I have taken the ferry to Sandy Hook twice.
The first time, Mumsy and I semi-accidentally got off the bus at the nude beach. See, we weren’t avoiding it, we just didn’t realize that was the stop for the nude beach. We realized pretty quickly where we were, and decided to go to the end of the beach where it was a little more quiet. Well, so did some other people looking for some privacy. Awkward. Top three nude couples of Sandy Hook 20007 (all male, ’cause that’s all that was there): Overweight gamers – How did I know they were gamers? Pale, overweight, dark hair all over, glasses, hunched, young; the couple wearing sparkly cock rings and nothing else; and finally the super overly-affectionate, audibly slurping, frolicking in the waves couple who seemed to be on their freaking honeymoon until one of them got up to go into the water alone and a couple sitting near by asked the remaining guy how long he and his amorous boyfriend had been together. “We just met today,” he said. The couple, obviously taken aback just sort of mildly gasped and said it was their 20th anniversary. He drolly offered congratulations. Awkward. Long story short, Mumsy and I had a great time. And maybe the best part was when some trashy speed boaters cruised up and some drunk half-naked women got out of the boat, climbed, with difficulty, onto an innertube, and shook their boobs at us and the beach full of gay men and yelled “I’m king of the world” over and over again.
[*Note: It might be a coincidence, but I got a rash all over my arms the day after going into the water at the beach mentioned above. Decide for yourself.]
Evan and I went back to Sandy Hook the Friday before last and went to Beach B. It was beautiful and quiet — we stayed away from the large grouping of Jersey families. The ferry ride was awesome and I really felt like I got out of the city. I forgot my camera, but I’ll bring it next time, promise.
To get to Sandy Hook by ferry from Manhattan, you just take the SeaStreak from Pier 11 (Wall Street), or East 35th Street at the water. You can view the schedule here. A school bus greets you at the ferry and takes you to the beach of your choice. The first stop is nude and predominantly gay, and the only other stop I know is Beach B. Both are very nice and Beach B has a restaurant. A lot of people bring bikes, so they can go to multiple beaches.
