Taking the lead from the recently released Long Pond Greenbelt Management Plan, a number of advocates for the greenbelt's preservation have organized an inaugural meeting Wednesday night of Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt.

The group is being formed "to encourage public participation in the long-term management and stewardship of the Long Pond Greenbelt." The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Bridgehampton Nutrition and Community Center on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike.

The meeting is open to all those interested in the preservation of the greenbelt, which stretches from Sag Harbor's Otter Pond all the way to Sagg Pond in Sagaponack. The stretch of environmentally sensitive land contains a string of coastal ponds, all boasting unique natural habitats.

A draft management plan released this summer recommended a number of strategies to both preserve and foster public access to the greenbelt, one of which is the formation of a citizens group.

Sandra Ferguson, who helped organize Wednesday's meeting, said the group was "both reaching into the greenbelt and outside of the greenbelt" for membership, and invited anyone interested to attend.

Ms. Ferguson was an organizer of Save Black Pond, a citizens group formed in response to plans for a golf course at the former Bridgehampton Winery on the Turnpike.

Aside from discussing overall strategies for the greenbelt, Wednesday's meeting will celebrate the recent open-space purchase of the winery prop erty for inclusion in the Long Pond preserve.

The bonito and false albacore are schooling, at least off Montauk. It's a sure sign the fall inshore fishing season has started, or is well on its way.

Fishermen from Hampton Bays to Montauk are reporting the fast, bullet-shaped tuna working the outside of striped bass schools, and now gathering in tidal rips in search of prey.

The larger tuna continue to frustrate East Enders. Why the bluefin, yellowfin, big-eye, and even long-fin albacore have bypassed this area is the subject of conjecture on the docks. Overfishing is not likely the reason, because tuna fishing to the south and east of Long Island has been very good this summer.

Bait Missing?

Pat Scida of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Gloucester, Mass., office said it appeared that a dearth of bait is what's kept the tuna beyond the reach of East End fishermen this season.

His office tracks the commercial harvest of bluefin, which had been robust, he said, in the Gulf of Maine, Cape Cod Bay, and as far south as Chatham, Mass.

Reports had the bluefin feeding on sand eels and mackerel, Mr. Scida said. He added that yellowfin landings in the Mid-Atlantic region have been strong.

Call A Meeting

Carl Darenberg Jr. of the Montauk Marine Basin said on Tuesday there were more promising signs recently, but no major meetings of trolling fishermen and schooling tuna.

Why have bluefin tuna, yellowfin, big-eye, and even long-fin albacore bypassed this area? A dearth of bait?

Bill Urvalek took his Karen Sue offshore to the Fish Tales section of Block Canyon on Sunday and returned with two yellowfin. The following day the Karen Sue ventured to the east and found one of the same species.

"Guys are fishing mostly at night in the canyon," Mr. Darenberg said. The appropriately named Late Hours, skippered by John Ambler, landed a big-eye tuna in this way on Monday.

He also harvested a number of mahi mahi (dolphin), as did the crew of the Good As Gold.

Inshore Action

Speaking for the Shinnecock boats, Floyd Carrington reported that some tuna and marlin had been trolled up at the spot known as the Aquarium, south of Block Island. It's a 53-mile steam for Shinnecock boats. Montaukers are closer by about 20 miles.

Mr. Carrington holds out hope that "if the season stays open," anglers might be visited by bluefin sliding by Long Island on their return migration south.

"Somebody's catching them. They closed the season on Saturday," he said, referring to the close of September's commercial quota on "giant" and "large-medium" bluefin, as defined by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Sea Bass Take Up Slack

"Offshore action, no, but thank you, God, for inshore," was how Maureen Sennefelder of Montauk's Gone Fishing Marina summed up the summer's fishing.

The marina services commercial pinhookers as well as recreational fishermen, and Mrs. Sennefelder said all were continuing to find a steady supply of fluke, big ones on the south side, although the fluking in general had slowed from the summer bonanza.

Taking up the slack was a healthy supply of sea bass, the tastiest fish in the sea according to aficionados. Striped bass, of course, remain in good supply, as do porgies, said Mrs. Sennefelder.

Fall Migrations

Fishermen think in migrations of fish. Montaukers think in migrations of fishermen. This week marked the start of the fall migration of surfcasters in search of striped bass among the rocks and along the beaches of Montauk.

The fish did not disappoint, although a few local casters with the advantage of having watched the stripers' movements over the last several weeks fared better - or claimed they did.

Steve Kraemer, denizen of the rocks, said he pulled a 36-inch striped bass from the beach near the spot surfers call "poles," at the west end of Ditch Plain Beach, on Saturday morning.

The Pecking Order

Altenkirch Precision Outfitters of Hampton Bays echoed the eastern reports of increased action along the beaches. Early morning was seeing mixed schools of bluefish and bass, with bonito feasting on frightened bait.

The typical early-fall pecking order finds the sharp-toothed bluefish on the surface tearing at small prey, bass beneath them scavenging scraps, and the small, quick tunas racing back and forth on the outside of the schools picking off fleeing baitfish.

Add gannets diving from above and surfcasters adding their bucktails, and you have the late-fall picture.

AMAGANSETT

Kuzmier to Darcy Kuzmier, Whalers Lane, $246,500.

BRIDGEHAMPTON

Bauer to Edward and Cheryl Gordon and Three Ponds Farm Inc., Mitchell Lane, $400,000.

Alder to Dana Brockman and Jordan Metzger, Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, $160,000.

Bridge Building Co. to Barry McCrane, Halsey Lane, $850,000.

EAST HAMPTON

J&P Son Inc. to Michael and Susan Mukasey, Springy Banks Road, $475,000.

Hebel to Gilbert and Francine Lipset, Diane Drive, $280,000.

Solomon to David and Jeanie Orenstein, Georgica Close Road, $610,000.

Ainsworth to Heinz and Rosemarie Binggeli, Stratton Square, $375,000.

MONTAUK

Nalepa to Stewart and Jane Kopp, Fairway Place, $150,000.

511 Equities Corp. to Frederick and June Schrank, Cranberry Road, $235,000.

NORTH HAVEN

North Haven Acquisition Corp. to James and Rhoda McManus, Fairlea Court, $225,000.

NORTHWEST

Roosevelt Land Corp. to Melville Ridge L.L.C., Northwest Road (186.4 vacant acres), $2,000,000.

Rallyn Homes to Michael and Patricia Schuermann, Post Street, $243,000.

NOYAC

Mandel to Peter, Michael, and Alexander Koleoglou, Middle Line Highway, $155,000.

Blondon to Rudolph Guglieri, Eastview Court, $210,000.

SAG HARBOR

Chwatsky to John Geoffrey, Route 114, $330,000.

McCoy to Edward and Pamela Lawson, Shady Cove Lane, $201,000.

Golden estate to Catarina Raacke, Union Street, $325,000.

Groark estate to Elizabeth and Montgomerie Steele, Munchogue Drive, $150,000.

SPRINGS

Nidzgorski estate to Vincent Tsao, Water Hole Road, $164,500.

Motill to Renata Frommert, Oak Ledge Lane, $210,000.

Epstein to Pasquale and Marilyn Crescenzo, Gardiner Avenue, $155,000.

Weiss to Stuyvesant Wainwright, Sandra Road, $187,000.

Gherardi to Andrew and Brenda Crozier, Third Street, $159,500.

WAINSCOTT

Rauscher (trustee) to Coopers Farm Designs Ltd., Wainscott Main Street, $975,000.

WATER MILL

Inoue Dev. Corp. to Dennis Sheahan, Hayground Cove Road, $379,500.

The Montauk Historical Society has two nature walks on tap this weekend. Penny Lieberman, a naturalist, will guide walkers along the beaches around the Montauk Lighthouse on Saturday at 11 a.m. and again at 3 p.m., each walk lasting about an hour and a quarter. The walks will be repeated on Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Ms. Lieberman will identify the shellfish, wildlife, and plant life around the Point, and explain its erosion problems.

The East Hampton Trails Preservation Society has scheduled a hike among the farms, ocean beaches, and historic houses of Wainscott on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. Abbie Barber will lead the troops, starting from the end of Beach Lane/Talmage Lane between Georgica and Wainscott Ponds.

The Group for the South Fork is hosting an end-of-summer bike tour, a leisurely 12-mile ride along East Hampton and Amagansett roads from 10 a.m. to until 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. Bikes must be in good working order, helmets are a must, and drinking water is a good idea. Interested peddlers have been asked to call the Group's Bridgehampton office to learn the meeting time.

A number of groups that host nature walks each week are participating this weekend in the annual townwide beach cleanup. Details may be found elsewhere on this page.

The fifth annual "Hands Around the Bays" beach cleanup, a three-day effort, is scheduled to begin tomorrow, and the sponsoring Save the Bays group has asked for more volunteers to work with beach captains and host organizations. As of Tuesday, over 1,000 people had enlisted in the cleanup, part of an international, and documented, undertaking.

A documented cleanup is one in which the debris collected is identified and recorded. Scientists then study the information to determine the sources of marine pollution and try to come up with solutions.

In East Hampton Town, Scout troops, schools, and individual classes have adopted sections of beach.

Schools Out In Force

The Amagansett School is planning to travel to Montauk at 9 a.m. on Friday to clean Gin Beach, and will meet at the end of East Lake Drive. The beach along Fort Pond Bay, Montauk, will be tackled by the fourth and fifth grades of the Montauk School beginning at 1 p.m. that day.

Also Friday, starting at 8 a.m., the East Hampton Middle School will attack the beaches of Cedar Point County Park with the help of the Bridgehampton School's fifth grade. The latter group is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

On Saturday, Tom Dess, director of Montauk's state parks, has organized a cleanup along the strand at Montauk Point Park beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the concession, and on Sunday noon, along the beach at Hither Hills State Park. Sunday's volunteers will meet at the main bathhouse.

Attack On Sammy's

Barbara Sawitsky has asked volunteers to meet at 10 a.m. at Sammy's Beach on Saturday. Carl Horlitz has asked his own Sammy's Beach volunteers to meet at the same place at the same hour.

Just to the east, at 10 a.m., volunteers led by members of the Accabonac Protection Committee will tackle the beaches of Louse and Gerard Points in Springs. Fresh Pond, Amagansett, will get the once-over from East Hampton High School's marine science club.

The high school's environmental club has plans to clean the beaches of Barcelona Neck in Sag Harbor on Monday.

The Long Island Shore and Beach Preservation Association has adopted Cold Spring Point Beach on Peconic Bay in Southampton. Those who would like to help clean this section have been asked to call Robert Gans in Westhampton Beach.

In Southampton

In Southampton on Friday, the beach at the end of Sebonac Inlet Road, near the National Golf Links, will receive the attention of students of the Tuckahoe School, grades six to eight, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Southampton High School students are scheduled to clean Sebonac Inlet/North Sea Beach beginning at 11 a.m.

The Hampton Day School will tackle Jessup's Neck at 10 a.m. on Friday, and the third grade of the Bridgehampton School has its sights on Long Beach west, starting at 9 a.m. The Ross School has claimed the east end of Long Beach, also at 9.

Eleanor Swan and her volunteers will clean Havens Beach, in Sag Harbor. She can be reached at her Sag Harbor residence for the meeting time.

Widespread Support

Also in Southampton, the Greenbelt Trail Conference is scheduled to take on the debris at Squires Pond on Saturday afternoon.

The Save the Bays group is co-sponsoring the cleanup with the Moore Charitable Foundation, the American Littoral Society, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the State Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Center for Marine Conservation.

Last year over 6,000 New Yorkers cleaned 220 miles of shoreline of over 150,000 pounds of debris. R.D.

The weather has been ideal for the Viking Starliner's advertised "cruises to nowhere," gambling outings from Montauk Harbor into Federal waters. And despite official disapproval and a local law against the possession of gambling equipment, it appears the Starliner's roulette wheel will continue turning, its slot machines spinning, and its cards shuffling, for now at least.

The first cruise took place Friday night, reportedly with a prominent Montauk resident, Dick Cavett, providing a bit of entertainment with an impressive display of card trickery.

"Oh, boy, it's fun. I bet I know 20 percent of the people by their first name, and others I've seen around. We've had some big winners. One woman won $700 at a slot machine," Capt. Paul Forsberg, the Starliner's owner, said yesterday.

No Control

"On Saturday night," he added, "a guy won $800 at the roulette wheel. There's been a great response; people coming down shaking my hand. I'm sure there's criticism, but I haven't heard it directly."

The subject came up on Tuesday during an informal East Hampton Town Board session at Town Hall.

Speaking in reference to a letter from James Greenbaum, Mr. Forsberg's attorney, Rick Whalen, the deputy town attorney, advised the board that it appeared the state and its municipalities had no control over gambling activities.

"I wouldn't hold out hope that we can regulate this," Mr. Whalen said.

Legal Precedents

Mr. Greenbaum's letter, sent to Town Supervisor Cathy Lester, argued that Chapter 60 of the Town Code, which forbids the possession of gambling equipment, was superseded by Federal law allowing gambling on boats beyond the state's three-mile territorial limit.

He also presented two precedent decisions, one by the State of New York Department of Law and one by the City of New York Law Department.

"A specific state statute would have to be adopted before any legal action can be taken to ban cruises to nowhere in the State of New York.. . . Federal law has clearly pre-empted any local authority," Mr. Greenbaum said in his letter. The lawyer offered to work with town officials "regarding the reasonable regulation of legal offshore cruises."

Knobel: No Complaints

Councilwoman Nancy McCaffrey suggested during Tuesday's meeting that "some ferry legislation might have an impact on a gambling boat." Mr. Whalen said no: "Assuming it's legal, it would have the same restrictions as a party fishing vessel."

"Let's do some research. That's what people want," suggested Councilman Peter Hammerle.

Councilman Thomas Knobel said yesterday that despite published reports, the Town Board had received virtually no complaints about the gambling boat. He said he doubted that research would turn up anything that would preclude Captain Forsberg's venture.

Mr. Forsberg, captain of the Viking fleet of party-fishing boats, said yesterday he planned to add another gambling trip, this one aimed at senior citizens, from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursdays.

Otherwise, the cruise to nowhere leaves the Viking Dock in Montauk at 7:30 p.m. every night except Monday and returns at 12:30 a.m. The cost is $20, unless Lady Luck stays onshore.

Anyone who doubts the Bistrian family's resolve to complete an 18-hole golf course on its 124 acres along Accabonac Highway, Abraham's Path, and Stony Hill Road, need only take a drive past the site.

Fairways and greens are being laid out and graded, pins and flags are already up, and work is progressing on what could be the key to completing the family's controversial Stony Hill Country Club: bringing public water to the property. Though costly, public water could be used to irrigate much of the golf course, as well as to serve an eventual clubhouse.

A local plumbing crew was busy Tuesday tinkering with a water main extension completed several weeks ago to bring in public water. According to a contract between Barry Bistrian and the Suffolk County Water Authority obtained by The Star, the Bistrians spent $21,354 to extend the main, on Accabonac Highway, by 170 feet to reach the golf course.

Small Well Installed

Though Mr. Bistrian spoke at length last week about the overall project, he could not be reached this week for comment on the water main. Nor would the Bistrians' lawyer, William Esseks of Riverhead, comment on the matter.

In March, after trying for two years to get permission from the State Department of Environmental Conservation to install two high-capacity wells on the land, the family installed a single low-capacity well. It did not need a state permit, since its pumping capacity is less than 45 gallons per minute.

The larger wells proposed would each pump up to 350 gallons per minute. That application has been held up by the prospect of a lengthy environmental review, not to mention a lawsuit.

Large Wells Held Up

The Bistrians sued the state early this year after the D.E.C. ordered an environmental impact statement on the application. Among other things, the family argued the agency had approved other, more powerful, irrigation wells less than a mile away without any environmental review - namely, the wells at the Quail Hill farm, owned by the Peconic Land Trust.

Neighboring landowners and others who oppose the golf course cite irrigation and groundwater concerns as the major factors. Opponents warn that aside from pesticides and fertilizers trickling into the Stony Hill aquifer below the course, heavy irrigation could suck contaminants from below the neighboring town landfill into the public groundwater supply.

George Hammarth, the D.E.C. permit administrator handling the golf course application, said such concerns were behind the decision to require an environmental study. He acknowledged, however, that if there were no wells proposed, the agency would have no jurisdiction.

No Town Oversight

"If they chose to use public water and didn't propose the wells, we would effectively drop out of the picture," said Mr. Hammarth.

Nor does East Hampton Town have jurisdiction over the golf course. Though the family will still need Planning Board authorization for any future clubhouse, the town's environmental review ceased two years ago, when, in a major victory for the Bistrians, the board's lawyer, Richard Whalen, ruled that approval for the course granted by the 1978 Planning Board remained valid.

With 1,000 pages of an environmental impact statement already completed, the family promptly pulled its application to the town, and focused on the narrower well application before the D.E.C. The Planning Board handed over "lead agency" status to the D.E.C. last year.

Working Range

Work on the course has progressed quietly but steadily since then. Many of the fairways and greens have been graded and shaped, and a driving range is already in operation.

"Sixty to 70 percent of the major work for the golf course is completed; now it's mostly finesse work," said Mr. Bistrian, who has acted as spokesman for the family.

As for the clubhouse and other amenities, Mr. Bistrian said, "We've been more or less going along piecemeal, and in the meantime, we've been discussing things with a few architects - famous ones."

Still, he said, "We're not going to be before the town for a while. We'll probably have the golf course done before we come to the town again."

Environmental Review

Jeffrey Bragman, a lawyer for the Citizens for Clean Water, a group opposed to the course, charged the Bistrians had been trying to skirt environmental review of the course altogether.

"We still think there is a tremendous amount of environmental review to be done," he said. "They don't want environmental review . . . and while the review is stalled they're trying to do as much work as they can do to make the golf course look like a fait accompli."

Mr. Bistrian had a different take. "Just by doing this [continuing work on the course], people can see what will eventually evolve out there, and I don't think they'll find it unattractive."

Private Club

While the Bistrians originally expressed interest in a semi-public course, Town Code restrictions have prompted the family to propose a private membership club instead. The code forbids a public golf course in a residential area.

Mr. Bistrian said the eventual membership will determine what the club proposes for clubhouse facilities.

"We're going to have to go with a membership golf course," he said, adding that "the membership should have a say in how big [the clubhouse] is and what it would look like."

The location of the clubhouse would remain as it was in the 1978 site plan - on the east side of Accabonac Highway, just north of the four-way intersection with Abraham's Path. The property lies within three fire districts, East Hampton, Springs, and Amagansett.

Parking Improved

Though site plan approval will be needed for the clubhouse and its parking, a parking area has already been improved to serve the course-to-be.

"That parking area was already cleared and graded off," Mr. Bistrian said. "We just touched it up a little and threw a little gravel on it."

The driving range is being used privately, he said, and golf pros have been giving occasional lessons there. Meanwhile, the unfinished course has already seen a few rounds played.

"We put some pins up," Mr. Bistrian said. "We're more or less hacking around and feeling things out."

South Fork C.C.

As the Stony Hill golf course presses on without the town's review, the nearby South Fork Country Club is fully engaged with the Planning Board. The club, which seeks to build a second nine holes on Old Stone Highway, was recently ordered to provide an environmental impact statement on the plan.

The D.E.C.'s Mr. Hammarth maintained that the Stony Hill course should be subject to an environmental study as well, with a scope broader than simply the irrigation wells.

"We believe the completion of the country club use is subject to [the State Environmental Quality Review Act]," he said. "Our position is, SEQRA review needs to be done on the remaining work."

Meanwhile, the head of the Suffolk County Water Authority confirmed this week that other golf courses in the county do irrigate with public water, although it is considerably more expensive than using private wells.

Mention kayaking within earshot of people who have experienced it and you'll see a certain look come over their faces, subtle changes in posture. Their brows unfurrow, their voices grow calm, and their eyes seem to hold a little of the same light that glints off the water when the sun's low in the sky and the shadows are long across the kayak's bow.

"It isn't a sport thing. It's an escape," Jay Damuck said, extolling the virtues of kayaking before a morning paddle in the waters off Shelter Island recently.

In an era when people seem to be plugged in, on line, and on duty more than ever, it's no wonder a sport that offers an escape from daily pressures is becoming so popular.

"I've had people call me up and tell me they're going to drop their therapist," Mark Terry, an Amagansett-based kayak tour operator, said. If that isn't a testament to the merits of kayaking, what is?

New Perspective

Mr. Terry started East Coast Adventure Tour Company last year, and Mr. Damuck opened Shelter Island Kayak three years ago. Both were drawn to the business for the same reasons their clients now seek them out - a touch of adventure, a dose of tranquillity, and a unique way of seeing for yourself the treasures of the area's wetland waterways.

"It gives you a different perspective on the area when you see it from the water," said Mike Bottini, a planner with the Group for the South Fork. Mr. Bottini has navigated the waters of the South Fork by kayak for years. When the Group sponsors a canoe trip, Mr. Bottini guides the canoers in his kayak, which is easier to maneuver.

Invented by the Inuits, the narrow vessels were originally constructed of wood and stretched animal skins. These days many of the newest ones are made of molded plastic, but a high-end kayak can be made of fiberglass, wood, or even canvas on a wood frame.

There are sea kayaks, which are long and fast, but more prone to tipping, and river kayaks, which are shorter, more stable, and very maneuverable. "In a river kayak every paddle stroke can change your direction," explained Diana Dreeben of the Riverhead company Peconic Paddler.

"It appeals to me because it's such an ancient and basic thing," Mr. Damuck said. "There's so much technology - answering machines, faxes, a computer ignition system in my car. This is just a paddle and a piece of plastic."

Another of the big selling points of kayaks is that they can carry a paddler into just three inches of water or through the roiling ocean waves that are usually the domain of board surfers alone. That opens up to paddlers not only the wonders of the ocean, bays, and harbors, but also narrow mosquito ditches, slow-moving creeks, and hidden ponds.

One With Nature

Provided the kayakers don't litter, the sport has little or no impact on the environment, which appeals to conservationists. And, while a little bit of knowledge, some basic skills, and common sense are required, amateur calm-water kayaking does not require months of training or Herculean strength.

Explorer types can bob along over clustered clam beds, scurrying crabs, and red beard sponge, paddle near shorebird nesting sites without disturbing the birds, and try to keep up with the dragonflies darting off the water.

Enthusiasts say that in a kayak they feel a part of the wetland world rather than an intruder in it.

Some, however, are hard put to leave the trappings of a fast-paced life on shore. "We've had a few people bring their cellular phones with them," Luke Svanberg said, as he paddled leisurely along in Cedar Point Park, pausing to point out a school of alewives flapping at the water's surface.

Growing Demand

Mr. Svanberg leads kayak tours for his brother Lars's company, Main Beach Surf and Sport in Wainscott, teaching tour participants the basic rules of the waters, and guiding them through an introduction to wetland ecology.

When Lars Svanberg heard The Star was doing a story on kayaking, he said, "It's about time you woke up over there." He was one of the pioneers of kayak tours and rentals on the South Fork and has watched a dramatic rise in the sport over the past couple of years.

Peconic Paddler, which opened in Riverhead 12 years ago, was the first big kayaking operation on the East End.

Since then an increasing number of entrepreneurs have opened tour companies and rental businesses on the East End to meet the growing demand and take advantage of a lucrative market. The boom is evident not only by the kayak trailers parked at some of the more popular paddling spots, but by the number of cars and trucks driving around with one of the lightweight vessels tethered to the roof.

Where They Go

Main Beach's tours focus on Alewife Brook and Pond and Georgica Pond, which offer two very different views of local wetlands. While Alewife Brook is surrounded by parkland, Georgica Pond is surrounded by private property. There is just one public access point to Georgica Pond, near the corner of Wainscott Stone Road and Montauk Highway, so what people see from the water may be the only view they get of the pond.

Accabonac Harbor in Springs, with its classic salt marsh, is a particularly prized spot for kayaking, and almost every evening, while the weather holds, a line of paddlers or the lone kayaker can be seen around Tick Island. "Accabonac has a lot of history, too," Mr. Bottini said. "Almost every rock and point has a name."

Northwest Creek in East Hampton, also bordered by parkland, is another good place. Many make their way to Napeague Harbor, where they can paddle along the shore and disembark to explore Hicks Island.

Rougher Waters

Mr. Terry often delivers kayaks for children's parties at Fresh Pond in Amagansett. Mr. Damuck likes Coecles Harbor and Congdon's Creek, off Shelter Island, and Mr. Bottini recommends Sebonac Creek in North Sea.

James Greenbaum, a Montauk attorney who took up kayaking this summer, suggests Fort Pond, Fort Pond Bay, and Lake Montauk as good spots out east, but also raves about paddling on the ocean.

"That's for people who are really into it," he said. As a surfer first, he found kayaking to be a good alternative sport in a bad year for surfing, as this one has been. "A three-foot wave - on a kayak, that's over your head," he said.

Go The Distance

What thrills him about wave riding is what scares most people away from paddling in the ocean. It takes a lot more know-how to brave a wave than to hug the shore watching the wildlife, but for a skilled surfer, he said, "it opens up a whole new world."

While a surfboard is made for shorter rides and a canoe can be a bit heavy for long solo trips, kayaks were designed for distance, enabling a paddler to travel in and out of little coves, along the ocean coast, even up one side of the South Fork and down the other.

Each area offers something a little different and some spots are better left a secret. After talking to just a few paddlers, one gets the sense that a prime kayaking spot might be something you have to track down for yourself.

Three years ago, Mr. Bottini drew up a plan for a canoe/kayak waterway guide that would include maps of good routes and possible camping or bed and breakfast spots along the way for those who'd like to make overnight trips or might not be familiar with the area's waters. Outside of Cedar Point Park in East Hampton, there aren't any designated camping spots now that tie in with good kayak routes.

With all the paddling activity, it seems the time for such a guide couldn't be better, but Mr. Bottini has been so busy with his duties at the Group that he's had to put this project on the back burner.

Though it's hardly likely the East End will become a hub for ecotourism, the area has long drawn a large contingent to outdoor sports and the waterways of the East End, some say, provide kayaking to rival that of any of the better-known destinations around the country.

Critical Mass

Dorothy Dalsimer of Southampton would agree. She took up kayaking long before it was the latest "in" sport. She went to Baja, Calif., on a kayak trip last year, when she was 83. A few years before that, it was Belize.

This summer, she stuck to the South Fork, taking daylong trips, stopping for lunch, and often fishing or gathering scallops and oysters aboard her kayak. If the weather stays warm this year, she just may keep kayaking through the winter.

So when does all this activity become too much of a good thing? Will the crowds on the roads spill over to the waters?

"There's something called a sustainable load," Mr. Terry said a few weeks ago. "You have to look at the size of the system to determine how many kayak loads it can handle." Mr. Terry, who has a degree in environmental science and forestry, doesn't think the waterways here are anywhere close to critical mass. Certainly not at this time of year.

"Most people only go out once or twice a week," Ms. Dreeben of Peconic Paddler said yesterday. "It'll never get too big."

Cost Of Primary

East Hampton

September 11, 1997

Dear Editor:

Primary Day (Sept. 9) arise at 4 a.m.: morning ablution followed by a light breakfast. Out the front door, into the car, and reach assigned spot at Election District #4 by 5:28 a.m. There, my other five co-workers and I readied the voting machine, placed appropriate papers on tables, and waited. We waited until 8:30 p.m. for two eligible voters to enter.

Not that we were without visitors. Fifteen ineligible voters crossed the doorstep: registered Democrats and Republicans. Two who said they were registered independents but weren't "in the book." They were offered affidavit ballots. And one voter who couldn't remember most recent party affiliation.

All in all, 20 prospective voters.

Do I perceive a problem? Yes, I do.

I can only begin to estimate the financial cost of this primary election at E.D. 4: And the cost is borne by "we the people."

- +/- $700 for six people to sit at E.D. 4, 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

- $$ to move one voting machine from Yaphank to E.D. 4 (and back again).

- $$ for sheriff (plus driver) to ride the circuit of E.D.s in East Hampton Town: at least two visits in 16 hours.

- $$ for the physical space of the voting machine.

Do I have possible solutions? Perhaps.

1. Prominently display advertisement of election (not necessarily of persons involved) describing election intent and who is eligible to vote, especially for primary voting, not only in newspapers, but at food stores or other places visited by the electorate in the course of daily activities.

2. Shorten number of hours of primary election: noon to 8 p.m.

3. Reduce number of persons assigned to one voting machine (i.e., two inspectors and one coordinator).

4. "Split" shifts for inspectors and coordinators to four, six, eight, or 16 hours.

Finally, in closing, on a personal note: I really enjoyed the company and conversations that engaged us six over 16 hours. The time was well spent.

Sincerely,

MARILYN JOHNSON

Combating Voles

Amagansett

September 12, 1997

Dear Star,

In last week's Star, the garden section had an article about clematis, by Ellen Samuels. In the article she related that an Ipswich, Mass., nursery had found that a product called Mole-Med had been successful in combating voles (a type of field mouse) that had been eating the roots of their plants.

This is good news, because in my correspondence with Horticulture magazine last year, they reported that in their research some experts had reported it to be "not effective at all," while others reported it "works pretty good." The problem is that it doesn't kill them but merely diverts them to other parts of the garden. Even so, it could be valuable in protecting individual plants or beds of valuable bulbs.

Mole-Med is expensive, but Horticulture gave me the formula. (Six ounces castor oil, two tablespoons liquid dish detergent, and one gallon of water.) Mix one ounce of this in a gallon of water and drench the soil once a month around the plants to be protected, beginning in late spring.

It seems that the scent of the castor oil gets on their fur and makes them repellent to their mates so they don't cohabit. (Maybe members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals could use this to spray on people wearing fur coats instead of red paint?)

Sincerely,

HOWARD PURCELL

Train Dog Owners

East Hampton

September 14, 1997

Dear Mrs. Rattray,

I read with interest the article titled "Would Extend Dog Ban" in your Sept. 11 issue. Insofar as the reason for wishing to instigate this ban was prompted not so much by "dogs per se," but by "what they have left behind," it is understandable that the public wants a remedy. However, the problem is not with the dogs themselves, but rather with their owners, who should indeed be responsible for tidying up after their pets. That would be the remedy.

As was mentioned in the article, some beachgoers have inquired as to whether a "pooper-scooper" law such as the one in place in New York City might not work. This idea was rejected as not being "practical or enforceable here." In New York City, let me assure you, it has proved practical, not because it is possible to enforce it by an already overworked Police Department, but through peer pressure.

One of the great pleasures of going to the beach in the summer is to see children romping in the surf and playing with their pets. In the evenings I have watched entire families picnicking around a campfire accompanied by their pets, who are an integral part of their life. Are we becoming so mean-spirited as to deny these pleasures to our neighbors? Larry Cantwell correctly said that "you do see a lot of dogs on the beach before 9." This is because a lot of people take pleasure in bringing their dogs to the beach. Are we going to deny our neighbors this pleasure because less than a dozen have complained?

Let's make an effort to train the dog owners to act responsibly and not penalize the rest of us for less than a dozen complaints.

Sincerely,

WILLIAM P. RAYNOR

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A push to further improve the recently rebuilt East Hampton Town Airport has catapulted the $4.5-million project back into the political arena.

In a situation reminiscent of the heated and prolonged battle over the airport's expansion that began in 1989, town officials, political candidates, airport users, and those who live under its flight paths are once again choosing sides.

During an impassioned East Hampton Town Board meeting on Tuesday, the widening of the main runway, runway 10-28, was thoroughly debated. The Republican majority made it clear it intended to move the project forward.

Its members, Councilmen Thomas Knobel and Len Bernard and Councilwoman Nancy McCaffrey, said the town would risk losing $3 million from the Federal Aviation Administration if the work were aborted or delayed. They also claimed the runway was not safe as is.

A Mistake

The minority board members, Democratic Supervisor Cathy Lester and Councilman Peter Hammerle, however, raised questions about whether a widening project would be legal without a new environmental study and a public hearing.

The 1989 airport master plan had earmarked the runway's widening for a complete environmental study before construction could start. Town planners, however, had advised six months ago that it was a simple maintenance project that did not need further environmental review.

This week, Lisa Liquori, the planning director, and Marguerite Wolffsohn, the assistant director, said the complete proposal had not been made clear to them at the time.

"It was a mistake," said Ms. Wolffsohn.

"An expensive mistake," snapped Councilwoman McCaffrey.

Councilman Knobel said he meant for construction to start next month; a full environmental review could delay it for more than a year.

Procedural Questions

Supervisor Lester and Councilman Hammerle admitted the entire Town Board had made errors by moving ahead with certain already completed projects included in a 1989 master plan which was never formally adopted.

That plan was signed by former Supervisor Tony Bullock and sent on to the F.A.A., "and I have been following it ever after," protested Mr. Knobel.

"Someone has to explain to the Feds why we've been signing off on all these projects over the years. I don't think it's a necessary requirement to have a public hearing on every project," he added.

Supervisor Lester, who said the board could not continue to "modify" the 1989 plan piecemeal, but should commission another plan, accused him of trying to "ram this through," which Mr. Knobel angrily denied.

Category At Issue

"I understand how you got here, but people made mistakes along the way. I made mistakes too . . . but now that I have the proper information I cannot continue to move forward," said Councilman Hammerle.

He and Supervisor Lester said that if the Republicans continued on their present course, the airport would be irrevocably classified a "basic transport" facility, "which opens us up to a whole bunch of uncontrollable uses" under F.A.A. rules. They said it should remain as is, a "utility" airport.

A 1994 document identifies the airport as the larger of the two. "Maybe that's why the F.A.A. wants a wider runway and more lights," added Ms. Lester.

Called Dangerous

Runway 10-28 is 75 feet wide with roughly 12-foot-wide margins on either side. The pavement in the margins, left over from years ago when the runway was 100 feet wide, is cracked and has grass growing through it. The proposal is to repave the entire runway with a thicker overlay, making it 100 feet wide again, and to install brighter runway lights.

Pat Ryan, the airport manager, said the runway had not been repaved in nearly 20 years and could be dangerous for any plane that did not land dead center.

In 1979, he said, the town opted to save money by repaving only 75 feet of the runway. Returning it to 100 feet would "jibe with the type of airport we have. It would only better accommodate the planes that are using the airport now."

Accusations Fly

Mr. Ryan added that the widening would not allow the runway to accommodate larger planes; only lengthening the runway, which is not in the plans, would do that, he said.

Bids on the project have come in at about $2.7 million. The F.A.A. has paid roughly 90 percent of the $4.5 million spent on rebuilding the airport so far, and has agreed to bankroll certain future improvements to a similar extent.

Councilman Bernard dismissed the Democrats' claim that there are many opponents of further improvements. He even accused Councilman Hammerle of fabricating reports of concerned constituents.

Mr. Hammerle, in turn, accused Mr. Bernard of orchestrating "a concerted letter-writing campaign" that nonetheless did not constitute "a proper public hearing forum."

New Capital Plan?

Mr. Knobel also is pushing ahead with a revised airport capital plan, a wish list of 16 items to be implemented over five years. With the exception of widening the main runway, the completion of recent work - a new terminal building, access road, parking lot, and apron, where planes take on and disembark passengers - fulfilled the goals of previous plan.

The Republicans voted last month to spend $147,000 on the first legal step toward adopting a new capital plan, an environmental assessment of whether each of the 16 projects presented a potential environmental hazard, needed further review, or could proceed.

The two Democrats, pushing this week for a full environmental study of the runway's widening, voted against a similar assessment of a proposed new capital plan, saying they wanted all expansion efforts to end.

Letters Come In

According to Councilman Knobel, the assessment is required by the F.A.A. and by the State Environmental Quality Review Act. It would take in all activities at the airport, and look at the possible impact of the 16 items on noise, terrain, groundwater quality, noise and visual pollution, garbage, and so on.

As in the conflict in 1989, a barrage of letters to The Star over the last month has expressed support and opposition to further improvements, with the opponents slightly ahead. This week's Star, for example, includes a letter from Donald Petrie, a longtime Georgica Association resident, who had written his share of letters several years ago.

Mr. Petrie observes the passing of a six-year period of bipartisan "restraint" concerning the airport and says the upcoming election would "constitute a referendum by the voters as to whether they want further expansion."

As for political issues, Councilman Knobel predicted that closing the town's two landfills, which could end up costing more than $50 million, "will be bigger." And, like the airport, he noted the process for reviewing the options there had only just begun.