RECREATION 



VOL. XXIV. 



JANUARY 1906 



No. 1 



THE GREAT SOUTH BAY 



By CAPT. WILL GRAHAM 



■* -**%'», % ■%*■ • ■■■■ 



HERE is not any 

 playground (if I 

 may use the word 

 ground instead of 

 water) near New 

 York so prolific of 

 genuine sport and 

 variety of enjoy- 

 ment and recreation as the Great 

 South Bay. Being, as it is, surrounded 

 by land, and a harbor possible where 

 e'er you may choose to cast an anchor, 

 the most timid are conscious of a sense 

 of security, and consequently the men 

 who cater to those who love 



"A wet sheet and a flowing sail, and 

 "A wind that follows fast," 



are constantly employed providing 

 sport for the lucky ones who have the 

 time and the needful to indulge in the 

 glorious pastimes this inland sea af- 

 fords. 



From Fire Island inlet to its further 

 eastern extremity the bay varies in 

 depth from three fathoms to wading 

 water, and so irregular is the bottom 

 that the uninitiated, with other than a 

 Great South Bay craft, would have no 

 more chance of crossing its bosom sans 

 mishap than the proverbial "snowball, 

 etc." 



Bounded on the north shore by the 

 south side of Long Island, and on the 

 south by that long, low raking stretch 

 of sand dunes, on the other side of 

 which thunders the breakers of the 

 deeply, green Atlantic. 



W)ild and dreary, desolate and 



grand, strange fertile little valleys, here 

 and there protected from the salty 

 spray, nestle 'mid the hills of sand, 

 and, odd as it may seem, act as cover 

 for partridge, quail, rabbity and fox. 

 Miles of meadows and little ponds, 

 where the black duck and the teal 

 abound and big wild geese love to rest 

 their weary wings. A fisherman's hut, 

 a government life-saving station, a 

 long row of little telephone poles 

 dying away in hazy perspective. The 

 beaten-to-death ribs of a gallant ship. 

 That tract of white sand, dead dog fish, 

 drift wood, and the picture is before 

 you. Then the air — is there such any- 

 where else? 



JO®* NOTICE. *^SR 



In this little sketch of the Great South 

 Bay I don't want to get unnecessarily poetical 

 or funny-house. Take it for granted that 

 there is five hundred words embodied herein 

 relating to the air, and that all I say is 

 barely enough to describe it. 



The air is good ! 



Sailing is so well understood, so 

 popular and universal a sport, I won't 

 go into any detail in this regard, but of 

 sailing and duck shooting in the good 

 old winter time, with a battery amid- 

 ships and a stool boat in tow, we will 

 a few words venture. 



'And fills the white and rustling sail 

 'And bends the gallant mast." 



The manner in which this rig is 

 carried may be of interest, and to de- 

 scribe the methods a sketch of a sloop 

 with outfit for duck shooting will be 



