Conditions of the bays?

L

littlebookworm

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I know that, compared to the loss of homes and property due to Sandy, this may seem to be insignificant, but much of the economic engine of Long Island, and especially that of the South Shore communities, is based on the boating, fishing, and recreational options our bays provide. So, one of the big unknowns, among others, is what effects Sandy had on Great South Bay and, especially, on Moriches Bay (which is shallow to begin with). How much of Fire Island is now sitting in the bay, raising the bottom level even higher than it was. This storm has changed the geography, biology, botany, and topography of the South Shore region. We haven't even begun to examine the storm's effects on the shllfish population or on the fish population in general. The last time a breach occured near Moriches, the bay water became cleaner than it had been in decades, but the salinity level rose, causing problems for plants and fish. We cannot even imagine what is happening right now. I do know that any courses you may have plotted into your chartplotter are probably worthless. Where's the channel, if there is one? How will we get from our marinas to the channels? Just another set of consequences to think about. Hy
 
You're right....even those channels we all know by heart are most likely boat grave yards. It's going to be a long time before we learn what's going to happen to our stomping ground. Certain morbid excitement about the thought of it I must admit.......My boat is stranded IN the water right now, I may venture out this weekend if it survives the Nor Easter.....oiy....
 
From watching all the videos and online discussions:

Not alot of debris floating in the bays but there is some.

The East cut of Moriches is shoaled in from the breach. There's only a couple of feet of depth left in certain spots. So basically east of the CG station is cut off from the inlet. You have to go out Quogue to the east for ocean access.

The West cut seems somewhat the same.

There are two other breaches that I am aware of that would have brought sand into the bay. I do not know how they affect the rest of the Bay(s).
 
Every time I go down to my dock I see new debris floating in the canal. The water has cleaned up pretty well though. I was down there this afternoon and noticed how clear it was. Big change from the middle of last week.
 
Tons of debris in Merrick ! Tons comes in and out with tide ! I'd swer people are dumping stuff in the bay

Rob
 
I brought my Uncle's boat around to Tanner Park yesterday afternoon. Buoys are all over the place, so the channel isn't marked properly anymore, and there is a lot of debris in the water. We took it very slow to avoid the stuff we could see from a distance, and the stuff that sneaks up on you becauuse it is just below the surface. Looks like that is going to be a problem for a very long time.
The canal seems to be cleaning itself up nicely, but I still see some oily patches on top once in a while. We power washed his boat as soon as it was blocked up and the oil stains/film at the water line were the worse I've ever seen on it.
Hoping to get my boat out later this week if the hauler gets some free time. I'll get another look then.
 
Just returned from a West Hampton run with the jet ski. Left from Babylon, met 5 other riders at Heckscher Park then across to Fire Island. There was some debris in the water, mostly small items but we did come across a couple of poles and timber, so you need to keep an eye out. From the water, things looked almost normal. There was the occasional house that looked like it was hit by a storm and you did see dome dock damage but from what I passed today, the bay side of Fire Island will be open for business this spring. Sailors Haven just looked like it was closed for the season as did flynns. We ended up at one of the new inlets, just west of Smith Point. The tide was pulling out strong and it was strange being able to see across to the ocean. If someone blind folded you and dropped you off at Moriches Inlet east side, you would have a hard time guessing where you are. We almost could not get through the east side with the skis, there is no more dune left and it seems to be all in the east channel. West Hampton town dock got destroyed. All 3 sides of the basin had their docks lifted and power poles knocked over. The biggest issue on the water now is, no place to get gas. On the way home, with the alarms beeping for low fuel, we finally found some gas in Sayville.
 
I was in West Marine today and the woman behind me in line asked if my boat was okay and where I keep it. Turns out her 37' Sea Ray was at Marine Max in Lindenhurst and is missing. She said they lost 50 boats that have not been found yet. I'm hoping that was a bit of an exaggeration but I don't know. It was so nice out today I was tempted to go out for a ride but I wonder how many sunk boats are around that are waiting to catch someone's props...
 
Wow ! I expect the anchorage to have that story not SS3

Rob
 
Anchorage is missing a few. I heard 18. 50 sounds like a lot. Interesting insurance scam though, remove boat before hurricane, ship overseas, collect insurance and sales check. Just saying. I am sure most if not all missing boats will turn up.
 
I spoke to some guys at SS3 this weekend. They are missing 2 boats. I have 2 boats from the anchorage on land right behind my boat (a beautiful red 40' formula and a carver). Also 3 anchorage boats on people's lawns across street from SS3 on River street.
 
Took a ride on my boat today, wanted to run it before giving it a good cleaning and prepping for haulout this weekend. Buoys are out now but followed my usual GPS tracks from my house in Lindenhurst to the Robert Moses bridge. Everything seemed the same as normal, no debris, and no signs of sunken boats or anything else on the depth finder. Beautiful day for a season ending ride!

John
 
John, buoys are out or gone ? I know the buoys by my marina are gone !

Rob
 
Rob, I was out on a friend's boat a couple weeks ago and the buoys were there but dragged all over the place and out of position. Now they are all gone so I assume pulled for the winter.
 
Dave - yes, went and signed up for winter storage as usual a week or so ago. No issues with taking outside boats, seemed like business as usual except that they are working out of the trailers.
 
Good news about the GSB. Hopefully they will leave one of the breaches open, helping to clean up the GSB and we will have some thing positive come out of Sandy! The countdown to next boating season begins!
 
The bay is fine. It is the canals I would worry about.
Ayc is missing 4 dumpsters.
Numerous docks boxes, picnic tables, gas grills.
Eventually some of this crap will flow out with the tide.

I would come into ayc at high tide if i was you and pop in and out of gear.

Considering wind and current I bet most of the stuff went to surfside!
 
Yeah, my canal is fine but there's a lot more that probably ended up in the water by AYC. I'll be going there in the morning while the tide is high and taking it real slow... 4 dumpsters missing is scary...

BTW, I heard last week that a boat that floated off a lift in Massapequa ended up being found in Freeport. Who knows how far some of this stuff traveled!
 
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