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June 15, 1995 - On Old Boats, GoldenmEyes and High TidesJune 15; 1995 • The, Suffolk Times 1'1'A On Old Boats, GoldenmEyes and High Tides By Paul Stoutenburgh "Old boats never die "; they just need continuous maintenance. So it is with my son's old Luhrs. Basically it's a great boat. It was built when boats were first being made of fiberglass and the compa- ny was hesitant to give in completely to the new material and therefore stayed with wood on the cabin, and that's where the problem occurs. The fiberglass hull is impenetrable and sound, but in places where the wood hasn't been prop- erly maintained it has deteriorated. Nature It's something like an old house that has the old, tough, mason -like shin- gles but wooden windows and door frames. If wood is properly painted and caulked, it will still be in good condition but if left unattended, it will crack, rot and have to be replaced. Having a little experience with main- tenance of old boats, I volunteered to help correct the situation and so Satur- day morning we gathered our tools and other various necessities and headed for the boat. Today's technology does won- ders for old boats. Modern caulking is not only long- lasting but it is flexible so that as the boat creaks and rocks, the joints still hold their watertight seal. This, coupled with fiberglass and resin to be used wherever possible, gave us high hopes of bringing the `old girl" back to a better life. A Lone Golden -Eye As we rowed out to where the boat was moored in the creek, I noticed an unusual duck sitting on the marsh grass to our left. First I thought it might be a mallard, for they are our only common duck nesting now. There might be an occasional black duck around nesting, but they are in the minority when com- pared to the practically tame mallards we see. No, it couldn't be a mallard for I could see white on the body. As we drew closer and closer the telltale patch of white on its cheek told me it was a gold- en -eye, one of the many sea ducks that spend the winter months throughout our waters. But what was it doing here in our creek and sitting on a hummock of marsh grass? All its comrades had flown to the north along with all the other ducks that we see throughout the winter months. As we drew closer it slipped quietly into the water and im- mediately dove out of sight. It seemed healthy enough but it had lost its capacity to fly. Then I remem- bered: Golden - eyes, along with scoters, old- squaws and mergansers, are hunted legally throughout the ducking season and this one must have been shot and lost its ability to fly. So when all others left, it remained behind. It was interesting to see this winter duck in our creek but I must say I felt sorry for it. Hopefully it will be able to survive the rigors of summer boat traffic and be re- warded when its fellow golden -eyes re- turn in the fall to spend the winter with US. On board we found plenty to do: re- placement of a section of deck, new strips imbedded in 3M's marine caulk to keep the joint dry between the deck and the cabin, windows to be recaulked; the list went on and on. Being a great be- liever in the old adage, "all work and no play ...," I stopped every once in a while and looked about. I saw the mute swan that had sat so patiently on her huge nest up in the meadow at the head of the creek had finally given up. Her clutch of big, creamy eggs must have gotten wet during one of the high tides and not developed. She sat for over a month faithfully, but with no results. Photo by Paw Stoutenburgh NESTING SWANS —Not all swans have successful hatchings. Because of freshwater floods or extra -high tides, the eggs often get wet and cold and do not hatch. ■ w690% i wwL nwwL 75 Years Ago June 11, 1920 Gypsies on Shelter Island: A band of gypsies crossed Shelter Island Saturday bound for the north side. There were three autos full of people, but they were not allowed to remain for any length of time. It would seem that these caravans follow a certain fixed trail and revisit us at intervals. Some eight years ago a large caravan of 15 or more wagons appeared in June and were sent with all speed across the island to the mainland. 50 Years Ago June 15, 1945 Children Sell War Bonds: Boys and girls who buy or sell a War Bond can get a free ticket to see the big gala children's bond show at the Greenport Theatre on Sat - urday morning, June 23. Two big screen attraetions, Walt Disney's famous "Bambi," a Technicolor feature, and Gene Autry in "Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride," will be shown. So fill your stamp books and turn them in on a bond, or if you can't do that, get Mom or Dad or a friend to buy a bond from you. Classified Ads: For sale — House, six rooms, with improvements, with rear adjacent to Sterling Creek, Green - port. $2,500 for quick sale. This happens often with swans who nest on marshes where super -high tides play havoc with the eggs by flooding. This happens to other ground nesters as well; heavy rains puddle the ground and sweep into the nest, cooling the eggs. Even ospreys that build high above the ground have the same problem, particu- larly if the nest has been used year after year. What happens is that the depres- sion in the deepest part of the nest gets matted down so hard that it actually be- comes impenetrable and holds water. Then when we have downpours where the water can't run off or percolate through, the nest holds the rain water, which in turn cools the eggs and kills the unborn inside. One other thing about ospreys, before we leave this master fisherman, is that there are a lot of young birds that return each year for the first time and want to crash the party of resident birds. Most are driven off by the old established 25 Years Ago June 12, 1970 Town Buys Building: At Friday's Town Board meeting the deed and property to the old Cutchogue tele- phone company building were sold to the town. Telco attorney Salvatore Imbergamo said the company sold the property only after insistent negotiations by the supervi- sor. Shortly after the contracts were signed, his company received a much higher offer. Tentative plans for the brick building call for its being earmarked to house Jus- tice Court. Suffolk in 2020: Fifty years from now, the popula- tion of Suffolk County will be 4,720,000 — or at least that's the claim of a confidential report from Albany. The "Summary Population Projection" indicates that by 1990, or 20 years from now, Suffolk will take over the New York State county population lead at a figure of 2,463,000, which lead it will not relinquish. On Sewer Service: No sewer service unless you are in the incorporated village, ruled Greenport Trustees Monday night. At a regular meeting of the board it was decided that "All persons desiring their property to be con- nected with the village sewer system could accomplish this only by the process of annexation into the village of the property involved." nesters but they hang around, always hopeful of a chance to move in and es- tablish a home site. Because of their re- jection they put their energies into build- ing a frustration nest. Being new at the game and inexperi- enced, they sometimes pick the most in- appropriate places — on TV towers, windmills, high cranes, lighting poles and the latest I've heard of, on top of boat masts. Over in the "cove" where sailboats moor there are two or three A saw the ospreys trying this impossible task to mute the frustration of the swan that boat owners. All I can say is, be had sat so patient. It's the price we pay to have patiently these magnificent birds around. on her They'll soon forget nest had it and it will all be a thing of the past. finally Flooding also destroys tern and given up. plover nests as well. It's a difficult time for birds and it's another reason why we should try to help in every possible way during this difficult time. One thing I noticed while working on the boat was the ever - present dust of pollen that lay on everything. Even out on the water the decks and surfaces had their layer of pollen. No wonder Roger was snetzing. Oaks and hickories are pollinated by airborne pollen to make sure there will be acorns and hickory nuts to propagate the species. Once the pollen is dispersed the catkins are of no further use and they are dropped. We see them laying around, dried and brown, all over our yards and roofs. Sweep them away or destroy them with your lawn- mower; they'll soon be forgotten. And so life goes on — boats are re- paired, casualties happen to ducks, pollen makes many of us uncomfortable at this time of the year, swans are flood- ed out and will have to try again, and our young ospreys will forget their spring urge to muscle into a new territory and hopefully go fishing instead.