Letters

Look, up in the sky — it’s another seaplane!

We don’t know for sure what’s coming, but if flights from New York City to the East Hampton Airport are reduced due to restrictions placed on the airport, those flights may choose the alternative of flying seaplanes to Sag Harbor. The planes would be required to land a good distance out in the harbor, away from Long Wharf, and drop off passengers at a floating dock to be picked up by a launch and brought to the Long Wharf docks.

This sounds simple, but consider a couple of issues.

First, a seaplane requires 3,000 feet for takeoff and landing, and that can’t happen in a designated area, like a “runway,” because they need to make this maneuver into the wind. The wind changes directions often, so the “runway” would never be in one particular area.

Second, seaplanes have no “right of way” over any vessel on the water, not even a kayak. This means that a seaplane attempting to take off or land would have to wait until 3,000 feet of waterway was void of any boat traffic.

Imagine this plane wanting to land in the summer months, when all forms of watercraft are enjoying the waters off Sag Harbor. The pilot knows the direction he needs to land in due to wind direction, yet he also has to wait until those waters are clear of all boat traffic. This means the seaplane will be circling above until a pathway becomes clear, subjecting Sag Harbor Village to the noise of low-flying aircraft. How many times a day will this happen? Will this create a longer wait for the launch service to serve our local boaters? Will traffic become more congested?

And my final question: What’s the benefit to Sag Harbor?

Captain Howard R. Mitchell

Sag Harbor