Shinnecock & Peconic Bays Boat Tour
by Jessica Massaro
After pulling up to the shore of Peconic bay and jumping of the boat into the water, we pulled up a seat on the jetty and listened to an insightful lecture about the history of the area. Before the English Settled the area known now as Hampton Bays, it was home to thirteen Algonquian tribes. One of the tribes, the Shinnecock still live out there today on reservation lands. Once the discovery of the new world occurred the Hamptons area became one of the earliest English settlements of the new world.
The 1920’s is where the lecture got even more interesting. While the North shore of Long Island was more notable known as the “Gold Coast” for the lavish mansions and summer homes of the wealthy, the South shore also began to see many homes for the wealthy being made. East Hampton was seen as the area of “old money” where families had wealth for generations. Hampton Bays, which was established in 1922 after eleven villages came together as one, is seen as an area of “new money”. Most of this “new money” was thought to have come from the illegal sale of alcohol during the prohibition era.
During the prohibition era Long Island was nicknamed “Rum Row”. Due to the amount of shoreline LI has it made it easy so smuggle alcohol on to the land. The most happening place to be at that time was the Canoe Place Inn. Many famous celebrities of the time were frequent patrons of CPI’s, located on Montauk Hwy right near the Shinnecock canal. Bing Crosby got his start at CPI’s you know “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas…”. The reason CPI’s was such a popular hot spot was due to the fact that the Inn had a secret tunnel that lead to the canal where they would smuggle in alcohol.
It was extremely interesting hearing the stories and history of the area it gave such a better sense of where you are going to school.
Shinnecock Bay and Peconic Bay Boat Tour
by Lara Cordaro
ATTENTION!! All first time lock travelers!
The Shinnecock lock system is located in the Shinnecock canal in Hampton Bays, NY, operating around the clock. Through the Shinnecock Canal you can enter the locks to travel from the Shinnecock Bay to the Peconic Bay and out into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Shinnecock locks were built in 1919 in order to introduce and flush the waters from the Peconic Bay into the Shinnecock Bay. By doing so levels of salinity in the Shinnecock Bay were raised, thus improving the native shellfish ecosystems. Not only did the installment of the locks improve shellfish levels, but also allowing the two Bays to flow together in a more uniform manner. The Shinnecock and Peconic Bay have opposite tide schedules, because of this the water levels can either differ slightly or drastically- making travel for boaters difficult. The lock system allows for the tides from the bays to collect within the barriers of the locks and level out accordingly to allow for easier travel.
When traveling by boat, the captain or head person on boat must know how to navigate safely through the locks. The locks run on a series of signals and lights to notify the boats when to advance or when to wait.
Upon approaching the locks, the boats must signal clearly three times by light, horn or whistle to the lock operators. The operators then respond with a green light indicating that it is safe for the boat to advance forward into the lock chamber, or a red light meaning for the boat to wait, as the locks may already be in process. A no light response from the operators, tells the boat to wait and tie up along a wall just outside of the locks. Lastly, flashes of red or green lights repeated six times, cautions the boater to stop and wait for additional instructions. Once you are in the lock chamber, you must secure lines from your boat to posts or appropriate ladders with plenty of slack in your line, as the water level changes. Turn off your boat and wait as the locks exchange waters from the Shinnecock Bay and Peconic Bay. Depending on the tide that day, you may feel or notice your boat gradually or quickly rise or fall as the water levels balance out. Once the levels are even and safe for your boat to exit, the lock gates will open up and you and then remove your tied lines and exit slowly.
Shinnecock Inlet and “The Long Island Express”
by Joe Unsworth
This past Labor Day weekend, Tropical Storm Hermine crept agonizingly up the east
coast. Tropical storm warnings were issued, states of emergency declared, and urgently worded
emails were sent encouraging students to stock up on non-perishables and charge our phones
in the event of a long term loss of power. As the storm moved closer, anticipation grew. Outdoor
plans were cancelled and the excited anticipation that accompanies a big storm began to grow.
Overnight, the storm turned away from it’s projected path. It took a path much further south and
east than originally forecasted . What little rain and wind did reach us lasted 1 for no more than a
few hours. In spite of the anticlimactic nature of the tropical storm, I was struck by the irony of
learning about a much more influential storm just prior to the forecasted landfall of Hermine.
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| Damage done to Saltaire, NY after the 1938 storm. (Source: saltarian.com) |
With a name like “The Great New England Hurricane of 1938”, the aforementioned storm
is fairly self explanatory. Upon making landfall in the afternoon of September 21st, 1938, it was
a Category 3 hurricane with a 15 foot storm tide and a 120 mph max sustained wind. Montauk
became an own island temporarily and 10 new inlets were formed along the South shore of
Long Island2. Most were filled artificially, but Shinnecock Inlet was kept open in order to enhance
the water quality of Shinnecock Bay. Prior to the inlet’s formation, the Bay had poor circulation
which made the water relatively uninhabitable. Today, the Bay is a thriving hub for research,
fishing, and recreation and the 1938 formation of Shinnecock Inlet has made that possible.
1 NASA Earth Observatory, “Evolution of Hurricane Hermine,” http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=88718, (September 9, 2016)
2 NOAA National Weather Service, “The Great New England Hurricane of 1938,” http://www.weather.gov/okx/1938HurricaneHome, (2015)
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