Perhaps that title should say “for” instead of “in” since we were holed up there exactly 72 hours.

The complexities, some self-imposed, of coastal New England summer cruising mean you can’t harbor hop whenever you darn well please. Popular places, which we adore as much as the next boater/cruiser, quickly fill up on weekends (weekends begin on Thursday in July and August) so plan accordingly. Oh wait, now the weather has collapsed? Find a safe harbor and tuck in; if conditions improve you simply leave for the next desired place. But wait! What if the weekend has arrived? Power boats have the speed advantage and if we want to burn more diesel than the next guy we can out-race another sailing vessel, maybe even out-sail them too! Or since we are so wide we’ll push everyone aside and nab that last mooring which is now more desired than that first cup of morning java.

A diverse neighborhood for sure. This house seemed to encourage deer to stop by

After participating in and watching plenty of Block Island at-anchor dramas, only a mooring will do for this cat. If you don’t nab one of the town moorings, at 3pm the harbor master will assign you a private mooring one night at a time. Early the next morning you can join the circling buzzards in the town mooring field attempting to grab a soon-to-be available ball, assuming any open up. Sounds exciting right? What if you don’t get a mooring? Three choices: one, you leave; two, you anchor, finding room even if there isn’t any and expect the depth to exceed 25ft; three, try to get a slip-ha! If that isn’t insanity. You will be rafted at Champlains- great for power boaters who love loud music and making new friends while climbing over their boats too intoxicated to know when they’ve arrived at their own. Would you believe this isn’t for us? Not before, not now.
If you survive being anchored for a day, you just get assigned another private mooring for the night and start the process over. The private mooring owners need to tell the harbor master if they will be using their mooring, otherwise one of us transients may get to use it. The owner gets a piece of the nightly fee of course.
Where is Ortolan then? Not at Block, not with rain, wind, fog and a nasty forecast. 3 Mile Harbor is only two miles long, but the distance into town (East Hampton of the famous Hamptons) is three miles. The real weather didn’t end up as bad as predicted and if not for our anchoring phobia at Block we’d have headed there sooner. Monday was extremely calm (so much for 15-25mph wind) so we took Bunting up harbor and around the jetty to the beach. Landing the dinghy here would give us a short walk to a nearby market and deli.
Due to our keen interest (mine especially) in weather conditions, the electronics are usually on which means the displays over the table showing wind speed, depth and air temp can be on, as well as the Garmin chart plotter with Sirius XM radio and the “weather” screen selected. The VHF can be on also. We pass the time listening to the Coast Guard make frequently barely intelligible announcements and much eye-rolling ensues when we hear of a hazard to navigation or a vessel in need of assistance and the location (lat and lon) is rattled off before you could possibly pick up your pen, never mind find a piece of paper. Half the time no other reference point is mentioned; like we’re supposed to know where Cow Neck is for example. But I was freaked out to hear announcements one day from as far away as Delaware Bay and Atlantic City. Hadn’t we left all that behind us?

He’s washing in the rain, just washing in the rain… when else have we had extra fresh water?

We saw this hard-working clammer every day. Took this shot shortly before we left the harbor.

By Tuesday, the dew point was off the scale and even though we didn’t get rain until late evening, between the fog and mega-moisture surrounding us, it felt and sounded like sprinkles all day. Once this stalled front moves on, so will we.
Foodie Notes: fresh donuts made with a Dreesen’s doughnut robot fry machine can be found in East Hampton at Scoop du Jour; was too far a walk for us initially, but after a couple of days we would have gone for it had we not become glued to our seats. Not a great donut destination, but one we’d have liked to check out.

Serene and calm at the entrance to Coecles Harbor as we take dinghy over to the “beach”

Thursday we backtracked 6 miles to Coecles Harbor on the east side of Shelter Island, where Russ claims “50 years” and is one the first places we ventured to in our first boat (together) m/v Lady L. Most of the harbor’s southern shore is posted “no landing” as the entire area of many acres is a preserve. Only a small section on the north side of the narrow entrance is available for beach combing or fishing.

Amber waves of shells- pile up at the high tide line

Osprey nests sat safely on man-made nest assister poles, complete with a lookout perch. The adults appeared larger than usual but that could just be a proximity thing.

A very vocal nest. The little one on the right was stretching his wings

The most noteworthy thing is the island in the island in the island; namely Taylor Island sits in Coecles Harbor on Shelter Island on Long Island.

Taylor House- a special place in the harbor

Of course if we’d seen a sleek Billy Joel designed Shelter Island Runabout (similar to a dark-hulled Grand Banks Eastbay picnic boat), that would have been worth a mention and a photograph. The boats are built right here at Coecles Harbor Marina.

Not a Shelter Island Runabout, but sweet anyway

Taylor Island, fka Cedar Island, and its lone log cabin house have an interesting four-era history which we first began to read about in ActiveCaptain reviews, then Russ dove in further via all-knowing Google. I’ll give you the basic overview and a link to more for those so inclined to knowledge consumption.
The log cabin main house was built by F.M. Smith, the Borax king, who purchased Cedar Island in 1899. He used the cabin for entertaining, often hosting clambakes. In 1939 S. Gregory Taylor acquired the island, adding a bedroom, kitchen, a tower, heating and running water to the house. Mr Taylor died in 1948 and wished to be buried on the island. He willed the island to his nephew Steve and upon Steve’s death the property would belong to the Town of Shelter Island for the use and enjoyment of the people. One day, circa 1958, Andrew Arkin was flying around Shelter Island looking for property to purchase when he flew over the Taylor House. Within no time Arkin obtained a 5-year lease at no-cost from Steve with the agreement that Arkin restore the Cape Cod house and small generator house and allow Steve’s mother, Mr. Taylor’s sister, to visit her brother’s grave when she wished. This lease lasted 22 years and when nephew Steve passed away the property went to Shelter Island.

If you read the link, click the History button and be sure to click the name and dates hyper-link on the Andrew Arkin tab to read his interesting letter about finding the island and becoming a Shelter Islander.

Today, eight years into a restoration project, the house is protected by a new sea wall and you can peer inside to see a gorgeous vaulted ceiling, substantial fireplace and a cute kitchen with a gas fridge.

Looking in from one of the front windows

Kitchen-sorry about the window glare

Respectful visiting is allowed; so we did, bringing our happy hour fixings over for drinks on the porch. At low tide you can walk or drive across the sand bar that connects the island to Shelter Island. We used the floating dock.

The side view, looking east out toward the harbor entrance and the anchorage

Friday was a 1 engine motor around the north tip of Shelter Island to Dering Harbor situated on the NW side. Tucked into the harbor are more moorings than you can wave a flag at, belonging to the SIYC, Piccozzi’s Marina, Jack’s Marine (and Hardware) and private owners. We didn’t have any trouble reserving a mooring with Jack’s Marine whose rate was a more reasonable (this is the north and New York remember) $50/night than Piccozzi’s, and my dears you KNOW we do not belong to any yacht club. Well, maybe that DRYC might count. 🙂 Plus, we have a thing about the name Jack.

Taken with the iPhone, you can barely see us in our pretty almost corner spot

From here we could spend time “in town” on Shelter Island as well as ride the ferry across to Greenport. Four to six ferries run every 15 mins back and forth so if you are not in a vehicle, the wait is negligible and we managed to just walk on both trips.
Greenport, on Long Island’s North Fork is well known for Claudio’s restaurant and the family’s expanded empire: Crabby Jerry’s on the east Pier and the ultra-popular Clam Bar on the West Pier. Greenport was always a favorite family visit in our power boat days; less than two hours from Essex/Old Saybrook made for a quick trip. With our Brewer’s card we could get free overnight stays at Brewer’s Greenport where the shuttle would drive you into town. If we were lucky, the Firemans’ Carnival would be taking place and our son could enjoy rides and fried dough (us too!) We watched as the carousel got moved several times, finally landing at Mitchell Park. It’s the kind with brass ring grab so you’ve got to be quick to snag an outside ride and quick to grab a ring as you pass by. I think getting the brass ring got you a free ride.
For me though, the main event is Shelter Island Height’s hilltop centerpiece, the Chequit Inn, a short walk up from Dering Harbor. Lunch outside, under the canopy of a perfectly situated stately tree is the ultimate summer dining experience.

A very happy me at Chequit- one of my top 10 places

We arrived early enough Saturday to select the best table- not too much sun and a pie slice view of the harbor. A nice man at a nearby table offered to take our picture. Water and our Cucumber Lemonades were served in canning jars; how many upscale places can pull that off? Cucumber looks to be this summer’s drink ingredient… and I love it. Chequit cheated and made their drink with Effen Cucumber Vodka and a quality lemonade, while Restaurant L&E in Chester, CT wowed us with their Scottish Lemonade. Hendricks gin, muddled cucumber, lemon juice and simple syrup. And you know, the drink tastes just as good with the gin of your choice.

I thought these would really complete my outfit, but I let the shop keep them

Walking was a must as well as checking out the shops offering beautiful everything!

Saturday finished with a bang; fireworks off Crescent Beach to our west and only the very low ones got blocked by the hillside that separates Dering from the ferry dock and beach area beyond.