Well, winter wintered the hardest it has wintered in years, and as a result we shut down operations in February to take a breath while the ice pack melted, but it’s time to get going again and see what damage we may be dealing with on the farm. I picked what I thought was a good enough weather day to cruise from our winter dockage back to our home mooring, but midway through our trip the wind and current picked up making for one of the more gnarly Peconic Bay passings I’ve had to navigate through.
Grateful to be back in calm waters on my mooring, but my nervous system needs a sec to regulate!
Let’s just say I am very glad that Captain Ron was on board with me today to help talk me through it. He taught me how to operate boats at a young age but these conditions kind of threw me. Even the well seasoned bayman himself admitted that these were some of the worst conditions he has experienced as well, and that says a lot for a man who’s spent decades on the water, so I feel validated for my minor freak out.
Needless to say we didn’t get the full opportunity to stop off at the farm and do gear inventory as we planned, we’ll have to save that for next time. Visibility wasn’t great but I think we are definitely missing some buoys so we’ll have to see what that means for our gear. For now, I’m just happy we’re safe and ELSEA got us back okay.
We did experience a nice omen on our way through the channel though-I spotted a pair of oystercatchers, my favorite shorebird, on our way into Red Creek Pond. These birds are actually believed to symbolize good luck, protection, and good fortune. All things that every oyster farmer can certainly use so I’ll take that as a sign that our 2026 season will be a good one!
