levittownnick
Senior Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2003
- Messages
- 789
The Sore Thumb is part of Oak Beach on the South Shore of Long Island N.Y. and is a small peninsular in the Fire Island Inlet. It has an open section of beach and a more protected section of beach. The open section is very popular for fishing and in the past the protected (from the Oceans waves) has been popular for boaters.<br /><br />Saturday July 23, 2005 @ the Sore Thumb on Oak Beach we and all of the other boaters that were anchored in this cove were forced to weigh anchor by the local police department. This beach has two sections, one on Fire Island Inlet and one on a cove. The stated reason is that this is a Truck Beach reserved for vehicles with a permit and all of the required equipment and that each person on the beach must be actively fishing. Most of the people on this section of beach were gathered with family and friends with picnic lunches enjoying children playing and family. This beach is well suited for small children because the edge of the water has a very gradual slope keeping the water shallow for a good length. This allows parents the opportunity to safely monitor their children, and because of this shallow slope, it is not the most favorable area for fishing. On the other hand, the section of beach on the inlet is quite favorable for fishing as is evident by the great number of people fishing there, as well as can be seen that there are no boats anchored close to shore.<br /><br />On this particular day, I was gathered there with my wife and cousin, we arrived in my boat, we met with my oldest son, his wife, sister-in-law, niece and nephew who had arrived in their boat, we also met with my younger son, his wife and their two children who arrived by their 4-wheel drive (with permit/equipment), and with my youngest daughter and husband who arrived by personal watercraft.<br /><br />There are no signs on the beach prohibiting any of the activities that we were engaging in, and I did not notice any one from any other place on this beach engaging in any activity that appeared unsafe or aberrant. The nautical charts used for navigation has no notices prohibiting anchoring in this area. (These charts show areas where anchoring is prohibited). This area is not on private property.<br /><br />One person said that they were using this beach in this manner for the last 20 years and had not experienced this before. Needless to say that we are upset over this situation.<br /><br />What are our available options?
<br /><br />H.
