Can You See the Windmills Off Montauk?

When these big windmills got built 35 miles off Montauk to provide wind power for our electricity, much of the objection to them was that when they got running, you’d see their blades bobbing up and down out there, ruining the view. We felt entitled to our view of the ocean. The peacefulness of being at the ocean was sacred to us. Serenity and meditation were important. The sand and the sea provided that.

As a result of these concerns, the big power companies that were to build these windmills took it to heart. They assured us they would be over the horizon. Thirty-five miles out would do it.

Well, now they are, somewhere, with their big aluminum blades flashing in the sunlight and, yes, it seems at first glance they are indeed over the horizon. We don’t see them. Or do we?

I was out in Montauk near the lighthouse a few weeks ago and it just seemed to me there was this rhythmic disturbance way, way out there that looked like it could be the tops of the blades of those windmills.

Their locations out there had been determined. Leases for the locations had been signed and sealed. They were keeping their promises.

But then, since that initial promise, years have passed leading up to this successful commencement of their efforts. And during this period — and it’s been several years of discussions and meetings — I do believe that the upcoming windmill construction plan was changed. Improvements were made. Each windmill could provide more electricity with these changes. Better grease in the gears. A sleeker design. A more slippery coating to get them to go faster. And, maybe, bigger? As in taller?

Who would notice that they had grown? Power per kilowatt would increase output. There’d be more power to be sent out, more money to be made. Is that them I’m seeing out there? Well, we tried. We did our best.

And so, two weeks ago, I rounded up some friends, all of whom were taller than me. We went out to Seal Beach at Camp Hero just a few hundred yards from the lighthouse to stand out there and try to see what I had seen.

They said it did not appear to be a problem. But then, I got them to jump up and down as I had done earlier, this time higher than I had jumped. Tell me again what you see. A few thought they had seen that sort of rhythmic movement just above the horizon. But it was hard to say what it was. It was pretty misty out there the day we went. And with the curvature of the earth, it seemed kind of blurry. It was still inconclusive.

And then I read somewhere that Zach Edey, who is on the Purdue Boilermakers basketball team playing for the NCAA College Basketball Men’s Championship, would be coming to Montauk and, as a vacation, would be staying at Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa in one of the upcoming weeks. He’s 7-foot-4-inches tall. The tallest person playing basketball on any team in either the NCAA or the NBA.

So I called over to Gurney’s. They told me people had indeed called about that. But they couldn’t say if it was true or not. That would be an invasion of their customers’ privacy. Well, I did ask them if, were he to show up, could they ask him if he would be willing to contact me? Just give him that message. I gave them my phone number.

They told me they couldn’t make any promises. And, as it happened, no one so far has called.

Meanwhile, believing this might not come to pass, I did manage to contact the Brooklyn Nets basketball team because I root for them and have interviewed some of the players for stories in this paper from time to time, so I now know how to contact them.

Two of the team players, one 6-foot-6-inches and the other 6-foot-8-inches, have said they will come out next weekend. We will be putting them up at our house here in East Hampton.

I’ll let you know what happens.

To read more of Dan Rattiner’s stories, go to DansPapers.com/voices/dan-rattiners-stories.