We had high hopes for the weekend. After another rainy Friday, we were hoping for a nice warm, sunny, breezy Saturday and Sunday. Imagine a nice weekend after all of this foul weather we'd been having? Saturday, when we checked the weather, the forecast was for a severe thunderstorm in the late afternoon or early evening. We planned our escape and were hoping to sail to Northport before the pending storm. We were on our way just before noon. Once we were out, it was a toss-up on whether to motor out to the Sound and sail the rest of the way to Northport, or to get some sailing in early in the day and then be prepared to head back to the mooring if the weather changed. We decided to take advantage of the slight breeze and sail while it was still nice out and hoped for the best.

We were tacking our way out to the Sound in a haze that started to look and feel more and more unfriendly. After about two hours, we were still on this side of the Sandhole, so we decided to turn around and head back to Oyster Bay while we could. As always, we were amazed to see other boaters heading out into a pending storm, while we were heading in for shelter. We had a nice sail back and had just picked up our mooring, when we heard the first rumbles of thunder.

The excitement began as we watched other boats racing back to their moorings in Oyster Bay and through the channel and mooring field towards Bayville. We even saw the oyster sloop Christeen heading out of Oyster Bay Harbor, perhaps to a safer anchorage than lying alongside the dock at The Waterfront Center. Within 30 minutes the storm hit. It was fast and furious. Later on, we were told the wind was over 50 miles per hour. It was strong enough to overturn a small sailboat on its mooring, and overturned several iron tables onshore at Sagamore Yacht Club.

About an hour later, after the storm had rolled through and the sun came out, we decided to make another attempt to escape to Northport for the rest of the weekend. We really had no reason to go to Northport other than to get away, so when we checked the weather again and they predicted the chance of another front coming through, we decided to turn around again and to stick close to home.

We were able to get another hour or so of sailing in. We even had a successful "man overboard drill" to save a favorite hat of Shelley-Sue's that had blown off while tacking. Shortly afterward, the next front, which was just a mild rainstorm, came in. We'll take safe over sorry any day.

The next day, Sunday, we were enjoying a pleasant sail towards the Sound just off of Cove Neck, when we saw Jack and Eve Bernstein on Luff Story, motoring back towards the harbor rather quickly and intently. We noticed that Jack had a concerned look and that he was talking on his handheld radio, which we thought was unusual. We later on discovered that while out for a sail with another couple, when they went to take off their sail cover, they found a stowaway. A raccoon was onboard-perhaps having taken refuge with the previous day's storm. What do you do with a raccoon onboard in the middle of the Sound on a 32-foot sailboat? Jack decided to call the Harbor Patrol, why not? While he was on the radio calling the harbor patrol, Mitch Kramer the local Boat US Towing Service answered. This is where the story gets stranger than fiction. Mitch gave Jack a phone number to call. Jack called the number and reached Mitch's wife, who happens to be involved in wildlife control. She arranged to meet Jack and Eve at the dock, and with thick gloves quickly caged Jack's latest crewmember.

Why should we go to Northport, when there's so much going on in Oyster Bay?

Shelley-Sue and Bob Williams can be reached at swpny@aol.com