I always had a view of Long Island Sound from my house on top of the hill at Hopkins or from the shore of Pine Orchard and even from my dorm windows at Connecticut College but, surprisingly enough, had never been to Long Island, except to go to JFK or LaGuardia airports. I grew up hearing stories of my grandfather cruising over with my mom, and later, my brother and sister - but I came along too late. Finally, years later, it is my turn!
Nico and I got up as the sun was rising and left Block Island, heading for Montauk and eventually Shelter Island. We passed a gigantic sailboat race as we entered Gardiner's Bay. Imagine an island as big as Gardiner's being owned by one family for so long. We got gas at Dering Harbor but it had no anchorage so we motored over on a mid-summerlike day to Coecle's Harbor, which was idyllic. The Nature Conservancy owns hundreds of acres of the southern shore. We ate the squid we caught the day before (a mess!) and caught scup and snapper blues.
Next day we crossed the Sound, heading to Guilford where I went in close to shore to see the Sachem's Head Yacht Club where Alex Garfield and I had such fun as kids. I remember eating my first paella over a fire on the rocks there and many fun sleepovers at her grandmother's house next door. We then maneuvered through a very narrow and twisty channel through the Thimble Islands. The islands were the view from our house on Island View Avenue and I smile to think of how my mom said they were like the islands of Maine. We sailed past my neighborhood and the Pine Orchard Club where Nico and I had our wedding reception. My house was torn down twenty years ago but many seemed familiar despite major facelifts.
Finally, we entered the Branford River which was like a highway on a warm Sunday late afternoon and managed to tie up in a slip without embarrassment. Our neighbors were towering cabin cruisers but everyone at the club was so kind and welcoming. Truman met us and we went to a brewery on the river at the site of my friend Alex's family's iron manufacturing plant (MIF) and near where my grandfather kept his boat every winter. Truman came on board for a fresh fish & chip (sweet potato chips) dinner.
Truman kindly drove us to the food store and West Marine in the morning and Nico was able to fix the head, which was acting up a bit. We got underway mid day in flat calm and motored across to Mt. Sinai Harbor so we would have a better angle for heading back to CT the next day when the wind was predicted to be strong and against us otherwise. This is the remains of Hurricane Florence. We anchored near tidal grass and saw abundant bird life. A man rowed over from his boat to say hi and ask if we needed anything since he noticed we were far from home.
One member of the welcoming committee.
The anchorage seemed more like Caleb's Pond on the Vineyard than Long Island.
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