Greenport, 2015

We've been visiting Greenport, Long Island by boat for perhaps 25 years. For many of those years, we tied up at a friend's place in Sterling Harbor and when he passed away, we began to go to Mitchell Park Marina in downtown Greenport. The marina was brand new back then and over the years we've watched as it developed into a first class boating destination.

This year, Labor Day weekend was our last chance to visit, so Frances called for a reservation at our favorite slip, B-14, and when we arrived on Thursday, September 3, the place was almost empty. That would change within 24 hours.

Our trip over, just 38 miles, was uneventful. The weather was hot, humid and somewhat overcast. The Sound was fairly calm enabling Pooka, the boat cat, to keep much of his breakfast down. Well, almost all.

 Entering Plum Gut. The speck in the distance on the left is the Plum Gut Red bell buoy. The one at the right is Orient Pint Light

We docked without a problem except for my insistence that we have a starboard side tie. Nope. The folks at Mitchell's wanted a port side tie so we went around and did it their way. Worked out fine, though. Great dock guys at Mitchell Park.

As you can see, arriving on a Thursday, even before a big holiday weekend, is pretty easy. In 24 hours, the marina had filled to capacity and by Saturday afternoon, they were turning boats away.

Frances set up everything and before we knew it, the flowers were in place and some excellent fresh tomatoes from the farm stand were ready to be consumed.

Frances always puts out flowers on the boat and it's amazing how, a few hours later, flowers appear on other boats as well. It's nice to be a leader.

Soon it was cocktail hour. The humidity disappeared and it was the perfect setting for a chat and a drink.

Pooka joined us, of course, although his cocktail was just water.

On Friday, we took the ferry to Shelter Island specifically to have lunch at our favorite place, the Chequit Inn. Unfortunately, the Chequit had been sold in July and no longer serves lunch. We'll miss sitting under the big tree and enjoying a fine lunch.

There aren't many other dining options at Shelter Island Heights so we reluctantly walked down across the great lawn to The Dory. We've eaten at The Dory years before and found it underwhelming. Predictably, The Dory lived up to its reputation. Expensive, lousy food and slow service. Avoid it, if you can.

The Dory on a beautiful summer day. The empty tables should have given us a clue.

Our friends, Ellen and Dave, visited on Friday evening and we all went to dinner at Skipper's in Greenport. This is a great favorite of ours because it has great food, isn't at all fancy and is where many locals hang out. From Mitchell Park, Skipper's isn't within walking distance of Greenport village. It's on the North Road next to the golf course. Take a cab if you have to. It's well worth it.

A major part of the marina is Mitchell Park itself, complete with beautiful lawns and a first class carousel. On Saturday night, A Greek musical group was performing in the park and folks from all over showed up to dance to the music. Lots of fun for everyone.

Frances wanted to ride the carousel and she did, with the biggest smile on her face of the entire weekend.

On Sunday, we took a walk to the beach. Yes, Greenport village has its own beach at the end of Fifth Street, which is short walk from the marina. The beach faces Pipe's Cove, a beautiful area for mooring or swimming from the beach. Frances collected shells, as she almost always does, no matter where we take our boat.

We left on Monday morning to a weather forecast that was wind from the west 10-15 kts, gusting to 20 kts; seas 2-3 feet. That sounded fine to us but once we entered the Sound and turned east toward New London that west wind (and some following seas) gave us an extra 4 miles per hour. We can't remember ever crossing quite that fast.

It was a little bumpy for folks going in the other direction but just fine with us.

 Our friends Kim and Mike caught up with us on the Thames River as we entered Norwich. Thanks to them for this great shot and a number of others.

 All in all, a great Labor Day weekend. You can bet that we'll be doing it again  next summer.

Video here. Great memories for us.