Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday September 25, 2006
CREATE YOUR OWN MARITIME ADVENTURE ON LONG ISLAND
Contact: Kristen Matejka
Director of Marketing and Communications
LICVB&SC
631 951-3900 xt.317
CREATE YOUR OWN MARITIME ADVENTURE ON LONG ISLAND
HAUPPAUGE, NY-(September 25, 2006)- The lure of the sea has long-held visitors to Long Island captive and a history rich with tales of pirates, shipwrecks and whaling paints a colorful past that can still be felt along its shores, in its port towns and in museums dedicated to Long Island’s maritime heritage.
Today visitors can create their own tales of maritime adventures, climbing to the top of a lighthouse, venturing out on a fishing charter or tour boat, embarking on a seal watch cruise, visiting towns where whaling was once a major part of the economy, or exploring museums full of nautical treasures. Come to Long Island to walk the shores where the Captain Kidd is said to have buried hoarded treasures, or to scuba dive ocean waters where over 400 ships lay at the bottom of the sea in a place known as “Shipwreck Alley,” or simply to enjoy the sparkling white sandy beaches.
Long Island’s lighthouses can be explored by land or sea. The most easily accessible by land include the Fire Island Lighthouse in Fire Island, Horton’s Point Lighthouse in Southold and Montauk Lighthouse in Montauk. All three admit visitors who can climb to their peaks to enjoy stunning vistas of the sea below; and all three contain fascinating museums detailing local shipwrecks, rescue efforts and other nautical history. Montauk Lighthouse was commissioned by George Washington in 1792 and was the first lighthouse built in the New York.
Other lighthouses along Long Island’s shores can be viewed from the sea through special charter tours, such as the one offered by Long Island Lighthouse Safaris. There are several other unique opportunities for half day and one day cruises around Long Island such as paddlewheel boat rides aboard the Lauren Kristy from Bay Shore or the Martha Washington paddlewheel boat from Port Jefferson. Or head to Greenport for a ride on a majestic tall ship schooner around the harbor. Also from Greenport is the Glory, Long Island’s only electric boat ride. Visit the Village of Freeport’s Nautical Mile for other cruise opportunities around Long Island’s Great South Bay.
For those interested in a more environmentally minded nautical adventure, Discovery Wetlands Cruises from Stony Brook and the Atlantis Explorer out of Riverhead offer fascinating wildlife viewing tours of Long Island’s wetlands.
In the winter and spring months, visitors to Long Island can also catch a glimpse of the visiting seal population from prime locations in Montauk and Lido Beach. Seal watch cruises are offered out of both locations.
Fishing fanatics will be amazed at the broad number of opportunities for fishing charters, in areas such as Captree in Babylon or Freeport, both offering fishing in the Great South Bay waters. Or head out on an ocean fishing adventure from Montauk or Orient.
History buffs will want to visit the museums on Long Island dedicated solely to recalling the maritime history of the area.
At the Long Island Maritime Museum in West Sayville, explore “The Wrecks, the Wretched & the Rescuers: Shipwrecks, Pirates & the United States Life Saving Service of Long Island.” This fascinating exhibit focuses on the true stories of the 18th & 19th century pirates who actually sailed our waters, local shipwrecks and the members of the US Life Saving Service whose commission it was to protect life and property along the coast, according to the museum. Long Island and its barriers beaches are rife with tales of storms and shipwrecks, lifesavers and pirates.
At the Sag Harbor Whaling Museum in Sag Harbor, “The Plight of the Right Whale:
Can We “Right” our Wrong?” is the current exhibit. This fascinating museum details Long Island’s rich whaling history, with artifacts and displays, including a riveting oil painting that Herman Melville once commented on as being one of the best depictions of whaling life he’d seen. The special exhibit on right whales explores how this species was nearly hunted to extinction and looks at current threats to their survival, as well as the heroic efforts to protect them.
The Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum in Cold Spring Harbor looks through the eyes of children with its new special exhibition “Toys, Kids, and Boats,” running through August 2007. The exhibition showcases children’s toys from the era of whaling in the United States. Not infrequently, these toys actually went to sea. Many whaling voyages lasted for several years, and Captains often chose to bring their families aboard rather than face long periods of separation. Highly-detailed toy ships, games, puzzles, and dolls dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries are on display.
The East End Seaport Museum in Greenport is located adjacent to the Shelter Island North Ferry dock in Greenport. Included in the exhibits are a mock-up of the first submarine, a Menhaden fishing exhibit, the story of oyster fishing on the North Fork and a rare 2nd order original Fresnel lens from the Little Gull Island Lighthouse, and a 4th order Fresnel lens, complete with operating clockworks, from the Plum Island lighthouse.
While exploring Long Island’s rich nautical history, stay overnight in a harbor front town where you can drift asleep to the faint clanging of harbor buoys. Dine on the catch of the day at a port side eatery where you might hear tales of Long Island’s rum running history. In fact the name of the Long Island Iced Tea (a potent cocktail of five different liquors) is said to have originated as a code name for an alcoholic beverage here during Prohibition.
Whatever pace you choose, Long Island’s maritime attractions will draw you to the sea.
The Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission (LICVB&SC) was established in 1979 as the official tourism promotion agency for the destination’s travel and tourism industry. Based on Long Island in Hauppauge, NY, the LICVB&SC contributes to the economic development and quality of life on Long Island by promoting the region as a world-class destination for tourism, meetings and conventions, trade shows, sporting events, and related activities.
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