Do yoga classes represent an expansion of use for a motel?

That was the question before the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals on Tuesday night, and the Surf Lodge in Montauk was the applicant awaiting an answer. The question is important to the popular resort because its Edgemere Street site is in a neighborhood zoned for residential use only. It is allowed to do business as a resort and restaurant because it was built long before the town’s zoning laws were written, but it is not allowed to expand the business.

According to the town’s Building Department, if “patrons not staying at the motel” attend the classes, then yes, it is an expansion. In a letter to Richard A. Hammer of Biondo & Hammer dated Nov. 13, 2015, Ann M. Glennon, the town’s principal building inspector, found that opening the classes to those not staying at the lodge would “increase the capacity of use, which would affect parking, wastewater, and the disposal system, which would then require site plan review for the use.”

She did not dispute that the classes are, in and of themselves, an allowed use for a motel.

Tuesday’s hearing was over an appeal by the owners, hoping to reverse Ms. Glennon’s finding. Mr. Hammer told the board that the classes, which are free, were a public service. “Classes are for the motel guests, but the public is invited to attend,” he said, calling it “an incidental benefit to the public.” He noted that the owners of Surf Lodge, who include the restaurateur Jayma Cardoso, and the Internet entrepreneur Michael Walrath, have been working with the town to improve the site, particularly the septic system. The lodge borders Fort Pond.

Cate Rogers, who was chairing the board that night due to the absence of John Whelan, said, “You’re increasing parking required. It would require site plan review.”

“I don’t understand,” said Roy Dalene, a board member. “You can charge and lose money. You can charge and make money. What makes not charging an accessory use?”

John Leonard, an attorney representing Hamptons Gym Corp., a for-profit company that operates three gyms from Southampton to East Hampton, also spoke on the motel’s behalf, challenging the board to “see the code as intended, and as it was written.”

The board will have 62 days to contemplate the question.

Ken Collum, the East Hampton Village code enforcement officer, continued to oppose one component of an application on behalf of the Highway Restaurant and Bar on the Montauk Highway from the Albert Herter Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, which owns the property, as the Zoning Board of Appeals debated it on Friday.

As he had at the board’s April 22 meeting, Mr. Collum spoke against allowing the restaurant to move three tables from a patio on one side of the building, a legally pre-existing use, to a larger deck on the other. While the tables had past approval, the code now states that any variance for reconstruction or alteration of a lawfully existing outdoor use in a residential area cannot exceed 100 percent of the pre-existing area.

With Memorial Day weekend approaching, Mr. Collum said allowing the tables to move to a larger area “would be creating an enforcement issue.” Restaurants that have outdoor dining, he said, “constantly use the deck; they’re constantly being warned, and I think it’s just a matter of tying up more resources.” He told Andy Hammer, an attorney for the V.F.W., that his comments specifically included the Highway Restaurant, which has a legal occupancy of 116.

Frank Newbold, the board’s chairman, asked Mr. Collum if would it make any difference if the tables were on their existing patio on the westerly side of the building or on the deck on the opposite side. “If they’re out on that deck, it’s going to become 60, 70 people out on the deck and then 116 people inside,” was his reply. “These things tend to grow.”

Businesses on the South Fork need to make the most of the brief tourist season, Mr. Collum said, “and they’re going to do whatever they can. Our point of view is, you’re going to create a huge issue for us. It draws attention away from everything else we’re trying to do with housing, with signs, with fire safety.”

The board also repeated its opposition to a request that the restaurant’s sign, which straddles the V.F.W.’s and the village’s property, be raised from 10 to 14 feet. The code sets the maximum height at 8 feet.

 Lys Marigold, the board’s vice chairwoman, told Mr. Hammer that she had surveyed signs between East Hampton and Bridgehampton and found they typically were lower than 10 feet. “Your sign is the only one with a roof over it, which makes it hard to see. My suggestion is to lose the roof, lower it so it’s at the eye level of the cars. . . . Then it could be conforming, and you’d have better exposure.” The board certainly does not want it any higher, Mr. Newbold said, adding that it should be entirely on V.F.W. property.

The applicant had also submitted a parking plan showing 52 spaces. Billy Hajek, a village planner, said the restaurant requires 39 spaces for patrons and one for every employee. “That leaves them with 13 for employees and to accommodate the meeting hall,” he said. He was referring to the separate building used as a membership club by the V.F.W. “It would be prudent to have actual figures of how many employees work there and how many parking spaces are allocated to the meeting hall,” he said.

But apart from picnics on July Fourth and Labor Day, activities at the V.F.W. building and the restaurant rarely overlap, Brian Carabine, the post’s quartermaster, said. Mr. Hammer then said there were 58 spaces on the property, explaining that the surveyor did not include spaces on grass. A prior, approved plan included 58 spaces, Mr. Hajek agreed. “It might be easier to leave the parking the way it is,” he said.  The hearing was left open until the board’s next meeting on Friday, May 27. Mr. Hammer said he would discuss the sign and outdoor tables with his client.

Four determinations were also announced at the meeting. David Zaslav, the president of Discovery Communications, was granted variances to allow changes in plans previously approved by the board. In 2015 Mr. Zaslav and his wife, Pam, were granted variances allowing additions to an existing residence, demolition of a pool house, and construction of a garage-storage-pool house at 24 Drew Lane. The variances were granted on the conditions that certain methodology of construction was followed, the landscaping was compliant with submitted plans, and that only code-compliant wire fencing be used.

The board granted Christopher Mitchell, the publisher of Vanity Fair, and Pilar Guzman, editor in chief of Conde Nast Traveler, variances to legalize alterations made to a garage in a pre-existing nonconforming location, and pool equipment, a roof dormer, and a patio to remain within required side-yard setbacks at 62 Dunemere Lane. The relief was granted on the condition that the building continue to be used to store a motor vehicle and that no plumbing, heat, or air-conditioning be installed.

Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, at 57 Buell Lane, received a special permit and a coverage variance to allow a memorial patio to be constructed. Mario Casciotta had presented the application on April 22, explaining it was part of an Eagle Scout project.

Helen Chardack of 100 Egypt Lane was granted variances allowing two air-conditioning units, a garbage bin, and a patio to remain within required side-yard setbacks.

Irene Hatgistavrou wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when she boarded an airplane — then a bus, then another bus, then an off-road vehicle — on her way to a rural village in Nicaragua, where a group of East Hampton High School student volunteers were headed on a trip through the nonprofit organization BuildOn. Their mission was to build a school alongside the villagers of Cabecera del Cano, a place about 20 miles from Honduras that Google maps couldn’t even find.

But Irene, a senior, knew one thing for certain. “I do a lot of volunteer work, but nothing like this,” she said. “I wanted to go on the BuildOn trip because I wanted to experience what it was like to go to a remote village. I wanted to see how others live.”

That was one of the goals of the trip, according to Billy Barbour, a social studies teacher who is the coordinator of the high school’s BuildOn club. The club is an offshoot of the nonprofit organization, which partners with schools across the U.S. to build schools in developing nations around the world.

Last spring, East Hampton’s BuildOn club traveled to Nepal, and the previous year, before it was an official high school club, a group of students traveled with BuildOn to Senegal. The 15 students who traveled to Nicaragua during this year’s spring break in April didn’t just build the foundation of a school, they built relationships with the villagers and gained cultural understanding.

“The biggest thing they get is perspective,” Mr. Barbour said. “The consistent theme is being grateful and having perspective on what is actually important. The villagers have very little, but they are happy, spend so much time with their family and friends, and are so open and warm. And our kids get this sense of self-worth because they are doing this important thing.”

While in Nicaragua, Irene observed differences between men and women in the village, such as the women’s hesitation to take on the same physically challenging tasks the men were doing. But once they saw the female students working, Irene said, the women began to pitch in.

After long days of work interspersed with cultural workshops, the East Hampton students spent their nights with host families, who knew little to no English. That meant Irene got to practice her Spanish and teach her host father some English — and play the game Uno.

The trip was mainly for high school juniors and seniors, but a sophomore, Zane Musnicki, got involved by collecting gently used soccer cleats to donate to the villagers. One of the host families, which had a newborn child at the time the students were visiting, was so taken with an East Hampton student that they named their daughter after her.

By the end of their week in Cabecera del Cano, the students finished the school’s foundations and footings and had started placing the bricks. It’s now up to the villagers to finish the work, but they have the materials necessary to do the job.

The students had to raise money for their trip not just for the travel fees but also for the building supplies they would use while in Nicaragua. They needed $30,000. Donations came through typical local fund-raisers and business sponsorships, plus a generous donation from Paddlers for Humanity.

“I chose to take it all in,” Irene said. “The work got hard sometimes. We worked with the community members, which was really good experience. It felt good to be building a school with them, not just for them.”

Voters from Bridgehampton to Montauk reacted favorably on Tuesday to their school districts’ proposed 2016-17 spending plans, easily passing all eight budgets, including two that pierced the state-imposed cap on tax levy increases.

The Bridgehampton and Amagansett School Districts achieved the supermajority of voter approval they both needed to exceed the state tax levy cap, with Bridgehampton’s $13.78 million budget surpassing 67 percent voter approval and Amagansett’s $10.47 million budget approved by 63 percent of voters.

This was the second time in three years that Bridgehampton attempted to override the tax cap; it needed two tries to pass the 2014-15 school budget, but passed it on the first try this time around. The result of the 161-to-78 vote, school officials say, is the preservation of current programs, staffing, and services at the Bridgehampton School. Those include the after-school ASPIRE program, field trips, career and technical education programs, driver’s education, and more, which had been identified as potential cuts while the budget was being developed, but were considered too critical to spare.

It was not a sure bet, though, as taxpayers like Karl Nitzl, a four-year resident of Bridgehampton, said the district “needs to try harder. I don’t think there’s any reason to exceed the cap.”

The school also saw many alumni return to vote in favor of the budget. Among them were Hayley Lund, the 2015 valedictorian, who said, “We did a lot of really cool stuff with the school, and with a little more budget I think they can keep doing all these great things and move on to even better things, too.”

Thanking the community, Lois Favre, Bridgehampton’s superintendent, said, “We’re looking forward to doing good things here.”

Running unopposed for two seats on the Bridgehampton School Board, Jennifer Vinski and Michael Gomberg received 215 and 189 votes, respectively. The 239 total ballots cast for the budget on Tuesday represented a 54 percent increase over last year’s turnout of 155 voters. There are 1,203 registered voters in the school district.

In Amagansett, where the official budget tally was 121 to 70, school officials also expected to maintain all current programs and services next year. “We’re really delighted and very thankful to the community for supporting the budget,” said Eleanor Tritt, the district’s superintendent.

Tuesday’s vote in Amagansett brought out 191 voters, surpassing last year’s turnout of 178. Kristen V. Peterson and Hank Muchnic, who were running unopposed for two open school board seats, received 151 and 139 votes, respectively. There were six write-in votes cast, including for Mary Lownes, a former member of the school board, Kieran and Ted Cruz, also received one write-in vote each. The Amagansett Library budget, a $995,223 proposal, passed by 165 to 28.

The East Hampton School District’s $66.72 million budget proposal, which school officials say kept expenses mostly level and stayed at the tax cap, was approved on Tuesday by a vote of 440 to 86. Turnout was 526, higher than last year’s 513 votes. For the three open seats on the East Hampton School Board, the incumbents James Foster, Wendy Geehreng, and Richard C. Wilson emerged the winners. Mr. Foster received 416 votes, Ms. Geehreng 397 votes, and Mr. Wilson took in 362 votes, while Alison Anderson received 224.

In Springs, a $27.63 million budget proposal, which officials had described as cut “to the bone,” passed 314 to 127. Also approved, 289 to 147, was a separate proposition to enter a three-year financing agreement for the purchase of a 66-passenger school bus for about $121,000. In the contested school board race, for which there were three candidates and two available seats, David Conlon and Amy Rivera emerged the winners, knocking Adam Wilson out of office, with 335 and 333 votes respectively. Mr. Wilson took in 131 votes.

In Montauk, where school officials had proposed an $18.98 million budget that showed a slight tax levy decrease from the current year’s figure, voters approved the budget 184 to 34. Patti Leber, an incumbent school board candidate, was re-elected after running unopposed to retain her seat, but in the contested race for the seat that will become available in July after Jason Biondo’s resignation becomes effective, Tom Flight defeated Cynthia Ibrahim, 163 to 53.

The Wainscott and Sagaponack School Districts also proposed tax levy decreases. Wainscott easily won approval for its 2016-17 school budget of just over $3 million, with a 49-0 vote.

Its two propositions, a tuition contract with Sag Harbor Elementary and another with Pierson Middle-High School, which would give Wainscott families the choice of attending Sag Harbor or East Hampton schools after finishing the third grade at Wainscott, passed with 48 votes and 49 votes, respectively. This is the district’s fifth consecutive budget in which spending decreased and the fourth in which the tax levy dropped. William Babinski Jr., the lone candidate for one seat on the school board, was re-elected with 49 votes.

Sagaponack voters passed the school’s $1.77 million budget proposal with 16 votes. No one voted against it, and it looks as though a new playground is on the way at the Sagaponack School, as the budget includes $37,000 for new playground equipment to supplement community donations received for that purpose. Cathy Hatgistavrou, the only candidate running for one seat on the school board, was re-elected with all 16 votes.

In Sag Harbor, the budget passed and voters approved a bond referendum for the purchase of the former Stella Maris Regional School. The results are covered separately in this issue.

The Army Corps of Engineers considers its installation of an artificial dune along the downtown Montauk beach complete, but as Memorial Day approaches questions remain about access for beachgoers, including the handicapped. The dune, a 3,100-foot-long stretch of geotextile sandbags covered with three feet of sand, is intended to create a barrier to ocean waves that could threaten the downtown business district.

At the East Hampton Town Board meeting on May 10, Supervisor Larry Cantwell said that from the town’s perspective there are several outstanding issues, including the grade level access to the beach at South Edison Street, the wooden walkway over the dune at Lowenstein Court, and the plan for a handicapped access ramp near the Royal Atlantic motel. The chairwoman of the Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee went further, however.

“I’d like to address the abomination that is those stairs on the beach,” Diane Hausman, the chairwoman of the advisory committee, said.

Stairs, at four places over the dune, have replaced traditional sand paths to the beach, as the geotextile bags cannot be walked on. Several steps lead up to a platform and then there is a descent of even more steps down to the beach. The steps will not only be an impediment to people with physical handicaps, Ms. Hausman said, but will present problems for other beachgoers carrying children or gear.

“You can’t get two people abreast on those stairs,” said Ms. Hausman, an owner of the Sands Motel, just across from the beach. “How are they going to get their kids up and down those stairs, how are they going to get their coolers. . . . Never mind the handicapped people that can’t do stairs.”

At South Edison Street, interlocking concrete paving blocks laid at the road end and covered with sand were exposed during recent heavy rains. The water washed away the sand over the pavers, which have holes similar to those in cinder blocks. That can be expected to occur again, as runoff from the downtown area flows onto the beach there. The dead end was kept at grade so as not to impede that flow and cause flooding, and to provide an emergency vehicle access to the beach.

Several Montaukers have expressed concern about the safety of pedestrians who have to walk across the pavers, called articulating concrete blocks, to get onto the sand.

Mr. Cantwell said the Highway Department had recovered the pavers with sand after the rains, and he is negotiating with the Army Corps to make changes there. He told the Corps, he said, there is an “unsafe condition at present. They need to figure out a way to stabilize it. When that . . . is exposed, it’s a hazard.”

At Lowenstein Court changes need to be made to the walkway, where different levels make it hard to climb, Mr. Cantwell said. The town is sending the Corps a proposal to correct that, he said, “and then we’re going to argue over who’s going to build it, and who’s going to pay for it.” The Corps has agreed, he said, to move a drainage pipe that pumps water out right next to the footing of the stairs.

The Corps also has agreed, in concept, to a handicapped-accessible ramp at the beach access next to the Royal Atlantic, though it will be installed at town expense.

The ramp, Mr. Cantwell explained at the meeting, will allow those in wheelchairs to reach a platform at the top of the steps, but it cannot take people down to the sand itself. The beach is not wide enough to accommodate the ramp length that would be needed for a safe slope, he said.

Mr. Cantwell noted that providing handicapped access to beaches according to the standards of the Americans With Disabilities Act has always been a challenge. “The town’s position has always been that the town would make available a sand wheelchair,” he said.

The vehicle access point at South Edison remains a possible ingress for wheelchairs, he said, though it is unclear what the surface there would be if the pavers were removed. Large railbed-type gravel has been put down at other beach access points.

“The pavers are going to be covered one way or the other,” Mr. Cantwell said. “I don’t know what the ultimate solution will be there.”

In an interview following the meeting, Ms. Hausman said though the motel’s business is just warming up for the season, “90 percent of the guests that I’ve had here already — they look, and go, ‘What the hell is that over there?’ ”

A member of one family, which brings 40 to 50 people to her motel for reunions, visited recently, and, noting the stairs, told Ms. Hausman that the difficulty the stairs would cause in accessing the beach would keep one family member of limited mobility from coming to Montauk this year.

“Now we’re cutting into my business,” Ms. Hausman said. “There’s going to be people who can’t get to the beach.”

Results from school budget votes and board elections have begun rolling in, with voters approving budgets in East Hampton, Montauk, and Wainscott so far. 

East Hampton

The East Hampton School District's $66.72 million budget proposal, which school officials say kept expenses mostly level and stayed at the tax cap, was approved on Tuesday by a vote of 440 to 86. Turnout was 526, higher than last year's 513 votes. For the three open seats on the East Hampton School Board, the incumbents James Foster, Wendy Geehreng, and Richard C. Wilson emerged the winners. Mr. Foster received 416 votes, Ms. Geehreng 397 votes, and Mr. Wilson took in 362 votes, while Alison Anderson received just 224.

Montauk

In Montauk, where school officials had proposed an $18.98 million budget that showed a slight tax levy decrease from the current year's figure, voters approved the budget by a tally of 184 to 34. Patti Leber, an incumbent school board candidate, was re-elected after running unopposed to retain her seat, but in the contested race for the seat that will become available in July after Jason Biondo's resignation becomes effective, Tom Flight defeated Cynthia Ibrahim, 163 to 53.

Springs

Over in Springs, a $27.63 million budget proposal passed 314 to 127. Also approved, 289 to 147, was a separate proposition to enter a three-year financing agreement for the purchase of a 66-passenger school bus for about $121,000. In the contested school board race, for which there were three candidates and two available seats, David Conlon and Amy Rivera emerged the winners, knocking Adam Wilson out of office, with 335 and 333 votes respectively. Mr. Wilson took in 131 votes. 

Wainscott

Wainscott, one of three districts to work out a slight tax levy decrease in its proposed budget, easily won approval for its 2016-17 school budget of just over $3 million. Forty-nine people voted in favor and not a single vote was cast against the budget. Its two propositions, a tuition contract with Sag Harbor Elementary and another with Pierson Middle-High School, which would give Wainscott families the choice of attending Sag Harbor or East Hampton schools after finishing the third grade at Wainscott, passed with 48 votes and 49 votes, respectively. This is the district's fifth consecutive budget in which spending decreased and the fourth in which the tax levy dropped. William Babinski Jr., the lone candidate for one seat on the school board, was re-elected with 49 votes.

Sagaponack

Sagaponack voters passed the school's $1.77 million budget proposal, with 16 votes. No one voted against it. It looks as though a new playground is on the way at the Sagaponack School, as the budget includes $37,000 for new playground equipment to supplement community donations received for that purpose. Cathy Hatgistavrou, the only candidate running for one seat on the school board, was re-elected with all 16 votes.

For information on Amagansett's results, click here. Bridgehampton's results can be found by clicking here. 

Voters turned out in higher-than-usual numbers on Tuesday in Bridgehampton to approve the school district's $13.78 million budget by 161 to 78, or 67.4 percent, making it one of two schools on the South Fork to pierce the tax levy cap.

Bridgehampton needed a supermajority of at least 60 percent voter approval because its proposed tax levy increase, 8.7 percent, was above the district's state-imposed limit of 3.04 percent.

The result, school officials say, means the preservation of current programs, staffing, and services at the Bridgehampton School. Those include the after-school Aspire program, field trips, career and technical education programs, driver's education, and more, which had been identified as potential cuts while the 2016-17 budget was being developed, but were considered too critical to spare. This budget marks the second time in a three-year span the district successfully pierced the tax cap; it won approval for an over-the-cap 2014-15 budget in a revote in June 2014.

• RELATED: Amagansett Voters Say 'Yes' to Tax-Cap-Busting Budget

Thanking the community, Lois Favre, Bridgehampton's superintendent, said, "We're looking forward to doing good things here."

Running unopposed for two seats on the Bridgehampton School Board, Jennifer Vinski and Michael Gomberg received 215 and 189 votes, respectively.

The 239 total ballots cast for the budget on Tuesday represented a 54 percent increase over last year's turnout of 155 voters. Bridgehampton has 1,203 registered voters in the district.

• RELATED: Foster, Flight Come Up Big in East Hampton, Montauk Elections

Amagansett voters passed the school district's $10.47 million budget proposal on Tuesday night, with 63 percent saying yes to the tax-cap-busting spending plan.

The school district needed a supermajority of at least 60 percent voter approval to pass its budget because the associated 3.74-percent tax levy hike was higher than Amagansett's state-imposed limit of .16 percent.

The district achieved the percentage of voter approval that it needed, so school officials expect to maintain all current programs and services next year.

• RELATED: Bridgehampton Gets Supermajority to Pass Budget

Eleanor Tritt, the district's superintendent, was at the school, where the vote was held, to hear the result. "We're really delighted and very thankful to the community for supporting the budget so we can maintain our programs for our children," she said.

Tuesday's vote brought out 191 voters, surpassing last year's turnout of 178. 

Kristen V. Peterson and Hank Muchnic, who were running unopposed for two open school board seats, received 151 and 139 votes, respectively.

There were six write-in votes cast, including for Mary Lownes, a former member of the school board, Kieran Brew, and Rona Klopman. Two former candidates for the Republican Party's nomination for president, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, also received one write-in vote each. 

The Amagansett Library budget, a $995,223 proposal, passed 165 to 28. 

• RELATED: Foster, Flight Come Up Big in East Hampton, Montauk Elections

Voters in Sag Harbor on Tuesday gave the go-ahead for the Sag Harbor School District to purchase and renovate the former Stella Maris school building, approving a $10.23 million bond referendum, 736 to 595, to buy the property, update the building, and outfit it for its intended use as a center for early childhood education and special education services.

Katy Graves, the superintendent, thanked the community for its support.

"Our board of education did something very brave by bringing the Stella Maris proposition to the community, and I think the community had the opportunity and took it to come to the polls in significant numbers tonight to be heard," Ms. Graves said. "We saw that they do want this project and we're going to see what opportunities can come now and change the landscape for the Sag Harbor community and the Sag Harbor School District."

Also approved was the district's $38.77 million budget, which received 75.2 percent voter approval in a 997-to-328 vote. The community also elected Susan Lamontagne, a newcomer, and re-elected Chris Tice, the current school board vice president, to fill two seats on the board of education. Ms. Lamontagne received 645 votes, just four more than Susan Kinsella, the other incumbent candidate and current school board president, and Ms. Tice received 738 votes. Roxanne Briggs, the fourth candidate, received 478 votes. Voter turnout was up about 37 percent over last year's total of 966 voters.

It’s said that the two best days in the life of a boat owner are the day the boat is bought and the day it’s sold. While there is much truth in this running joke among boat owners, the laughs haven’t discouraged many from joining their ranks. 

Recreational powerboat sales are expected to climb 6 percent in 2016 and reach 194,000 total units sold, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association, an industry trade association. 

Boat ownership makes little sense on a strictly financial basis, particularly here on the East End where the season is six months long at best. Tallying the finance, boat and engine winterization and storage, spring preparation and launch, boat slip, insurance, maintenance, fuel, and usual unexpected costs will make any levelheaded person’s head spin. It’s likely cheaper and more productive for many fishermen to hire a guide or a charter boat when they want to hit the water. Few will miss scrubbing dried bait and fish blood off the deck or polishing rails on a 90-degree summer day. 

But every boat owner knows it’s not about the bucks. Yes, boating is expensive. Yes, boats can be frustrating with their quirky electrical and mechanical issues. But we love them nonetheless. 

Boats free us from the crowds. Boats are adventure. Boats put us in touch with the natural world. Boats are a place to escape, if only for an hour to tinker with this or that at the dock. So when it comes to boats, we must ignore dollars and sense and understand that a day on the water is priceless.

Now, of course, there are boats and there are boats. One doesn’t need to own a 57-foot Bertram sportfishing yacht or even a small Whaler to enjoy a day of fishing local waters. There are many less expensive and maybe even more enjoyable alternatives.

How about a kayak? Many kayak manufacturers today, including Hobie, Wild­er­ness Systems, and Ocean, offer a wide range of products with fishermen in mind. Kayaks can be purchased with rod holders, tackle storage, live wells, dry storage, sonar transducer mounts, and other great features. Several companies now offer a pedal-drive system that allows anglers to use their legs rather than arms to propel the kayak. With a pedal drive, fishermen can spend more time casting and less time paddling. What could be better than simultaneously getting a great cardio workout and catching dinner? The next time a friend brags about his or her SoulCycle indoor cycling class ask them how many fish they caught. 

If kayaks don’t do it for you, why not try a standup paddleboard? They’re not just for the core anymore. Several companies now manufacture boards and accessories specifically for fishermen. BOTE offers a sleek and stable board equipped with an aluminum leaning post with integrated rod holders. If you own a SUP already, Engel, Hobie, and other companies offer coolers with attached rod holders, which can also serve as seats. Want to do it on the cheap? Just screw a couple rod holders to a milk crate and bungee it to the board. 

Hobie’s new Mirage Eclipse, which utilizes a step-motion propulsion system and handlebar steering to increase speed and maneuverability, is ideal for trolling and covering longer distances. While most SUP fishermen tackle inshore species, the more intrepid have traveled to deep water for large grouper, sailfish, and marlin. 

If you prefer horsepower over human power but don’t want to buy a boat, then renting one is an option. Uihlein’s on West Lake Drive in Montauk has boats up to 31 feet, and Harbor Marina on Gann Road in Springs has a 22-foot Boston Whaler, which is perfect for fishing Gardiner’s Bay and beyond. 

It’s also said that a bad day on the water is better than a good day at work. That’s no joke. 

Sebastian Gorgone at Mrs. Sam’s Bait and Tackle in East Hampton reports the bay is full of porgies. Anticipating that Saturday’s full moon will precipitate a cinderworm hatch, Gorgone is stocking a variety of cinderworm flies that should prove irresistible to striped bass. 

Anglers are catching striped bass of up to 30 pounds in the South Ferry slip on parachute rigs and Danny plugs trolled on wire line, reports Ken Morse at Tight Lines Tackle in Sag Harbor. For anglers who don’t have wire line gear but want to troll the bottom, Morse is bringing Mojo brand jigs and specialized rods to fish them into his shop. Mojo jigs, which weigh up to 32 ounces, are often fished in tandem with a nine-inch rubber shad on a three-way rig. They have long been a favorite of Chesapeake Bay fishermen. Harvey Bennett at the Tackle Shop in Amagansett reports that sunny weather brought out fishermen as well as fish, including short bass on ocean beaches, schools of long and skinny bluefish at Accabonac Harbor, and a nice 10-pound bass at Sammy’s Beach taken on a small Hopkins. 

On the commercial side, Kelly Lester said that while strong winds continue to make it tough to tend poundtraps, her fishpots are in the water and conchpots are ready to go. According to Lester, blowfish continue to show in the bay. 

Fluke seasons opened on Tuesday with five-fish possession and 18-inch minimum size limits.