Day 15- Shinnecoock Inlet, NY.- Thar Be Whales!

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Not every day is perfect sailing.  Today was light wind going exactly the same way we were, making for slow going.  So we motor sailed.  Again.  The ocean was pleasant and we covered the miles we had hoped for in good form.

We  sailed thru a HUGE school of some kind of very big fish. They may have been pompano or tuna or dolphin (the fish, not Flipper). We could see these coffee table sized flashes of yellow & silver about 8ft under the waterThey were everywhere. 1000's of them.! So cool!  The smaller prey fish were also splashing at the surface to try to avoid being lunch.

And then I got to check an item off my life bucket list. We saw whales! They were  about 200 ft from the boat, so I couldn't see details or type, but it was unmistakably cetacean!❤ Unfortunately they were too quick and their location too unpredictable for photos.

We are anchored at Shinnecock, NY, just inside the inlet and behind a barrier  island.  Tomorrow we hope to follow the tide out and traverse the rest of Long Island.

Another spectacular sunset!

Next morning- for anyone who might anchor here on future trips: Be warned that the first of the commercial fishing boats leaves dock at 2:30 AM and puts up a tremendous wake. The others leave at approx. 1/2 hour intervals through 6:30 in the morning. At 6:30AM the recreational vehicles start zooming by.  It was still a nice harbor, though, with very easy access to beaches on both the bay and the ocean.

I did make an interesting observation: I noticed the sea gulls weren't flying around long before sunset & thought that was odd. Now I know they went to bed early so they could leave & fly behind the fishing boats at 2:30 AM. There's no such thing as a dumb animal!

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