Island Hopping in Southern New England

Good news – Hurricane Arthur is a non-event in our neck of the woods.  Anchored in a bay off Narragansett Sound, about 25 miles from the ocean, we see at best 20 knots of wind, but that is augmented by torrential rain.  The next morning we pull anchor and head back to Newport. It is July 5^th and fortunately for us, the Newport fireworks display has been postponed until tonight.  We score an optimal anchoring spot as many of the other anchored boats have left the harbor in anticipation of Arthur and have not yet returned.  All day we watch the boat traffic come and go – mega yachts, small sailing dinghies, and everything in between. The boating scene in Newport is one of contrasts.  We see a fleet of 12 meter yachts with their pedigree in America’s Cup Racing.  We see restored classic yachts that can be traced back to the Golden Age of Sail.  

A classic yawl sails past a large sailing yacht at anchor.

And, when poking in the Newport Shipyard, we discover Spindrift, a very exotic 90 foot long trimaran. Its French crew speaks very little English, but we come to understand the boat is awaiting the right conditions to make an attempt on a Trans-Atlantic speed record.  They hope to make the passage from New York City to the coast of France in something like three days. It baffles the mind, but upon further inspection, we realize this is a boat that has been designed for this purpose alone. Its skinny hull and amas will slice through the water; its foiling daggerboard in only the port ama, will keep most of the boat’s surface out of the water.  The downside is that it will obtain maximum speed only on starboard tack. No wonder they are being so specific about weather conditions.   

Spindrift, one speedy sailboat, at Newport Shipyard

Besides ogling boats, we enjoy biking around the town and along spectacular Ocean Drive with its rocky shoreline and mansions perched on the bluffs.

A scene along Ocean Drive

We could spend weeks in Newport, but other lovely destinations beckon. We have an outstanding sail through Vineyard Sound to Edgartown on the east end of Martha’s Vineyard. We anchor in the outer harbor amidst large sailboats and a number of mega-yachts.  This is the week of the Edgartown Yacht Club’s annual regatta, and the area is dotted with race courses for a variety of fleets, including junior sailors in Optimist dinghies as far as the eye can see. 

One of several fleets of Optimist Dinghies along the shore of Chappaquiddick Island

We love Edgartown with its many restored houses overlooking the harbor.  It is the height of summer gardens, and the classic styled white homes make a perfect backdrop for the colorful flowers.

When you live on a boat, you really treasure beautiful gardens

The view over the inner harbor at Edgartown

A placid sunset at the outer harbor with a Herreshoff 12 1/2 at anchor.

While anchored in Edgartown, we take an opportunity to explore nearby Chappaquiddick Island.  If you aren’t equipped with a handy dinghy, you must take the “On Time Ferry” from Edgartown over to the island, a distance of several hundred yards. The ferry gets its name as it is always on time since it has no schedule.  We land our dinghy on a beach by the ferry, unload our bikes, and take off down the few paved and rarely driven roads.  In contrast to busy Edgartown, Chappaquiddick is downright peaceful.  There are a few farms along the way, sandy side streets lead to what are probably lovely waterfront homes, and plenty of conservancy land remains undeveloped.  Somehow we find ourselves at the Cape Poge Wildlife Refuge. At the entrance is an attractive Japanese Garden that was donated to the refuge, but further out the road, the landscape becomes barren. Bikes are not the recommended way to explore the area, so the next day we return to take a tour in a vehicle designed for negotiating the beaches and roads of sand.  Our guide talks about the geological forces that have formed this large scale sand spit, and the forces that are continually eroding the landscape.  Salt ponds and barrier beaches form the perimeter while the interior is dotted with fresh water ponds and dunes.   

Interior pond at Chappaquiddick Island

Unusual birds abound – we see our first Night Heron and Oystercatcher. At the northern tip of the island we come to a lighthouse that is repositioned further inland about every thirty years, due to the erosion of the shoreline.   

The Cape Poge lighthouse

Fortunately, the builders of this lighthouse constructed it from wood, making the moving process a bit easier. We enter the interior of the building to find it beautifully finished, with a simple but elegant circular staircase.   

The graceful staircase inside the lighthouse

The view from the top is spectacular. Now, if the name Chappaquiddick Island rings familiar, it is because it was here that Ted Kennedy had his unfortunate accident. It is still a topic of interest to outsiders, but the locals seem reluctant to talk of it.  On our tour, we are accompanied by three women who have lived on the island for many years.  We don’t bring up the subject of the accident which actually happened here on Cape Poge, but by the end of the tour, one of the women mentions that she is plagued by bicycle tours which stop in front of her home.  Why?  Because she now lives in the house where the party Ted attended was held, and curiosity seekers want to see all the locales involved in the tragedy.

We take an eight mile bicycle trip north from Edgartown, along a scenic beachside bicycle path, to the town of Oak Bluffs. If everything in Edgartown seems pristine white, Oak Bluff is a kaleidoscope of color.  In the 1860’s the town became the site of a Methodist revival camp.  People would travel here from all over the country for several weeks of revival meetings. Housing originally was in simple platform tents that encircled the large revival tent.  But, as more people came, the accommodations became more extensive.  First, the large tent was replaced by a steel tabernacle that replicated the tent.   

The Tabernacle,a large open air church

Then the individual platform tents traded canvas sides for tongue and groove wooden walls. Next the canvas roofs were replaced with steep pitched permanents roofs. Finally, porches and gingerbread woodwork were added to adorn these simple cottages.  Now, some of the smaller cottages still hark back to their roots while others have added many additional wings. 

These smaller cottages still have a resemblance to the original canvas tents

Add a few extra gables and porches and you have a fine example of Carpenter Gothic architecture

It seems like a contest to see who can come up with the most elaborate gingerbread trim and most unusual color combinations. 

Just one of the over 300 distinctive cottages in the Methodist Camp

Today the camp functions as a non-denominational Christian community with religious services and studies held in the tabernacle along with concerts and speakers on more secular issues. 

We could easily spend more time at Martha’s Vineyard, but we have friends who want us to come visit them at Block Island.  The strong southwest winds that have been plaguing us since the hurricane passed will make this an unpleasant passage.  Fortunately, one day the winds swing to the south, and we take off at first light for a 70 mile sail to Block Island.  We need all the daylight we can find, so we ignore the adverse currents that will be flowing in the channel between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Be advised, a four knot opposing current can really slow you down!  Once we get into the open ocean things improve, and we have a pleasant trip, approaching Block Island’s spectacular bluffs from the south.   

The south bluffs on Block Island with the lighthouse and stairs down to the beach in the distance

The harbor becomes a very social place. We shared dinners, happy hours, and excursions on the island with our friends and fellow cruisers on five other boats.  Like so many other places, Block Island is a place of contrasts.  Huge ferries bring in hoards of tourists, and the harbor can accommodate hundreds of boats on moorings and at anchor.  

When the sun finally comes out, the beach at Block can get pretty busy

 The downtown area is wall to wall people. Yet, bike into the surrounding countryside and you will find rock wall rimmed farms, reminiscent of the English country side, and lonely wind swept bluffs overlooking the expansive ocean. 

A rural scene in the interior of block Island

And, even with all the overflowing humanity, sunset at anchor can truly be a peaceful experience.

Sunset at Salt Pond, Block Island

We’ve been cruising this area for about two weeks, but now the refrigerator is getting empty and the laundry is beginning to overflow.  So, back we sail to Newport to take care of all the necessities. We also rendezvous with our son and daughter-in-law, Bryan and Beth, for a gourmet dinner out on the town.  You see, in a bit less than a month, their first child will be born and evenings out like this will be few and far between. We plan to leave for the passage to Maine, cruise those waters for about a month, and then return to Rhode Island to greet our newest grandchild.  Yes, life is good!  

Heading North to Greet Arthur

Work on the boat is finally completed, and we are off for several short hops in the Chesapeake. First stop is in Galesville to visit with some friends who will be following us north in a couple of weeks.  We then cross over the Bay to St. Michaels for the weekend.  St. Michaels is a favorite stop along the Eastern shore, and this visit nicely coincides with the Classic Boat Show sponsored by the maritime museum.   

St. Michael's Maritime Museum

One of the museum's classic boats under sail

We take a day to walk the docks admiring all the beautifully restored (almost entirely motor) boats, some accompanied by matching trailers and cars of the same vintage.  

Several boats on trailers with color matched vintage cars

Beautifully restored boat on display

It is always fun to come across a few restored Lymans which were built in our home port of Sandusky, Ohio. We depart St. Michaels to go a few miles further north to the Wye River, home of the Wye River Conference Center and Aspen Institute.  This is pretty exclusive territory and rumors have it that Cheney and Rumsfeld own homes here.  Much of the area is a national wildlife refuge, and we have a peaceful night at anchor. It’s off to Annapolis to pick up some mail, visit some friends, and purchase a few boat essentials.  We have the mooring field almost to ourselves as Annapolis seems unusually quiet.

Once all the mail arrives, we begin our passage to the northeast.  It’s a beautiful day on the Bay, and we have a wonderful sail with positive currents all the way to the C&D canal.  Burt asks if we should stop for the night before transiting the canal, but conditions are favorable so we head over to Delaware Bay.  There we have another potential anchorage for the night, but it appears the currents down the Delaware will be positive if we continue on.  Besides, it is beastly hot and transiting the Delaware at night is likely to be more comfortable.  We make excellent time down this otherwise boring portion of water, accompanied by the usual flock of biting flies (we’re getting mighty quick at putting the screens up around the cockpit), and round Cape May near midnight.  We could always pull into the harbor there, although we prefer not to make landfalls in the dark.  We decide to continue north along the New Jersey coast, planning to arrive at New York City late the next afternoon.  The concept sounds good on paper, but we encounter a mammoth thunderstorm part way up the coast.  Our weather radar indicates we are ten miles south of all the action, so we slow down for several hours to allow the cell to pass out to sea.  The lightning show is spectacular and a bit un-nerving. After it is all over, our new wind instruments are no longer working.  We assume they have fallen victim to a proximity lightning strike, but after turning off all the electronic systems and firing them back up, the wind instruments are once again functional – we have no explanation.  We arrive at Sandy Hook, at the entrance to New York Harbor, and drop the hook for a well deserved rest.  The next morning we wait until 10 am for positive currents and fly through the harbor and the notorious Hell’s Gate, emerging into Long Island Sound. 

Entering New York harbor under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge

Always a thrill to pass by the Statue of Liberty

New York Skyline with the new World Trade Center building

We realize that we are making fantastic time so we push ourselves to reach Northport Harbor just around sunset.  

A Volvo race boat coming down Long Island Sound - we saw this boat again in Newport

We never thought we would be so far, so fast, and the next day it is only a short sail to the Thimble Islands on the Connecticut shore where we pick up a friend’s mooring.

The Thimbles are a magical place; a section of shoreline that resembles Maine or the North Channel of Lake Huron.  We have time to dinghy around the many islands, admiring the homes built on these rocky outcroppings. 

One of the homes on the tiny rocky islands in the Thimbles

That evening we head into Stony Creek, the little community on the mainland from the Thimbles, and another friend picks us up in his car to take us to Branford, CT for the town’s annual fireworks display.  We lounge on the foredeck of Amici, our mooring owner’s boat, and watch an amazing show. We may be tired, but it is all worth the effort.

The next morning we leave early for Essex, CT where there is an SSCA Gam in progress.  We didn’t make reservations as we couldn’t imagine getting there in time, but with a quick phone call we are welcomed to attend even though we are a day late.  The Gam is being hosted by two adjacent yacht clubs. They have generously opened their facilities to us, and we enjoy two days of seminars and social events.  One evening, a fellow cruiser we met in the Bahamas and who resides in Essex invites a group over to their lovely home for dinner.  We are feeling very spoiled. But even without a Gam, Essex is a charming stop.  This small town on the Connecticut River exudes a New England ambiance.   

One of many restored homes in Essex

We wander the streets admiring the restored homes and linger at sidewalk cafes watching the world go by.  We cruisers are an anomaly here, and locals stop to chat and question our unusual lifestyle. Monday night in Essex is Sea Chantey night at the pre-Revolutionary War Griswold Inn.  There’s a lot of clapping and foot stomping going on here – great fun for a bunch of cruisers. A little further east is New London, CT, and we stop here for a night to meet up with our son Bryan and his wife Beth.  Both work in the area, so we borrow a car for the day and do grocery shopping and laundry. As paybacks, we take them to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Paul’s Pasta.  From the outside, it is a place you could easily pass by, but on the deck behind, overlooking the Thames River, we enjoy some of the best and least expensive homemade pasta you can imagine.

We have decided to spend about a week exploring the Fish Tail (eastern end) of Long Island.  This is a new area for us, so we follow the advice of the cruising guide and anchor at Orient Harbor on the northern neck.  Bicycles come out, and we spend an interesting afternoon traveling along country roads bordered with small truck farms and vintage houses.  The strawberries we pick up along the way are luscious. 

Lighthouse at the entrance to Orient Harbor

We haul anchor the next morning and head over to Coecles Harbor on the north east side of Shelter Island. Shelter Island is an interesting place, centered between the north and south forks of Long Island.  It is definitely upscale and exclusive.  There are only a few places where anchoring is allowed and access to land is difficult to come by.   

A placid morning at Coecles Harbor

We finally find a hidden town dock, tie up our dinghy, and take the bikes ashore.  Roads wander up and down hills, through forests (about 1/3 of the island is conservancy land), and along mansion lined shoreline. 

Beautiful home along the shores of Dering Harbor

The only town, Dering Harbor, is on the other side of the island.  It consists of a gas station, a small deli/gourmet grocery, a hardware store, a gift shop, and several pricy restaurants. Nearby is a lovely and very active yacht club with over 30 Herreshoff designed gaff rigged sloops bobbing at moorings. 

Fleet of classic sloops at Shelter Island Yacht Club

Just to indicate the flavor of the place, we see a flier at the deli advertising a concert and fireworks display on the lawn at Itzak Perlman’s nearby home to raise funds for his music academy. After two days of exploring, we sail over to Sag Harbor on the south fork.  Sag Harbor is the boating entrance to the Hamptons, and the wealth is immediately apparent.  We see more exotic cars here than anywhere else – Porsches and Mercedes are commonplace; it’s the Maseratis and Lamborghinis that catch the eye. Out in the harbor, mega yachts and huge sailing yachts are docked and anchored.  We’ll see these same yachts in such places as Newport, Nantucket, and Bar Harbor. We are definitely the small fry here.  We bike through the town to see restored homes that reflect the community’s whaling heritage and numerous boutiques and gourmet restaurants. While every bit as exclusive as Shelter Island, it is definitely friendlier to boaters such as us. We complete our circumnavigation of Shelter Island, arriving at Dering Harbor, this time by boat instead of bicycle.  We want to check out the town of Greenport, just across the water from Shelter Island, so we take a mooring at Dering.  And it is here that we discover that pirates still exist in the area.  Our mooring will cost us $77 for one night, and all that includes is access to a dinghy dock and the use of minimal showers and restrooms that are currently closed for maintenance.  You even have to pay to dispose of garbage! And we thought Nantucket had the corner on piracy – these are the most expensive moorings we have encountered anywhere.  After all that, we find Greenport to be a bit of a disappointment. It is very touristy. We visit the historic Preston Yacht Chandlery and discover it is severely under stocked – we thought at least we could pick up a hat. The only salvation is a novelty store that carries at least 100 varieties of small rubber duckies, something that would only be of interest to someone with a relative named “Duck”.

It’s time to head over to Newport, one of our favorite destinations.  The new mariners’ center gives us easy access to town along with coin operated showers, laundry, and free wifi.  The bikes go ashore for a ride along the spectacular Ocean Drive, past rocky shorelines and the famous mansions.  We stock up on groceries and take a dinghy ride through the harbor to admire all the amazing yachts that come here.  Our stay is brief, though.  Hurricane Arthur is headed our way. We feel Newport harbor is too close to the open ocean and doesn’t give sufficient protection for the predicted northerly winds. We go an additional 15 miles up Narragansett Sound and pull into a small bay off of Mt. Hope Bay.  Here we can anchor close to the north shore.  There are no other boats nearby, so we will not be at risk of another boat dragging down on us. Waves shouldn’t be a significant problem, and our heavy anchoring tackle will hopefully be up to the task.  The forecast has the hurricane passing 50 miles southeast of Nantucket so we will be more than 100 miles from the eye.  And now we wait – wait to experience our closest encounter yet with a hurricane.