you were
really moving through the water. We
learned that in small boats you don't
cleat the main sheet if you want to
stay right- side -up, but flipping over
was all part of learning about boats
and the bay.
Racing Sailboats
Another cousin, Jim, later bought
a small class boat called a Lawley. It
was a pretty little boat and we sailed
it everywhere. Then came Comets,
Lightnings, Thistles and a variety of
other small boats we learned to sail
in.
Races throughout the bay to Shel-
ter Island and as far as Fire Place on
the south side lured us. In those sum-
mer days, the water became our sec-
ond home.
It was here I became familiar with
the gulls and terns of the area. I knew
the nesting spots of the piping plover
that is now an endangered species be-
Focus on
Nature
cause of its loss of habitat. We knew
where every tern colony was and
often walked along the edges where
the birds would divebomb us, driving
us away from their sacred land.
It seemed there were terns nesting
on every spit of land, and every creek
had its "quawk" or night heron colony
in the woods and the ospreys seemed
to have their big stick nests located
in conspicuous sites throughout the
area.
It was a time of plenty. It's hard for
newcomers to our East End to realize
what abundance in wildlife we once
had here and how this abundance was
part of our everyday life as kids. It
was a time when we lived life day by
day in the splendor of summertime.
After the little Lawley, Jim bought
a larger sailboat which had a cabin
that slept four cramped or two com-
fortably. It was on this boat that
many of us young boys took short
overnight or weekend cruises. These
were the proving grounds for bigger
and better trips ahead.
Caught in a Storm
One such cruise was the busy
weekend before school opened and I
was supposed to be back, naturally,
to get things started the first day of
school. I was a teacher then and a
weekend sailor. Well, sailors don't al-
ways get the weather they want and
we got caught in a blow in Block Is-
land Sound.
It was so bad we had to spend the
night in the lee of Gardiners Island
and wait for the storm to subside. I
remember the decks leaked all day as
the spray drenched the boat and later
that night when we slept, or tried to
sleep, it was in soggy sleeping gear.
Nevertheless, we survived and I look
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Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
COMET 2186 - -It is in such small sailboats as this that many a young
boy or girl learn the ways of sailing and gain a true respect for and
admiration of the sea.
back on those days of light - hearted
cruising with fond memories.
Years later in our own boat, my
wife and I cruised the New England
shores. It was here I revisited the
Coast Guard Academy in New Lon-
don. We called ahead and got permis-
sion to anchor in the shadow of that
handsome tall sailing ship that's used
by the cadets as a training vessel.
From the parade of tall ships to the
finale of the celebration of this year's
Fourth of July, it was a spectacular
extravaganza. The message was clear
to everyone that we are a fortunate
nation indeed and one that the world
looks to as a leader of freedom and
opportunity.
The parade of tall ships was most
impressive in the Liberty Weekend
celebration just past, and like so
many things in our lives, it reminded
us of our changing world and how we
long to cling to some of those magni-
ficent remembrances. Men still go
down to the sea in ships but it's a
much changed world from the days of
the square riggers and the fast clipper
ships that made the world take notice
of a new nation making a name for
itself upon the sea.
East Marion: Enjoy and relax from
the bi -level decks of this newly con-
structed home. Directly across the
street from the bay. Want to know
more call Wetmore. $219,000.
Wetmore Real Estate
828 Front Street, Box 627
Greenport, New York 11964
477 -0798
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