For most golf fans heading to the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills next week, getting there is likely to be a whole lot less than half the fun.
Long considered one of the most challenging tracks on the USGA’s rotating docket of Championship courses, Shinnecock is also one of the most difficult to get to. Some 150,000 spectators are expected to arrive, mainly via road and rail, during the week-long event, including as many as 45,000 per day for each of the Thursday through Sunday competitive rounds. Given the near ubiquitous traffic bottlenecks along that narrow stretch of Sunrise Highway, the added influx will no doubt induce some serious travel headaches.
But for fans traveling from the North Fork, at least one local entrepreneur is offering a much less stressful – and far more scenic – transportation alternative.
Captain Chip Cheek and his wife, Lisa, owners of Peconic Bay Sunset Cruises, recently announced a U.S. Open “water taxi” service throughout tournament week. Departing from Strong’s Marina at Broadwaters Cove in Cutchogue, Captain Chip’s 30-foot Sea Ray 280 will ferry up to eight passengers per trip across Peconic Bay, through the Shinnecock Canal and on to a drop-off point at another Strong’s location on Tuckahoe Road in Southampton.
That will leave ticket holders with a little more than a quarter mile walk through the Southampton College campus and across the temporary pedestrian bridge spanning Route 27 to the Open gates.
“A [Sunset Cruise] customer from last year was going to a practice round and asked if I could take her over,” Captain Chip said during a pre-tourney trial run this week.
“That’s when the light bulb went off and I thought, ‘I can do this all week.”
This year marks the sixth time Shinnecock will be hosting a U.S. Open Championship, but the first since the couple launched their charter service is 2021. Relying solely on social media and word-of-mouth advertising, interest has so far been strong, with trips pre-booked for the Tuesday and Wednesday practice rounds, plus a double run on Friday and another on Saturday morning.
Despite just one boat and limited capacity, Lisa is nonetheless remaining flexible on additional bookings.
“I’m trying not to say ‘no,’ but we’re also not overdoing it,” she said.
Her husband, who has been boating in local waters for more than a decade and also works as a training captain for Strong’s Marine, is equally content to roll with the tide.
“If I get a single trip each day that’s great,” Capt. Chip said. “But if the timing works out we could be open to a second run. It’s our first time out, so we don’t want to be greedy about it.”
Depending on the wind, the current, and the opening and closing of the locks in the Shinnecock Canal, the Cheeks are allowing for roughly 90 minutes for each one-way run.
“But that’s boat time,” Captain Chip cautions, “so give or take 15 minutes.”
A test run earlier this week, with a pair of North Fork Sun reporters aboard, indicated that the captain’s timing estimate is spot on. But it also highlighted the real value of the water taxi service – a one-of-a-kind cruise through some of the East End’s most scenic waterways.
The mostly no-wake run through the shallow stretch of Broadwaters Cove, with Nassau Point to the east and New Suffolk on the west, leads to a razor thin inlet between Fisherman’s Beach and Stillwater Beach. Once in Peconic Bay, and now free to go full throttle, Capt. Chip cut east around Robins Island, likely to be a “game day call” during the tourney.
“Just like golf, you gotta play the wind,” he said.
Crossing the bay, passengers are treated to commanding views of the some of the world’s most exclusive real estate, including National Golf Links of America and the Sebonack Golf Club perched high on the bluffs of North Sea, as well as some colorful, insider commentary on the comings and goings of the world elite from Capt. Chip.
Heading west toward Meschut Beach leads the mouth of the Shinnecock Canal, and following a brief wait for another vessel to clear, Capt. Chip pulled into “the box” while the lock master shut the gate and raised the water level to match the tide on the southern side, all in a roughly 15 minute transit.
A slight turn west around the buoys keeps the boat in the deep water channel of Shinnecock Bay and features views of the larger than most can imagine mansions along the coast of the Southampton mainland. A quick ride east toward the native lands of the Shinnecock Nation then a left turn into a small cove and the docks of Strong’s Marine Southampton.
Despite some rather heavy winds and a bit of chop in the Peconic, the whole trip took just about 90 minutes, “boat time” notwithstanding.
For most fans, reaching Shinnecock next week will mean navigating traffic, train schedules and long walks. For a lucky few aboard Capt. Chip’s Sea Ray, getting there may end up being every bit as memorable as the golf itself.
For more information, visit the Peconic Bay Sunset Cruises website or call 516-642-6850.