Oct 16, 2009

Lights Enroute to Gardener's Island and the Race

Recently we put the boat in at Greenport Harbor and headed due east to do some fly casting on and beyond the Plum and Gardiners Islands flats. The day was a bit hazy and the air had a little bite to it. We were hoping to catch blue fish, striped bass and false albacore (little tunny) but the weather from the northeast two days earlier had put them down and only the "albies" were spotted under a flock of gulls hitting the water to eat the scraps left by the marauding fish. I fought one briefly before it managed to get unhooked, a risk I take by using only barbless hooks which do almost no damage to the fish I want to release. Only their egos are hurt. The day was not a total loss however. I had my camera and squeezed off a few shots of the light houses we passed along the way and enjoyed the companionship of my boat mates and an excellent packed lunch to be eaten at slack tide waiting for the change to incoming.


Long Beach Bar Light (Bug Light)




Little Gull Light




Plum Island Light




Orient Point Light (the Coffee Pot)




Plum Gut at slack tide with the Coffee Pot to the extreme left and Plum Light on the right. The water goes through this two mile wide gut with depths from 60 to 200 - 300 feet. My brother Bruce would remember a white knuckle passage we made several years ago. Click here for a video made from a powered sailboat fighting the current.



For more photos and commentary about this area and north to Connecticut see Matthew Housekeepers excellent blog "Soundbounder".

14 comments:

Hilda said...

Fascinating! I didn't realize that lighthouse architecture was so varied. They all look wonderful though, and I absolutely love the nicknames!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Fascinating photographs - and the fishing sounds wonderful. Make the most of the last few days of "summer."

Kirigalpoththa said...

wonderful shots!

You will never get lost in the sea when you have that meny light houses!

Helen said...

Great shots. Beautiful Lighthouses. Helen

mj said...

It's nice to be able to see your part of the world through your camera lens. The video gives a much different impression of the waters than your photos.

Anonymous said...

Is it legal for people to explore the lighthouses? Or will they be arrested if they're caught on the lighthouse islands? I've always wondered about that.

dianasfaria.com said...

great lighthouse shots, must be neat to see them from your boat. Thanks for the video clip, very interesting to see what it is like boating through perilous waters!

Glennis said...

Thanks for the boat ride, wish I had a chance to fish as well. I am surprised how many and different are the lighthouses in your area, I do like the big wide angle view of lighthouses dotted around in the gently rolling sea. So beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Four different-looking lighthouses, all beautiful. I like the nicknames too.

magiceye said...

a brilliant informative post!

J. Evan Kreider said...

Next challenge (and a big one) is to show a lighthouse at different times of day. It would be fascinating to see it at dusk/dawn, lit, with a bit of the surrounding context being visible, and at night (good luck) and of course during full daylight. I haven't a clue how to do this, but....

Unknown said...

Nice work Mark.
And thanks for the kind words.

Janie said...

Beautiful lighthouses and photos!

Suki said...

So many different lighthouses! You're spoilt for choice!