Mamaroneck, NY
by Betty Wiest

Sunday, August 16, 2009

According to Wikipedia, the town of Mamaroneck has a total of 14.0 square miles; the interesting fact is that more of it is consumed by water (52.85%) or 7.4 square miles, than it is by land (47.15%) or 6.6 square miles.

The hearty and fearless met early (8 a.m.) on Sunday at the Palisades Center. It was lovely....almost no one else in the parking lot. We caravanned over the Tappan Zee bridge all the way to Mamaroneck in virtually no traffic (which contrasted sharply with the mid-afternoon afternoon bumper to bumper 8-mile crawl back to New Jersey). It must be quite a sight seeing this many cars with boats on top all in a line.

Our first surprise when we entered the park was the announcement by the attendant that parking today was "free". Why? The attendant was waiting for the cash box....so we came out winners!

Our thirteen boats and fourteen paddlers surely made the best of the water by paddling out of the Harbor Island Park yacht basin along the coastline with some very fashionable homes with rolling lawns, wetlands, golf course, the Milton River and Harbor, islands with rustic cabins and more. Egrets, cormorants, Canadian Geese, and other shoreland birds were present.

It was a very hot day but the water of the Long Island Sound was quite refreshing. The trip turned out to be a three-and-a- half hour paddle of varying scenery, the camaraderie of great paddlers (award of the day goes to our tandem couple...Christine and George Mulhauser with their exquisite in-sync paddling skill), and sunny, but hot weather!

Betty