Trawler Fest Greenport: A Lot To Like On Long Island

            Picture an early morning with sun glistening on the water, a slight breeze blowing in from the Long Island Sound. You are walking down a quiet street with a few crosswalks and no traffic lights. You pass a vintage theater marquee, a huge enclosed operational carousel, a small antique store, a local clothing store, and an eclectic shop. Then you stroll by a few cafes and ice cream shops, a small market, some enticing restaurants to visit later, and you end up on a long pier flanked with boats and waterfront restaurants. This, in a nutshell, is Greenport, New York.

            Settled in among this destination village for the last week in June was Trawler Fest. Some folks found their way into town by driving in through Long Island, passing roadside stands of fresh flowers, vegetables, and fruits and then vineyard after vineyard of grapes growing for harvest. Others cruised in by trawler— all tied up at the new docks at Mitchell Park. We also found the ferry system running to Greenport from Connecticut and the Hamptons was a convenient way for folks to get to Trawler Fest and see the Sound. However attendees arrived, there was no doubt about Greenport’s destination location.

            With nearly 25 exhibitor boats on display, there was a nice variety of boats for cruisers to tour through. Of all the boats on the docks, when the votes came in for the PassageMaker’s People’s Choice Award, the Nordic Tug 54 exhibited by Wilde Yachts was the clear winner for “best in show.”

            When walking the main street of Greenport, it was hard not to notice the Trawler Fest flags, banners, and signs around the docks and streets. The center of Mitchell Park was filled with festive music each day, and attendees had a chance to stroll through the exhibitor’s tent and participate in a few afternoon seminar sessions. From onboard field excursions with Steve D’Antonio to climbing into one of Landfall Navigation’s inflated Revere liferafts, education extended into warm summer afternoons.

After each day of Trawler Fest, we gathered together at The Loft Restaurant for the evening festivities. Saturday evening’s live auction raised an amazing $13,000 for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. The high-dollar items included a helm chair donated by Llebroc, and a donation of a one-week chartered cruise on a new Nordic Tug 54 made by Ben Wilde of Wilde Yacht Sales, which ended up being purchased for $10,000! We were extremely proud of and pleased with the generosity of the Greenport crowd! As we look back on Greenport, we can happily say it was a success. Friendships were made, cruise plans put together, and dreams solidified.

A special thanks to all who joined us in Greenport and for helping to bring Trawler Fest to this quaint destination village.