Orient Harbor
The newly restored Bug Light marks the entrance to Orient Harbor. Although the harbor is open to the Southwest (remember our prevailing winds are SW!!) holding is good in 7 to 20 feet of water outside the Orient Yacht Club mooring area. Transient dockage may also be available from the Orient Wharf Co. immediately in front of the Yacht Club. The tiny Village of Orient is truly one of our favorite places on the East End, with historic homes dating back to the 1700's, Historical Society Museums to visit, and a great vintage general store and post office. You'll truly feel as though you've stepped back in time.

Greenport
A favorite stop for Tall Ships and home to the Greenport Maritime Festival, thanks to the hardworking East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation, Greenport's natural deepwater harbor also remains an active commercial fishing harbor. This seaport is undergoing a true renaissance and offers modern marinas, marine repairs, nautical hardware and easily accessible shopping and reprovisioning. Moorings and dockage can be found in Stirling Basin (where Brewers Yacht Yard and Stirling Harbor Marina host two of the North Fork's finest restaurants, the Salamander Cafe and Porto Bello Ristorante, respectively) or Greenport's historic Harbor Wharf (home of the famous marine supply store, S.T. Preston's & Sons, and the oldest same-family owned restaurant in the world, Claudio's, both of which were established in the 19th century).

Dering Harbor, Shelter Island
Embraced in elegance between the stately homes of the Village of Dering Harbor and the Shelter Island Yacht Club, and directly across from Greenport Harbor, Dering Harbor has long been one of our favorite stop-overs. As a family we would use this harbor as an overnight refuge during the many multi-day one-design and big-boat regattas held in that vicinity. As Gayle started cruising on her own it always played host to her last night in the Peconics before heading out to the Northeast Islands, and as her "welcome back home" on her return to the Peconics. Hot showers and dinner at the Yacht Club and breakfast at the Chequit Inn up the hill played a major part in making this our choice of ports, as well as the easy walk to catch the ferry to Greenport. The Yacht Club offers moorings in the harbor proper to reciprocal U.S.S.A. Yacht Club members. Others can set anchor just outside the harbor between two buoys stating: "No anchoring 500 feet of Shoreline".

The sail down the North Fork from Greenport and Dering Harbor provides an abundance of scenic treats. Victorian "castles" share the shoreline with Cape Cod cottages; church steeples jut out of the tree line, marking the hamlets; white beaches, wetland sanctuaries and high bluffs add to the picture. The atmosphere is "New England coastal", but the climate is warmer and less foggy. The area is as historic, dating back to the 17th Century, and still combines the quiet charm of rural farm life with the bustle of seaport activity that is its heritage. While you're enjoying the scenery, make sure you're also checking your chart for shoals and rocks along the shorelines.

Southold
If you want to retrace the steps of the first settlers along the way, (and have a shoal draft boat!) proceed cautiously in to Southold Bay. "Founder's Landing", where the colonists from Connecticut landed in 1640, is right at the entrance to Town Creek and is marked by a town park and beach. There are a few marinas just east of Founders Landing in Mill Creek which welcome cruising boats.

Continuing west, make certain you give a wide berth on approaching and leaving the red flasher #12 off "Paradise"; an adventure on "Paradise" is not particularly pleasant. "Thread the needle" between Cedar Beach Point and Jessups. The tide rips around Jessups can be a bit bumpy if the tide is bucking the wind. Make sure you also keep an eye open for fishing craft anchored or trolling nearby. This is the main fishing ground for the widest variety the Peconics have to offer - (see "Fishing the Peconics" on page for more!)

There are many beautiful white sand beaches throughout the Peconics. Make certain you have the correct permits and come onshore! (See the maps and Parks/Beach info sections on page ~ If you picnic, please take your litter with you! You are in the Peconics because you appreciate beautiful surroundings and "Pack-in, Pack-out" is one of the Peconics' favorite sayings and "doings".

As you enter Little Peconic Bay make certain you observe the red flasher #22 off Nassau Point. Visually, it appears to be an Ago distance from the point of land, but it marks the end of a 3/4 mile sand bar! Don't Cut inside!!

Upon entering Little and Great Peconic Bays, piloting is equally simple or difficult, depending on your confidence and preparedness. C.& G.S. Chart # 363 is a necessity; but even the latest chart cannot keep up with the changing bottom at the entrance to the creeks. Depth sounders and leadlines are a must for inshore exploration, and navigation aids should be observed carefully at all times. However, even with the greatest precaution, it is possible to run aground. But in most of the shoal areas, the sandy bottom cushions the impact and escape is not too difficult.

New Suffolk
The minute coastal hamlet of New Suffolk, just inside Little Peconic Bay's Cutchogue Harbor and across from Robins Island, is the site (believe it or not!) of the launching of the first U.S. Navy submarine! New Suffolk now houses a couple of good restaurants, Legends and the Harbor Inn, and the New Suffolk Shipyard. One of both Jeanne and Gayle's recipes for a romantic evening for two is to anchor in Robins Island Cove (remembering it is a privately owned island), motor the dinghy across to New Suffolk (beware of the North Race Tide or this romantic evening could quickly turn into a disaster!), pull up to the docks in front of Harbor Inn, enjoy a lovely dinner there or across the street at Legends, and head back to the boat in time to catch the magnificent sunset!

Depending on the day, the southerly can be gentle, or exhilarating, or wildly thrashing on Great Peconic Bay. If the usual SW 10-15 knot situation is present, you can enjoy several hours of sailing at its best. Check your chart for the North Race buoys marking the entrance to Great Peconic and, after observing properly, sail away to your heart's content. Enjoy your boat with spray flying - an afternoon of sailing as sailing is meant to be. The only precautions necessary are to stay one half mile off all shores, including Robins Island.

Jamesport/Aquebogue
There are two good cruising stops at the gateway to the Peconic River in Flanders Bay at the western end of the East End. They are South Jamesport, just inside Miamogue Point, and Meetinghouse Creek in Aquebogue. Both have dredged entrances with marinas catering to transients. In fact, Clete Galasso's (one of our writers) family owns Larry's Lighthouse Marina in Meetinghouse Creek.

The many creeks and inlets fringing both sides of the Peconics are well worth exploring, so cross your fingers and follow the channel markers! To be on the safe side, it would be advisable to enter all creeks at half tide or better, and in daylight. If you choose to explore on an outgoing tide, make sure you allow for low tide. You can easily spend hours in gunkholing, walking to the nearest hamlet for shopping, fishing, or relaxing. Note that a strong nor'wester brings abnormally low tides in the bays and creeks, and northeast winds raise the water above normal.

Early morning or late afternoon exploration of the creeks will reward you with sights and sounds of great rarity. If you have never spent time on a creek, you have missed a world of natural wonder. If your timing is right and you are very quiet, a stately great blue heron or snowy white egret, unaware of your presence, may wade slowly with high-dignified steps in search of food. Black skimmers, working in pairs, may swoop in for their early meal, taken from the creek. Gulls and terns perform aerial ballets overhead, and mallards and other duck varieties bob for food below. Majestic swans glide gracefully by, coming and going from creek to bay and back, in their search for sustenance for themselves and their young. Swans are very protective of their cygnets and it is well to give them sea room. Their beauty is awe-inspiring; their dispositions can be cantankerous. If the tide is right, you can stand at any creek mouth and see and hear the wonderful splashing as the weakfish and snapper blue schools move into the shallow waters to feed on baitfish. If you have a light spinning reel, you will be in ecstasy. When the tide is running swiftest, in or out, the fishing is the best.

Riverhead
Just up the Peconic River is the largest of the East End towns, Riverhead. Sailboats will not be able to make it all the way up, due to a fixed 25' bridge a mile down from the town. The Peconic River is also a great place to kayak or canoe above or below Riverhead. The Peconic Paddler is located right in Riverhead proper, is available for boat rentals, and will take you and your gear up river. They also hold the Save the Bays Paddlers rally every September.

Jeanne Marriner and Gayle Marriner-Smith

Back to previous page