Destination Port Washington new york

This Long Island, New York, stopover is a must for summertime cruisers exploring the Northeast.

If you’re cruising east of New York City this summer, stately waterfront homes with long, sloping greenswards think about a stopover at Port Washington on Long grace the shoreline, particularly on the western—or Great Island’s North Shore. With its large marinas and mooring Neck—shoreline. When I lived there many years ago, fields, waterfront restaurants and marine services, “Port,” we used to enjoy sailing by one that had his-and-hers as locals know it, is one of the major boating destinations seaplanes out in front. If Gatsby comes to mind, there’s on the East Coast. It’s worth a visit whether just for an a reason. Indeed, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote his classic overnight if you’re heading farther east, say to Newport, while staying in Great Neck, which he called West Egg, or even up to Maine, or as a destination in its own right. looking across the bay to Sands Point—the most affluent And it’s easy to get to. In fact, Port Washington is only section of Port Washington—where his Daisy was staying about four miles east of the Throgs Neck Bridge, marking in East Egg. If you want to indulge your Gatsby-type the entrance to Long Island Sound. “We like to say we’re impulses today, there’s Rodeo Drive-type shopping only Exit One on the Sound,” says Steve Wachter, the general 15 minutes away by car, while Manhattan itself is only 36 manager of Brewer Capri Marina, a massive full-service minutes away by train. waterfront complex in Port Washington. The Port Washington peninsula was settled in the 17th An affluent, commuter suburb, Port Washington has By Peter A. Janssen a lot going for it. For openers, it’s a pretty spot where

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dockage Brewer Capri Marina (516) 883-7800 • byy.com

Manhasset Bay Marina (516) 883-8411 • manhassetbaymarina.com n

o Inspiration Wharf (516) 883-0765 mmissi Co

ts Manhasset Bay Shipyard or p (516) 767-7447 767ship • 767ship.com S and

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Cv RESTAURANTS Louie’s Oyster Bar & Grille sland I (516) 883-4242 • louiesoysterbarandgrille.com ng : Lo t f Wild Honey on Main le ; (516) 439-5324 • wildhoneyonmain.com eehan

M LaMotta’s Waterside Restaurant hn (516) 944-7900 : Jo site o

pp Marino’s on the Bay o (516) 883-5600

Opposite: Mooring fields and marinas on Manhasset Bay Harbor Q Above: Farmers' markets all over Long Island (516) 883-4227 • harborq.com offer an abundance of fresh produce. La Piccola Liguria (516) 767-6490 century by Dutch traders and English farmers who originally called it Cow Bay, a name that didn’t sit well with residents as the town morphed into one of the most desirable sections of Long Island’s Gold Coast. Cow Bay became Manhasset Bay long ago, the entrance of which is wide, well-marked and easy to find. After cruising under the Throgs Neck Bridge, stay in the ship channel but keep an eye out for commercial traffic; there are a lot of large tugs and barges. Leave City Island on your port side and Stepping Stones light (46-feet-high) to starboard; in fact, stay well north and west of the light. Then pass north of G29 off Hewlett Point (it marks the tip of Great Neck), make a wide turn south and you’ll Map data ©2014 Google be the middle of the channel for Manhasset Bay. After about a mile you’ll pass G1, the entrance to

June 2014 • SOUTHERN BOATING • 67 n s ha o t ee M n r: Joh CVBSC Pho nd a cente sl I & ng eft L Lo From left: Brewer Capri Marinas offer transient dockage; children fly kites at North Hempstead Park on the eastern shore of the Port Washington peninsula; Castle Gould at Sand's Point Preserve; recreational boats share the waterways with commercial fishing fleets.

Manhasset Bay, with Plum Point on your port side; that’s large Town Dock. the tip of Sands Point (Gatsby’s East Egg). The waterfront The Brewer Capri Marinas, East and West, come first, section of Port Washington will now stretch out on your and they form one of the largest waterfront facilities on the left side; the right side is Great Neck, and is almost all Sound. The two adjoining Capri East and West marinas residential. Downtown Port Washington is straight ahead, have a total of 350 slips and welcome transients up to with an eight-foot channel carrying all the way up to the 175 feet. For information, call them on Channel 9 or 71.

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68 • SOUTHERN BOATING • June 2014 an eeh hotos n M oh r: J te n and CVBSC P ce sl & ng I eft o L L From left: Brewer Capri Marinas offer golf carts for cruising guests; Louie's Oyster Bar and Grille originally opened on a barge accessible only by boat; whether your tastebuds prefer fish, shrimp, oysters, or lobster, fresh seafood is a menu staple at most Port restaurants.

These are first-class, full-service marinas with high-speed restaurants in port. They also offer golf carts and limo and fuel pumps for gas and diesel, four Travelifts, pump-out car rentals for guests. facilities, showers and laundry, and mechanics for all types Heading farther into the bay, as you approach Toms of repairs. For casual dining, Capri West has Butler’s Clam Point watch for seaplanes; their landing area is clearly Shack and a snack bar by the pool; Capri East offers marked on charts. On summer weekends they come in waterfront dining on the pier at Marino’s, one of the best low and often. Just past Toms Point you’ll see Manhasset

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Outside your Bay Marina, another large full-service facility with 285 slips; Outside door. it too, welcomes transients and can handle yachts up to your 110 feet. Contact them on Channel 9. Manhasset Bay window. Marina has a 75-ton Travelift and offers all repair services; it has the only other gas and diesel fuel dock on the bay, plus showers, laundry, pump-out, a ship’s store, and 24-hour security. Overlooking the marina is LaMotta’s Waterfront Restaurant for lunch and dinner, with live music on Friday nights during the summer and free dockage if you’re dining there. Across from Toms Point is downtown Port Washington, The only Annapolis with the large town dock. The water taxi is based there; call hotel right on the water it on Channel 9 or (516) 767-1691. It offers launch service throughout the bay; one way costs $5 or $8 roundtrip from and right in the middle 8AM to midnight in season. In addition to a fleet of launches, of American History. the water taxi has a 47-foot Crosby for sunset or lighthouse To explore more, visit: cruises. If you’re in Port on a Saturday morning, check out www.annapolismarriott.com the Farmers’ Market at the Town Dock from 8AM to noon for fresh organic foods, baked goods, flowers, and whatever else turns up. Just south of the Town Dock is Louie’s Oyster Bar TOLL FREE: 888.773.0786 and Grille, one of the best-known waterfront restaurants (seafood specialties, but everything else, too) on Long Island. Louie’s opened in 1905 on a barge accessible only by boat under the name “Kare Killer.” Louie’s also has its own dock and can hold boats up to 50 feet with free dockage while dining there. Plan at least one lunch or dinner there, either inside or on the deck. Call on Channel 68. Inspiration Wharf is just south of Louie’s, with some transient slips and moorings. You can rent kayaks there at Atlantic outfitters, pick up some handmade ice cream at Douglas & James, or enjoy a fine Chinese lunch or dinner at Dynasty. The Manhasset Bay Shipyard and the Manhasset Bay and Port Washington Yacht Clubs are a bit farther south. If you just want to relax on shore, take in a free summer concert at the John Philip Sousa (a Port native) bandstand in Sunset Park on the waterfront downtown. Or visit the Sands Point Preserve, a 209-acre county park with nature trails and views of the Sound. Not to be missed is Falaise, which Harry Guggenheim (the philanthropist and former publisher of Newsday) built in 1923 based on a 13th- century French manor house. There are small shops all along Main Street in Port, but if you’re a serious shopper get a cab and head for the Americana Mall—“The Miracle Mile”—just 15 minutes away in Manhasset. Think high-end Cartier, Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany, among many others. Gatsby would feel right at home.

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