Eyes on Sandy.

Solomon, Nancy

"They've closed off the bay to everyone." "Our bay house is gone." "My father's boat tools, over 100 years old, are gone." These were just some of the things I heard immediately after Hurricane Sandy struck Long Island. As if the storm was not fierce enough, Sandy struck at high tide during a full moon, when the bay is at its highest height.

As a folklorist, I knew that this storm was one for the history books. While the Hurricane of 1938 is legendary, Long Island was far less populated at that time, and only the barrier islands were struck. Sandy, in contrast, affected more than three million people on Long Island alone, not to mention all the residents of lower New York City, including the Rockaways, Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay, Staten Island, and other areas. By now, you have heard of the economic and ecological damage Sandy has wrought, but my goal in this column is to give you a more intimate portrait of how this storm affected people who carry on maritime traditions.

The Remsen family of Freeport is a seventh-generation Long Island family that works the bays near Freeport. Like many families in Freeport, they live on a canal where they have built garveys, a shallow water flat bottom boat, and harvest killies, a small bait fish used by recreational fishermen to catch fluke, flounder, striped bass, and other finfish. They have owned three bay houses since the late 1800s, the most recent one built in 1954. These traditions are carried on by John and Grace Remsen, with their son John Remsen, Jr., and his family. They have been involved in Long Island Traditions' maritime programs since 1987, because they believe in the importance of educating Long Island residents who may not be familiar with the ways of the bay.

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When Sandy struck, the sewage treatment plant in nearby Bay Park, just three miles west of Freeport, overflowed until February 2013. As a result, the entire bay in western Long Island was closed to shellfishing until April 2013, and many of the species frequently seen by boaters and marine biologists were not evident. In addition, it was unsafe to eat any of the finfish or shellfish harvested in the bay. Consequently, fishermen like the Remsens are not harvesting killies since the fishermen could not catch fish from local bay waters.

The Remsens have owned three bay houses since the late 1800s, the most recent one built in 1954. Like many families, the Remsens' bay house was damaged and partially destroyed. Bay houses are small wood frame structures built on the marshlands by baymen, duck hunters, and recreational fishermen, a tradition that dates to the colonial period. The houses stand on pole foundations so that they can be moved easily, and cause no harm to the wetlands. Approximately 35 bay houses stood in the Town of Hempstead before Sandy. Currently there are 14, most of which need repairing. The Remsens used the house for storing traps and tools, and the horseshoe crabs used for bait. Other baymen also used the house as a base for working the surrounding waters.

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The Remsens have built dozens of garveys for local baymen and recreational fishermen since the 1950s. They have learned how to secure their watercraft when a severe storm is threatened. Despite their long history of weathering storms, their boats floated from the canal to their yard, a height of 10 feet. They are considered fortunate because their boats were not damaged, unlike their neighbors' boats. Shortly after the storm ended, a full day later, they were able to return their boats to the canal on which they live and survey the damage to the bay. Local boatyards suffered extensive damage to their customers' boats, which means that recreational fishermen will not be going fishing for a long time and therefore will not need bait, a staple in the work lives of baymen. With the bay closed for shellfishing, it also meant that local families could not enjoy clam chowder, clam pie, or clams on the half shell with local clams this past winter or for holiday gatherings.

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It has been clear to many baymen and fishermen, recreational and commercial, that the coast is changing. Seals routinely visit Long Island for the winter, a phenomenon that began in the 1990s. Cormorants, a once rare bird, now fly in flocks throughout the year. Canadian geese are present year round. Many scientists attribute these new developments to global warming. No matter what the cause, these changes will undoubtedly affect the maritime cultural traditions of all places. We can learn from those carrying on these traditions how to survive, using a cultural survival package made of age old traditions. We invite you to share your "tools" and to learn from these experiences how to create a cultural "life preserver."

Nancy Solomon is executive director of Long Island Traditions, located in Port Washington, New York. She can be reached at (516) 767-8803 or info@ longislandtraditions.org.