The Bayles  family, of Port Jefferson (NY) was involved in caulking, and the building of barks, brigs, schooners, ships (whalers), steamers, sloops, yacht (schooners), and yacht (sloops) under five (5) names: (1.) Elisha Bayles, (2.) James M. & C. L. Bayles, (3.) James...

In an industry dominated by men for a variety of very valid reasons – the time demands, the need for physical strength, the isolation – when a woman becomes captain of a ship, it seems as if this  must be a first, but women have been ship captains going back to the 18t...

Donning scuba gear, you don’t have to descend very far below the surface of Long Island Sound to discover some of its prettiest marine animals.  In less than 20 feet, you can encounter large flower-like clusters of pink-hearted hydroids, swaying slowly back and forth i...

Driving down the road in central Virginia I spotted a fellow selling clams and crabs out of the back of his pickup. I bought a bag of little necks then lifted the lid on the cooler marked crabs.
Much to my surprise they were bright red. I immediately assumed they were...

 “All rivers lead to the sea” and Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey all have rivers fed by networks of tributaries and streams leading to bays, harbors, and the ocean. Having explored many, I keep finding new opportunities to be surrounded by nature from the van...

June is an exciting time to fish the ocean for a variety of reasons ranging from fluke to striped bass, bluefish, scup (porgies) and any of the other species that either migrates into and other wise become active in this region.  This year’s weather has been so fickle...

They dodged a bullet last year. When Tropical Storm Hermione finally veered out to sea, the crews of 68 mono hull sailboats awoke Labor Day weekend to lively northeast winds on a sun-splashed morning, scattered cotton clouds racing across the skies.
It was the start of...

If you had any thoughts about trying off-season kayaking (after Labor Day until Memorial Day), you still have a little time to get organized. Most kayakers consider summer to be that period between the two holidays. Unlike boaters who have a much longer season, kayaker...

There’s nothing that drives me crazier than listen to people who apparently

haven’t a clue use their boat’s VHF for everything but what it was meant for— this includes babysitting; I simply love hearing a drooler jamming up Channel 16.
There is protocol to follow when u...

After experiencing one of the warmest winters ever, even though the temperature did bounce up and down, Old Man Winter gave us one last slap in the face. And I’m delighted to report that the winter cover remained in place! This was mostly due to the wind keeping snow o...