On Messing About In Boats

My town has its own little lake, and in the summer most kids either join the swim team or take sailing lessons. As I'd done the former, yesterday's sailing excursion out of Oyster Bay consisted of my mother manning the jib and my boyfriend, the tiller and main sail whilst I relaxed(ish, the water was rawther choppy) and soaked in the views. At Oyster Bay's Waterfront Center, you can rent a variety of sailboats, and we chose the Rhodes 19, which comfortably held three, and might have squeezed four. So long as one sailor has an ASA certification, you can rent a boat for either the morning (8-12) or afternoon (1-5), and each session is $90.

Oyster Bay is beautiful, its water dotted with boats and its shores with elegant and sprawling piles of brick, stucco, and stone. Apart from the occasional motorboat and one hulking super yacht, most of the bay's inhabitants are sailboats and sloops, many of them wooden. There was a race going one while we were out, between four streamlined 40-footers with open backs, but apart from these, the bay was filled with the more leisure-focused.

I'd suggest going in the afternoon, so an evening's meander through the adorable town won't be painfully hot. Wild Honey, which serves creative New American dishes like lamb sliders and salmon ceviche in TR's former summer office, opens for dinner at 5 (if you're going during the weekend, reservations are recommended). After dinner, cool your sunburn with an ice cream cone at Gooseberry Grove across the street before making what is sure to be a sleepy way home.