Things to Do in Glen Cove

Shore Thing Rentals equips its patrons with gear for water- and land-based adventures. Standup paddleboards and single and tandem kayaks let paddlers glide through Long Island Sound's aquatic playground, and bicyclists can wheel around Glen Cove, exploring quaint neighborhoods or one of the area's parks or nature preserves. Shore Thing Rentals neighbors The Boat House Waterside Café in Brewer Yacht Yard and features a free WiFi and a hammock that patrons can use to relax or imagine life as a caterpillar in a fishnet cocoon.

Every summer, Angler Fishing Fleet's Captain Ken welcomes youngsters aboard his fishing boat for a weeklong fishing camp. He schools campers in fishing techniques, conservation, and boat safety in a demonstration of the company’s initiatives to empower budding fishermen in exploring local waters. In addition to camps, staff captains host frequent lectures that cover subjects such as anchoring techniques, bait, and which fish are the likeliest to grant wishes.

On private charters, the crew seeks schools with onboard sonar equipment and supplies passengers with fishing gear and bait. The Angler II ferries up to 39 passengers on fishing trips in the western Long Island Sound. It is a 50-foot Coast Guard–inspected vessel. The sleek Angler III, another 50-foot Coast Guard–inspected vessel, also escorts passengers through the sound, but it can hold up to 49 passengers and includes a cozy cabin with a galley that serves snacks and beverages. Plus, it offers both indoor and outdoor seating. The smallest member of the fleet, the Angler Express, is designed to hold up to six passengers on private charters. All three vessels in the fleet are equipped with state-of-the-art safety and fish-finding equipment.

Turtle Cove Golf Center sprinkles summer with the pixie dust of outdoor activities ranging from miniature golf to smacking fastballs in batting cages. A course with 18 mini-golf greens peppered between bright flowers and rippling water lures putters, and the 55 hitting stations at the center's 450-yard grass driving range beckon players looking to vent aggression through full-force swings or whispered threats to their tees. After bagging their clubs, guests can swing into batting cages to whack baseballs and softballs or relax at the Turtle Cove Café and munch on a hamburger.

In addition to practice facilities, Turtle Cove offers professional guidance on the art of the swing during lessons. PGA professionals employ high-speed digital-video analysis to break down each pupil’s form and technique as they drive, chip, and drop-kick golf balls into the hole.

Ken Benshish and Yi Qian both grew up loving music, but the process of learning to play it ranged from uninspiring to mind numbing. The two musicians started iSchool of Music & Art to provide a much different experience—a positive, supportive atmosphere that takes into account each student’s personality and goals. Students aged 3 and older who can’t tell a drumstick from a plectrum and don’t even know the street value of a quarter note can learn piano, drums, guitar, or voice skills from scratch, then test their newfound skills with multiple performance opportunities throughout the year. Instructors host private classes or group students into their own rock-band performance troupes, and intensive camps culminate in field trips to Lincoln Center and a tour of a real recording studio.

A seasoned watersports enthusiast from Fort Lauderdale, J.M. Kostallas tranfers his wealth of aquatic knowledge to beachgoers along the temperate waters of Long Island. The certified lifeguard and safety instructor leads all inaugural paddleboarding lessons, which emphasize form, balance, and the art of seagull intimidation in a supportive environment with only a few students at a time. Students can put their newfound skills to use in an eco-tour of the surrounding area or give paddleboard yoga a try. Kostal Paddle leads yoga sessions in the open water and at a Jewish Community Center pool.

A Class-A PGA professional with more than 25 years of experience, Rick Nielsen applies his time-earned expertise to help golfers shave strokes during lessons at Randalls Island Golf Center, where he's been the head pro since 1998. Rick employs the latest technologies to aid in instruction, including The Golfing Machine system⎯which takes a geometric approach to swing mechanics⎯as well as digital-video analysis and FlightScope 3-D doppler radar launch monitor. These sensitive instruments measure each shot on a number of parameters, from club-head speed and launch angle to total distance and nougat ratio of the ball’s core. Meanwhile, Rick observes and isolates specific areas in need of improvement so that players can develop muscle memory and consistently repeat a successful swing motion. Ultimately, with Rick's pointers, players leave lessons equipped with the tools to reach their full potential on the course without temptation to modify their 9-iron into a bedazzled baton.