I had to take a week off (May 30-June 6) from the trip to make a quick (read sarcasm) drive to Texas for my niece’s wedding and for a few days with my daughter and mom. It’s a 26-hour drive each way, so I usually try to stop in or around Knoxville (near halfway) where I finished my PhD and still have a few friends. No matter it’s an exhausting drive, but well worth it to see family and loved ones along the way and in Texas, slip back into my drawl, and practice a few cowboy tunes along the way.
(signs at Charlie’s Beach for man and beast)
Charlie’s Beach was mostly abandoned this morning. The paddling would be a 7-8 mile trip, again a mild wind and a few ripples to keep the gurgle of water against our kayaks.
(view of Charlie’s Beach from offshore)
The first stopping point was Cedar Point, a small neck of land to the north. First, off to our right is Alewife Brook and above it Alewife Pond (“What’s In A Name?: Alewife Brook”). Some suggest alewives were given this name because their belly shape: ” … named from the word for female tavern keepers (late 14c.), from ale + wife; the fish so called in reference to its large abdomen” (https://www.etymonline.com/word/alewife). I’m not fully convinced; it sounds fishy. Why not alemen?
(photos by Maria Brown)
We rightly assumed most of the island would be fenced off for tern and plover preservation, so we headed for the closest point to land hoping for an easy portage. Folks can walk all the way around the spit of land if they stay close to the beach. That way they can see the Cedar Point Lighthouse on the far end (Cedar Point County Park). We noticed quite a few deer tracks (an adult and a fawn) along the beach. A woman walked the beach with a small, nondescript dog of various heritage. I like mutts; I’ve always felt a common genealogy with them.
Once across, we turn left and Gardiner’s Island appears to the northeast. With the wind being so slight, we cut across the small bay and stayed far offshore from Three Mile Harbor. No real reason other than timing and shortening the trip. As we were closer to the harbor, some very impressive homes appeared on the bluff. Homeowners who buy or build their ocean-side home face a few concerns. If you want a view, you need to clear away forest and vegetation. When that happens, erosion begins. Some then bring in boulders for erosion control. It is an old story between humans and the land they live on. We want it to meet all of our desires, whether those desires take into account the physics of coastal processes. For someone with more time than I, here’s a book about Long Island needing to be researched and written: what’s here, what historically happens in this place and is going to happen, AND how do we reconcile our desires and dollars with this history/science/projections. I’m baffled sometimes by those denying anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change. It’s not that hard to see the clear data. My guess is the Scott Pruitts of the world don’t really deny climate change in private, but their desires for cash through their industrial pasts don’t allow them to publicly admit fact. Desire has been “trump”ing fact since our species has been around. It’s not a new story.
Once across to Hog Creek Point, we take a southeast turn and move down the East Hampton coastline.
Along the way, we’ve come across a few pound traps–something I have no background with.
One of the better articles I’ve come across is Russell Drumm’s “Working a Pound Trap On a Calm Gardiner’s Bay” printed in The Easthampton Star in 2003. Some were in good repair, and early on, I saw a fisherman collecting his haul from the final circle at the end of the netting extending all the way from the shore. Others were left with only poles, and some with partial netting and poor condition. Lots of cormorants and a few osprey loved them all, perching on the netting lines and poles, dipping in and out of the water when hungry.
Gardiner’s Island was now in full view off to the east. Like much of the forks, Gardiner’s Island has a complex and mixed history. East Long Island says:
Lion Gardiner reportedly purchased the island in 1639 from the Montaukett Indians for “a large black dog, some powder and shot, and a few Dutch blankets.” The Indians called the island Manchonake, while the Gardiners initially called it Isle of Wight. The Montauketts gave Gardiner title at least in part because of his support for them in the Pequot War. https://www.eastlongisland.com/gardiners-island/history/
Captain Kidd, wars, and the inevitable family squabbles have followed the island and ownership, such that now most of it is under a conservation easement until 2025, but there is hope it will stay that way into the future (“Plan to Conserve Gardiner’s Island”).
As we got closer to needing to turn south toward Napeague Harbor, some of the houses along the shore became even more actively worried about erosion and beach habitat–bulwarks, riprap, and rock jetties.
We decided to stop at one for a bite of protein bar, an apple, and a lot of water. A guy wandered out of his house to look over the bulwark and check in on us. We explained the project and the estimated time and effort. He had a bemused but distant look on his face. Maria launched into her work about eel grass restoration, algal blooms and hypoxic zones, bats, and …. Without a goodbye, our host turned and walked back into his house.
Works every time, she said.
Why does he care if we are here? We’d make awful burglars in kayaks, not the best getaway vehicles, I noted.
It is private property, even the beach here, so we are trespassing. Time to go, Maria nodded.
An odd note. Maria says she heard an explosion while we were packing up the kayaks. I think I did too, but it may have been an after-the-fact memory. In any case, as we rounded the edge of houses and shore, we saw a trail of black smoke on the horizon.
We couldn’t tell the source, but the terminus was just off the sandy southern spit of Gardiner’s Island called Cartwright Island. Now and then a boat would rush out of Acabonac Harbor, but it wasn’t until we were closer that we could see it was a boat on fire. We both looked at each other and hoped all were safe, but it wasn’t until that evening I was able to read about the fire. The boat engine caught fire and some Jetskiers rescued the three onboard: “Three Escape Boat That Caught Fire Off Gardiner’s Island”. By the time we were passed, the local fire department boat had arrived and were putting the fire out.
Albert’s Landing was only a short ways away, and the day had been full of adventure. It was a lazy Friday on the beach with only a few folks and a very nervous cocker spaniel. I’m sorry. He’s so obnoxious, she bemoaned. Bark, barkbark, barkbarkbark, the dog complained. He doesn’t like hats, she said apologetically. I took my hat off and offered amends. Barkbarkbark, bark, the dog responded. Sometimes the fence between species makes good neighbors I thought to myself and readied the kayaks for loading. It’s ashamed. I really like dogs.
