The very mention of City Island evokes for many boaters a maritime history unique in New York, specifically in Long Island Sound. Of course, sailors think of beautiful yachts like Brilliant, built on City Island in 1932 but still active at Mystic Seaport, or Dorade,…
Long Island Boating World
In the past getting out on the water was one of my primary forms of entertainment. Whether it was fishing with friends or sailing the waters of Long Island Sound I was out there almost every weekend. But it’s not that easy for me to…
January 17, 1920, marked the beginning of Prohibition. One of its purposes had been to improve morals in society by eliminating alcohol. But within weeks, the continued demand for illegal spirits soon led to smuggling and organized crime. Long Island Sound, with its 600 miles…
Broken and brokenagain on the sea,the moon so easily mends.-Chosu On the open ocean, with only sea and sky in view, the moon becomes an object of intense fascination. At sea, there is nothing to distract from its capricious celestial show, no place to hide…
The ship was a wooden-hulled three-masted ship. It was the first that the U.S. Navy commissioned. It was originally a 90-gun ship. In 1836, the ship was cut down to one deck and was re-rated as a 54-gun frigate. (Frigate: A vessel featuring three masts…
Chester A. O’Hara, the United States Customs roundsman strolled along the pier and casually offered a reminder to several of the impatient passengers to stay in line as he and his fellow customs officers neared the completion of their official duties. Two hour earlier, the…
I have done most of the work associated with home ownership by myself. I am talking about painting, new flooring etc. During the twenty-three years or so of owning a boat I have done the majority of maintenance myself. Having mostly diesel-powered boats I have…
GPS, the wonder of the 21st (really 20th!) century, is truly one of the simplest yet most powerful aids to navigation ever invented. And it just keeps getting better and better (column to follow in the months ahead.) So, who needs a compass? You do,…
We’ve all seen those postcards in our mailboxes inviting us to join one class action lawsuit or another. Some of the lawsuits involve data breaches with financial institutions, while others involve exposure to harmful substances. The sentiments shared by many folks opening their mail are,…
Another thing about some of the new boats marketed today that pisses me off, other than the prices, ever thinning fiberglass construction and hallucious color choices (I actually saw a new boat with dark brown Naugahyde companion pilot and aft chairs, Yee Ha! That boat’s…