Little Neck Bay Long Island Sound- Memorial Day 2013

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It was a perfect Memorial Day today. Conditions were perfect; light winds, 25 degrees C (75F), and bright blue sky. Not only that, but the tide was perfect for a nice late morning start. 
I finally got my act together to do some salt water fishing. The annual Striped Bass migration is coming to an end around here, but I went out yesterday and bought a heavier duty rod and conventional reel  for the purpose. Our light weight freshwater gear is not the go for this type of fish or fishing, so with the help of Jonathan at Fisherman Depot  I got myself set up. 

My new Shimano reel

I'll say before I go any further that I did not even get a bite today, but at least I got to test out the gear. 
I paddle to explore, and if I add a fishing rod, then any fish caught are a bonus (unless we're at Quetico living on dehydrated food that is )  so I was not disappointed, as the paddle was fabulous. 
Just being on the Sound, seeing all the boats, big yachts with their sails up, boats of all shapes and sizes, seeing the big bridges (Throggs Neck and the Whitestone), was terrific.  

Throggs Neck Bridge

Empire State Building poking up in the background

Whitestone Bridge in background

I was surprised to paddle up a shallow bay looking for a possible river, to discover an old mill complete with waterwheel. I learned later this is the Saddle Rock Grist Mill.  I jumped out to take a couple of photos, and was rewarded by seeing some  (albeit dead) horseshoe crabs . I should have put something in the photo for scale, as it's hard to tell their size. The crab in the photo is about the size of a dinner plate.

Saddle Rock Grist Mill

Horseshoe Crab

  The final treat was paddling around the point at Fort Totten to discover the battery there. Over 40 gun emplacements - no cannon there anymore of course, but an impressive sight nevertheless. 

No fish, but a great day!

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Sadly an abortive paddle, but at least I managed to check out a couple of launches. The marine forecast said 5-10 knot winds , and when I left the Bronx, the winds were indeed mild. I headed for Fort Totten, an active Army base where there was purported to be an official NY Parks Kayak Launch.  Unfortunately no one had updated the website to tell would be paddlers that the launch had been demolished. Helpful FDNY men who were on the entrance gate, pointed me to another nearby launch; albeit with minimum directions.  Took a peak at  Googlemaps and headed to the other side of Little Neck Bay only to discover a nice little launch that was open only to residents of a nearly estate. Not wanting my car to be towed, I took the time to review the NY Water Trail website again and find the said nearby marina that was back on the other side of the bay. Not  great deal of distance was involved in all this mucking around, but by the time I found the Bayside Marina and got the kayak in there was a strong easterly blowing right across the bay making waves of around 18 inches. The paddle very wet with splashing water (again my new kayak showed itself less weatherly than my old one - and less stable) . There was one protected area in the lee of the marina dock, so I basically paddled around for half an hour to get a bit of a workout and then headed out of the water. I called my friend Lauren who lives close by, and she invited me around for tea and pancakes, so the trip was not a complete washout. A few pictures are included below.