Cruising in Southern New England

Currently, it is not the best time to be cruising in New England.   A low pressure trough has parked itself along the eastern seaboard providing a menu of humidity, drizzle, fog, and thunderstorms in no specific order.  Every couple of days we get a brief period of pleasant weather, but, like clockwork, the dismal funk returns. It has been over a month since any significant weather front has passed through, and a good cold front is what we need to change this pattern.

Meanwhile, we make the best of the situation. Port Washington provides an opportunity to shop at a huge grocery store with its own dinghy dock, quite a memorable find. After we are rejuvenated, we head further east to Oyster Bay on Long Island.  

 

One of the swank yacht clubs at Oyster Bay

And the hundred and some foot yacht from the Netherlands anchored just off the yacht club. Boats this size need to have a red light at the top of their masts to warn low flying aircraft.

This is the upscale location of Theodore Roosevelt’s home Sagamore Hill. Teddy was an interesting character, and I am anxious to visit this National Historical Site.  We tie the dinghy along a seawall and walk up a steep road to Sagamore Hill.  Unfortunately, the house itself is closed for renovations, but we are free to stroll the grounds and visit an informative museum. 

Sagamore Hill under renovation for the next several years

While Roosevelt was president, he greatly expanded the Navy.  Once the fleet was complete, he had all the ships painted white (a sign of peaceful intent) and arranged for them to sail around the world on a good will mission. Prior to leaving, he reviewed the Great White Fleet as it sailed into and anchored in Oyster Bay. Now, Oyster Bay is relatively small and the fleet was huge, so it is hard to envision what a spectacle that would have been.

Next stop is a friend’s mooring in the Thimble Islands on the Connecticut coast just east of New Haven.  It is tricky navigating through the rocky islands and ledges in the growing fog.  We find the mooring and decide to remain on the boat rather than launch the dinghy and explore – it has started to drizzle and we enjoy the surrounding views just fine from our cockpit.  The Thimble Islands remind us of the Bay of Islands in the North Channel of Lake Huron.  Each pink granite islet sports a home of varying size from small cottages to outright mansions.  One very wealthy family is in the process of buying up all the available islands.  If you see a flag pole topped with a shamrock flag, it indicates that property is part of the family’s holdings, and there are a lot of shamrocks to be seen.  It is a quaint and, with the fog, mystical place to spend a night.

Foggy Thimble islands with a house sporting a shamrock flag in the background

We move further east to Groton/New London where both our son Bryan and his fiancée, Beth, work. Again, it is foggy and at times very rainy. As we motor past Bryan’s office building (the former world headquarters for Pfizer), he and his office mates claim to be in the windows madly waving at us.   

Bryan's office - we're too far away to see everyone waving

We take a New London municipal mooring and meet up with the kids for dinner on the town.  We find a decent restaurant, but New London seems a bit rough around the edges, and we leave the next morning.

In contrast, our next destination, Newport, is anything but rough around the edges.  As we work our way into the harbor, we pass the historic yacht Ticonderoga heading to the ocean.  Interestingly, we met the grandson of the original owner this past winter in the Bahamas. 

Ticonderoga motors past us with one of the Newport mansions in the background

Newport is already packed in anticipation of the fourth of July, and we can only find anchoring room just north of the harbor, making for a long dinghy ride into the cruisers’ facilities.  But, the ride requires we pass by the docks of the world renown Newport Ship Yard. Each day the collection of mega yachts and race boats changes.  Rambler, the boat that blew away all the competition in the recent Annapolis to Newport race, is there for a few days. Two restored motor yachts (vintage 1910’s) over 100 feet long are tied up. A slew of charter mega sailboats that work the Caribbean in the winter are docked.  We see a new ketch around 150 feet long, that is being commissioned, docked on the outside.  With very traditional lines, it sports gorgeous varnished wood cabins, carbon fiber masts and booms, and the ultimate in high tech rigging.

Traditional lines plus high tech engineering equal a real knockout

Varnish work that requires sunglasses

 And, out in the harbor on a mooring is one of my favorites, Whitehawk, a beautifully restored wooden ketch.   

Whitehawk on her mooring in Newport

Yes, if you are a boat aficionado, Newport is the place to hunt eye candy.  We stay for several days, enjoying the parade of boats and fireworks on the fourth, and then are joined by Beth and Bryan for a daysail down the bay and more fireworks from Jamestown across the bay. 

We are trying to race against this modern rendition of a traditional schooner, heading into the Newport Shipyard. Needless to say, we were creamed.

Newport is definitely one of our favorite cruising stops!

The holiday is over and the crowds have left, so we make our way over to Jamestown, where it isn’t so busy, to refuel, and then have a lovely sail, beating to windward to Block Island.  It may be hazy, but there is no fog or rain, and we are totally enjoying the ride. Salt Pond (New Harbor) is mostly filled with mooring balls, but we are able to find a niche in which to anchor.  We immediately launch the dinghy and find our friends on Amici who are anticipating our arrival.  It doesn’t take much arm twisting to convince them to join us at the local watering hole, The Oar, for a mudslide, a Block Island tradition that confirms we have arrived. As we are anchored near the harbor entrance, we enjoy watching all the boats come and go.

Brilliant, Mystic Seaport's restored training boat, hoists anchor while under sail and leaves a very foggy Block Island

We visit a nearby beach, Burt does some biking (I have torn something in my leg and am on injured reserve), and we socialize with friends, but the weather is mostly foggy and rainy, limiting our enjoyment of this lovely island. 

A front is forecasted to come through tonight, and we are hoping that will clear out the nasty weather and end our month of “funk”.