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After floating from dock to dock during its inaugural summer in 2020, Moriches Island Sailing has found a home at the Silly Lily Fishing Station in East Moriches.
“We’re excited about Silly Lily because it is a much nicer location to meet our customers, and just a wonderful place to be a part of,” said Moriches Island Sailing owner Luke Hickling. “It also gives us much more space to grow in the future.”
The outfit offers personalized and group sailing lessons and chartered sunset cruises among other services.
“Some people like to learn and others just want to relax and cruise around the bay or sail over to the beach,” Hickling said. “We typically teach people on our 19-foot sailboat, but we will also give lessons on privately owned boats.”
Hickling explained that he started Moriches Island Sailing in May 2020 when it was uncertain if the yacht club he had worked at for many years would be allowed to operate under COVID-19 restrictions.
“I thought that private and small group sailing lessons would be a great low-risk COVID activity, so I decided to go out on my own and start MIS (Moriches Island Sailing),” said Hickling, who grew up in East Moriches and has taught sailing for 12 summers.
The business came together over the summer months last year. The website was up and running in August and Hickling was able to start advertising in September, he said.
Before landing at Silly Lily, Hickling’s crew would pick up customers at public docks. At Silly Lily, his company is part of a bustling waterfront atmosphere where people can rent sailboats, kayaks, paddle boards and fishing boats. Plus, Stone Creek has a food truck on site.
“When Silly Lily reached out to us, we knew that sailing from Silly Lily would add value to the experience for our customers and add legitimacy to our business for new customers,” Hickling said.
Photo above: Facebook / Moriches Island Sailing
