DESTINATION: THE OYSTER BAY OYSTER FESTIVAL; Part Three

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I woke up and did not make breakfast and just had my usual early morning coffee in the cockpit there would be plenty of food at the Oyster Festival and I did not want to destroy my appetite for it by filling up before hand. At least that was my plan. I took the launch into shore for a quick shower and returned to the boat just long enough to thrown the shower bag into the cockpit and rode the launch back to the docks to start my first day at the Oyster Festival. The sleepy tree lined street Audrey Ave I toured the day before:

Was now devoid of parked cars and filled with people and booths for the Oyster Bay Oyster Festival. Below is a shot on Audrey Ave on Friday afternoon the day before the festival:

Here is that same view on Saturday morning the first day of the festival:

Audrey Ave was lined with booths selling all kinds of stuff from posters and crafts to LP record albums. But, I was there strictly for the food. I personally did not need any more "stuff" on my boat as it is.
Though there was one item I did take back with me.  Some might look at this item given out by a New York State education program as free back pack for kids:

 I on the other hand looked at it as Ditch Bag that I can fill with items I needed to take should I ever have to abandon the boat. The yellow color also makes highly visible. Which is a good thing. I love free souvenirs that also have a useful purpose on board the boat.

Though the food choices were varied and tempting such as this booth specializing in pickles:

 My plan this morning was to look for seafood I was not going to be distracted by pickles, fried Oreos, hot dogs, burgers etc... Though there were plenty of seafood booths available:

My first goal was to have some raw Oysters for breakfast. It was not long before I found what I was looking for:

A booth where they were shucking Oysters and selling them as fast as they were opening them. 

Mission accomplished! I tried my breakfast Oysters with various accompaniments. Lemon, cocktail sauce and hot sauce all were quite good. Hard to imagine now but, as I read in the book The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell  New York City use to have booths all over where people could grab a few fresh shucked Oysters as they easily as they find Hot Dog stands today.

  

Having had my breakfast Oysters I went in search of the second of my second cuisine goal of the day fried Oysters:

Again this did not require to much effort on my part and was also very tasty. With my primary food goals met I followed that up with a whimsical choice of Seafood Gumbo from another booth. By now I was full though somethings were still tempting. Like this booth selling a selection premium soda flavors:

 including a pewter mug with free refills. But, I resisted though I thought the pewter mug might come in hand on board BIANKA holding the contents of an ice filled rum concoction on a hot summer day. But, too late for that now maybe next year.

 After several hours of walking around I began to get tired and so I started to make my way back to the marina. The nice thing about attending the Oyster Festival by boat is one can easily head back for a nice afternoon nap. Though I was done with the Oyster festival for today the Festival was not done with me. For a few hours later I was treated to a wonderful fireworks show that was especially nice to see from BIANKA's location in the harbor:

That was a nice way to cap my first day at the Oyster Festival. But, I still had other plans for the second day which I will post about next.

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CLICK HERE FOR THE OYSTER BAY OYSTER FESTIVAL:Part Two

CLICK HERE FOR THE OYSTER BAY OYSTER FESTIVAL: Part Four

  

DESTINATION: THE OYSTER BAY OYSTER FESTIVAL; Part One

The reason for my Columbus Day voyage was to have one last cruise for the season and attend the 30th annual Oyster Bay Oyster festival. It was an event I wanted to attend for years but, for one reason or another never got to. So this year I made it a priority. I don't think I ever ate a raw Oyster though I have had it cooked in fried Oyster Po Boy sandwiches and in Oyster Stew. So I was gearing up to definitely try some as the Oysters for this event come fresh  right of the local Oyster Bay waters. To add to the adventure I downloaded the book The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell by Mark Kurlansky and started reading it a few weeks before heading to the event.

I arrived in Oyster Bay on the Monday before the weekend festival. Electro sailing past the markers that staked out the areas of  the Oyster beds worked by a commercial Oyster harvesting company:

 I also cruised  passed houses of some of the rich and famous on Centre Island like Billy Joel's:

 After I motored past  the moored boats in the harbor and anchored over on the other side of Centre Island in an area called West Harbor. I was alone in the anchorage and spent several days enjoying the beautiful autumn foliage around some of the houses on the shore:

The only other people I saw were the Bayman who were out early on their work boats scratching the bottom of the harbor with rakes digging for Mussels and Clams.

Some no doubt would be offered on the following weekend at the Oyster Festival. I had reserved a mooring at the Oyster Bay Marine Center for the weekend of the festival so I would have the convenience of a launch service and be closer to the festival. The weather called for some gusty winds starting late Thursday. So I decided to get on the mooring a few days earlier than planned  in order to not try be raising the anchor in the gusty winds by myself. Plus it would give me a chance to explore the town before the crowds of festival goers arrived.

 CLICK HERE FOR DESTINATION OYSTER BAY OYSTER FESTIVAL PART TWO

YOU CAN LEARN A LOT FROM BIRDS

I often anchor in waters where the bayman work. They head out in their workboats and skiffs with long aluminum clam rake poles. They spend hours scratching Davey Jones back for clams, mussels and oysters. I hear the jangle of the shellfish and rocks they pull up when they dump the rakes contents onto the sorting table as I have my morning coffee. It's a unique sound and one that you will only hear if you are on or near the water where the bayman are working. It looks like hard and lonely work. Except maybe for this bayman who seems to have a friend on board pointing out the way to the next mussel bed:

As those who fish on these waters know. You can learn a lot from birds.

CAPT. MIKE ON CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND

 It's been a while since Capt. Mike has smelled the salt air. So when the first mate suggested we take a little early spring three day trip out to Chincoteague Island in Virginia it seemed like a excellent idea. It's sure been a cold, cold winter up here on the Isle of Long. But, a nice weather window opened up recently so we jumped at it.

Just before we drove the new over water causeway we crossed Wallops Island. A fairly big NASA facility where they actually do from time to time launch rockets:

"In 1889, Wallops Island was bought and converted into a vacation destination for a handful of wealthy families from Pennsylvania, who, in turn, sold the island to the federal government in the 1940s. Once in the hands of NASA the island was transformed into a center for the high-tech development of rockets, missiles, and the means for space travel. From weather balloons and Tiamat missiles to aerodynamics and hurricane research, the Wallops Island Flight Facility and its predecessors have been instrumental in the evolution and success of the American space program."

But, what interested Capt. Mike is that there is also a NOAA facility here that keeps track of and recieves data/images from the weather satellites that we sailors  now access via the Internet. So the satellite images I see on my computer screen first come through this facility here on Wallops Island. Who knew?

After checking into the hotel on Chincoteague it was a quick ten minute ride to Assateague Island and a walk on the beach which is part of the National Park system. While I doubt if I would try to come here during the height of the summer. During these early spring days we had the beach to ourselves:

Looking down one is reminded of the local cash crop in the surrounding waters and can make one hunger for a nice bowl or Oyster or Clam chowder to counter any chill in the air:

 Those signs are everywhere:

I never did get the story on this misplaced can from the Island of Long. Perhaps it was obtained by those here on Chinoteague to do research on the compettion a long time ago.

The old swing bridge from the 1940's that ran into the center of Main Street is being torn down now that a new causeway and bridge opened last fall.

It will make it easier for the local fishing fleet to come and go as they will no longer have deal with the swing bridge and will also not hold up hundreds of beach goers in cars when they do. Looks like a win win situation.

Of course one can not visit Chincoteague Island without getting a little misty eyed now and then thinking about Misty of Chincoteague. Who is gone now.

But, some of her relations are alive and well over on Assteague Island:

While it felt good to be near the sea once again after the long cold winter. Capt. Mike is looking forward to being on the water and not just near it as soon as possible.

AW SHUCKS!

I was hoping this weekend to take one final cruise with BIANKA for the season to the annual Oyster Festival in Oyster Bay Long Island. But, the winds had a different idea:

Twenty to thirty knots pretty much on the nose. No thanks, I think I'll pass on it this year.