Odalisque - October 13, 2004 Log

Log 2004 – October 13th

Wednesday October 13, 2004 – “Fetching Hempstead Harbor from Steppingstone”
Crew: Caleb, Noah, and Jessica.
Wind: WSW 5 – 8 forecast high temperature: 68, mostly sunny

Having flushed our engine with 3 gallons of oil we were still supposed to run the engine for a block of time (5 – 6 hours), which would be our task today. Jessie and I got to the boat first where I wanted to get a head start on changing the painters on our mooring back to the one the club had provided before Noah arrived. The job was messy with lots of marine growth on everything after a mild summer (with no algae blooms) and I was halfway done when Noah arrived. I checked the raw water intake valve (I was the last person to have closed it) before I started the motor at 1500.

There were indications of fish in the area. Splashes here from bunker tails, swales and splashes from bigger fish. The poor bunker were being eaten by bluefish, bass, bonita and who knows what else. It was a beautiful day with a real light wind and smooth seas as we set out under power and dragged a lure. Steppingstone has been a fine place for our boat to stay and I hope we will return as the mooring field grows smaller as we round Hewlett Point and head west. We trolled Manhasset Harbor for nearly an hour where I lost a lure and nobody caught anything. It was nearly 1600 when there were high clouds slowly filling in as we headed more NE towards Execution Rock and deployed the jib in the SW 5 - 8 knot wind. I put the engine in neutral for a good spell while we were gently pulled along at trolling speed by the wind. We watched for bird activity, which might indicate feeding below by bigger fish and saw activity at Prospect Point on the way into Hempstead Harbor. I rolled in the jib and headed closer to shore where the birds and fish were working. There were a few small fishing boats working here as well and there are several large boulders underwater that we needed to be careful of. We had had several hits but nothing set on our hooks.

Wispy, if not mackerel clouds had set in high up and the light was spectacular out of the west. We were already in Hempstead Harbor by now when I felt a hit on my lure but caught nothing. I decided to pack it in and concentrate on getting us to our guest mooring at Hempstead Harbor Club. Noah changed lures to a diamond jib with an eel hook. Sure enough, he hooked something near the edge of the mooring field. The sky had several patches of golden light in the clouds and there was some pink on the horizon as fought the fish up to the boat. I grabbed the 3’ leader and brought the still struggling bluefish on board. We measured it later and it was 23” nose to tail. It was a wonderful moment at the end of an almost perfect day but we still had to get ourselves to a guest mooring before it got too dark. I had been in radio contact with Hempstead Harbor Club and they soon escorted us to the guest mooring far out at the edge of the mooring field.
Guest moorings are always messy. So was this one but our foredeck was already a mess from my messing with our old mooring lines. We tidied up a bit and called the launch and Brian G. got us as we had already called for a cab to take us back to Steppingstone where our cars were. The hardest part about little transits like this is figuring out the ground transportation. This time we opted for a cab and I was glad we did.

We retrieved our ground conveyances and reconvened at Noah and Beth’s house. Noah was kind enough to give us a fillet from the bluefish while Beth plied us with a wonderful meatballs and red sauce with red wine (what a hostess!) before we sashayed out the front door. We were on our way home. I could still smell the sea under my fingernails.

Noah at sunset in Hempstead Harbor
Caleb getting messy with the mooring lines
You can just make out the Throggs Neck Bridge behind me.

— Caleb Davison