I hope you all enjoyed my last article about our very first trip to Watch Hill Fire Island back in September of 1998 – 27 years ago. It’s amazing how fast the years have gone. What do they say the days are long but the years are short? Couldn’t be truer…it seems like just yesterday that we started going there. We have met so many good friends there over the years. It was always a joke because the majority of the people that we met there were from Suffolk County and us coming there originally from Oceanside it was like we lived in another country to them lol. But we did make alot of long-term friendships and would see them over the winters and still do, to this day. It’s like one big family. Our boys grew up out there. So many of our friends knew us even before the boys were born. Down the line there will be plenty of Watch Hill boating stories of the days before our boys were a part of family but the best stories will be of when they were there 🙂
I think this year’s Fall boating was perfect. It’s different for us now that both of our boys are in college. Though I miss all the years of Saturday Football games and the crazy schedules, the last two years September boating weather has just been perfect. This boating season really did start off very unsettled with the weather…weekends in April and May it either rained, was windy when it wasn’t or seemed to be a combination of both. But as the summer went on, we were very lucky with the weather.As a matter of fact, as I sit to write this, I am constantly getting sidetracked (as usual – part of my daily routine) checking the weather for this upcoming weekend. Right now, it’s the Wednesday before Columbus Day weekend and there is a possibility of a storm coming up the coast in the next few days that could really affect this weekend’s plans. Currently they are talking rain, high winds and minor to moderate coastal flooding. This is really going to put a damper on the weekend if these weather forecasts actually hold true. We are supposed to be heading to Watch Hill this weekend for the last weekend of the season. It’s the biggest and best social gathering of the year. Everyone wants to be at there for this weekend for two reasons…Friends of Watch Hill has their (or ours as I will explain) biggest event of the year on the Saturday of the weekend and the Concessionaire has their Prosecco party on Sunday. Right now, the weather isn’t looking so great for the weekend…so hoping that it could possibly change.
Did you ever hear of Friends of Watch Hill or FOWH? It is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and support the recreational use of Watch Hill by building a sense of community through fundraising efforts and organized events. It’s been in existence for over twenty years. FOWH has made many improvements to Watch Hill over the years including the Mosquito Magnet program. If you have been to Watch Hill in the last few years you would see the beautiful playground that has been built for the kids. It was a long time coming and we are so happy that it finally came to fruition. It’s so great to watch all the kids having fun! We had hoped for something like that when our boys were younger and are so happy to see the new generation of kids being able to enjoy it. There’s plenty of other programs that FOWH participates in as well. I think personally my favorite is Christmas in July. If you follow the FOWH Facebook page or the Instagram Page (and if you don’t you should…because I run those as well!) you might have seen the videos from Christmas in July in past years. A few years ago, my son even got it on the Long Island Wise Guy Instagram Page. Christmas in July is when Santa, The Rabbi and an Elf go around on a boat up and down all of the basins in the marina while tooting the horn and playing Christmas music. The kids get so excited up at the ferry dock waiting patiently for them to come into the marina. Once they make their way around the whole marina Santa, The Rabbi and Elf get dropped off at the ferry dock and come up into the Commons area where the kids are waiting for them. The kids all take turns to sit on their lap, get a toy and their parents take a picture. It’s something that makes your heart happy to see how excited the kids get.
FOWH has a tremendous amount of Membership support each year and we have a Donor Board Display up at the Ferry Dock. This year our Donor Board is the biggest that it has ever been since the start of the organization. FOWH couldn’t do what they do if it was not for the generous donations of the Members. My husband Jay has been on the Board for many years and he has been the President of FOWH for the last almost 10 years. I help take care of the emails, memberships mailings and like I said the social media aspect of the organization. It’s very fulfilling to be part of such a wonderful organization plus improving our special place that we all love.
As usual, I go off on a tangent from what I originally wanted to write about. But in the end, it’s all about boating and having fun so it’s all good right? So, where I left off from last month’s article was when we went to Watch Hill back in September of 1998 which was our very first trip there and we had a 1998 24′ Bayliner. We finished off the season with the Bayliner and in the fall we had the boat hauled and blocked in our driveway. I had to ask my husband what happened after that because so many years ago and so many boats ago I couldn’t remember what actually happened. So, it seems that I complained (not uncommon for me as you will see in future articles) that the boat didn’t ride that well and even though I loved all of the amenities, I wasn’t really happy with it. Well as it turns out I don’t really have to tell my husband twice that I’m not that happy with a boat and want to get a new because he was right on it. Jay put the Bayliner up for sale and immediately started doing research to purchase a new one.
We were very lucky and sold the Bayliner right away. It was actually hauled from our driveway and went off to its new family before the end of the year. As Jay’s research continued, we decided on something totally different…we found and purchased from a marina in Freeport a 1998 25′ Stamas. It was hull only and we added a 250 HP Yamaha motor to it. We went from a Cabin Cruiser with creature comforts to a hard-core Fishing Boat. I remember all Jay kept saying is that it would be the best riding boat. And so, we went for it. I went from not wanting to have a boat at all under any circumstances to we have now purchased our third boat in the first season of us boating.
This will be my last article for this year. I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read my articles and I hope you have enjoyed them. I know that I have enjoyed writing them and remembering all of the fun times we had years ago. I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday Season and Best Wishes for the New Year. Hoping 2026 brings everyone Love and Peace.
I look forward to start writing articles again in the New Year and sharing with you all of the fun times that we had on the Stamas starting in 1999. Or the not so fun times like the one time that I got stuck in the aft cabin and couldn’t get out……..
See everyone in the New Year!