Bill Marinaccio of Freeport describes his experiences during Hurricane Carol with his father Carmine Marinaccio, a charter boat captain.
Fisherman Tony Sougstad of Freeport recounts how fisherman Dick Abbott survived a hurricane that claimed the lives of other Freeport fishermen.
Bay house owners face unique challenges in building and preserving their homes, due to their location in a precarious maritime environment. Storms and hurricanes, along with frequent vandalism routinely threaten these fragile structures. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 destroyed many of the bay houses, but some remain. Hard work and labor are necessary to maintain the […]
Joey Scavone: Fisherman Joey Scavone was born in Freeport and began fishing with his father, a devoted recreational fisherman. Like most recreational fishermen, his father awoke young Joey in the early morning hours to go fishing for striped bass and blue fish, which were abundant in the south shore bays near Jones Beach and Captree. “We’d […]
John Remsen, Sr.: Boat builder John Remsen of Freeport was one of the few men on Long Island who built garveys, a traditional flat bottom boat used by baymen and recreational fishermen in the shallow south shore waters of Nassau and Suffolk County. During his lifetime he built over 100 garveys. Like the generations before […]
John Remsen Jr.: Bait fisherman The Remsen family of Freeport goes back to the late 1800s, when Alanson Ellison began fishing on the south shore. A bayman, Alanson taught his grandchildren the skills of building traps, fishing, and maintaining the family bay house at Brandt Point, where he operated a bait station during the 1950s. […]
Jeff Blossom: Bay House Model Maker Jeff Blossom was a resident of Freeport, where he lived from the late 1920s. Since he was a teenager, Jeff spent most of his time on the south shore’s bays and beaches, enjoying the company of his friends as they went duck hunting, clamming and fishing. He always spent […]
Throughout the 19th and 20th century Long Island has been the home of many boat builders, ranging from traditional boat builders such as Gil Smith of Patchogue, who constructed garveys and skiffs for local baymen, to the Scopinich & Maresca boat yards that outfitted coast guard vessels and commercial fishing boats. Numerous industries supported this […]
Tom Jefferies: Bayman Tom Jefferies was born in Freeport, following a long line of fishermen in both the Jefferies and the Remsen families. Tom learned to fish from older fishermen on the Nautical Mile, including Frank Cona and others. His family owns a bay house, where he learned to harvest clams, crabs, mussels and other […]
Chris Hale: Boat Builder and Model Maker Chris Hale has worked at many boat yards on Long Island, including Coecles Harbor Marina on Shelter Island, at Hampton Shipyard in East Quogue, and currently at Weeks Boatyard in Patchogue where he has worked since the 1990s. He works on traditional wooden boats ranging from skiffs and […]