FOG New England Style. Cuttyhunk Is., Onset, MA (July 28-31)

Departing Stonington on the 28^th, the forecast was for light wind with patchy fog, 1-3 mile visibility, seas less than 1’.  At 8:30 the sky was clear with temperature around 72 and no wind.  A perfect day for the 47NM cruise to Cutty hunk Island in Cape Cod.  At 10AM the first fog appeared with vis deteriorating to ¼ mile.  Fortunately, boat traffic was light.  Only about 5 targets appeared on the radar within 3 miles.  However, it is very disconcerting when you see a radar target (a yellow blob on the screen) approaching your position head-on rapidly.  It turned out to be a small center console doing about 20 knots.  With ¼ mile vis we easily avoided each other.  I shudder to think if it had been a massive car ferry in lower visibility.  The fog lifted after about 20 minutes and again it was bright and sunny.

About 11AM as we were passing the entrance to Narraganset Bay, from out of nowhere we were once again surrounded by fog with ¼ mile vis.  It wasn’t as though you could see it coming-it just appeared all around.  The truly fascinating part was looking up was clear blue sky.  This time the radar looked like someone had splashed yellow paint on it.  There were boats and navigational markers everywhere.  Sailors and fisherman from Newport were out in force.  Luckily sailors move slowly and most of the fisherman were drifting, so no close calls.  With my AIS receiver I could keep track of the larger boats and ferries in the area and stay out of their way.  Again, this lasted about 20-30 minutes then cleared up for a smooth calm run to Cuttyhunk.

Cuttyhunk is a very small island at the end of a chain of islands that separate Buzzards Bay from Vineyard Sound in Cape Cod.  It was clearly visible from 7 miles out.  With the Luck of the Irish fog descended as we got within 1 mile of the approach.  This time the vis was barely 300’!  It is a tight approach into the well protected harbor  with strong tidal current.  A large mooring field filled with boats outside the harbor provides even more interesting challenges.  This time with the close proximity to the land and the multitude of moored boats the radar was useless and we had to rely on vision (such as it was) and position on the chartplotter.  Luckily, as we entered the harbor the vis improved and we were able to find an empty mooring.  Thus ended our baptism with New England fog.

 As we were only staying one night we did not take the trouble to put the dinghy down to explore the place.  In retrospect this was a mistake as this is an interesting out post.

The trip to Onset, MA the next day was pleasant and uneventful with the exception of a low voltage alarm on the port engine.  Onset is a convenient stop prior to passing through the Cape Cod Canal.  The town itself is not much, but it does have extensive beaches and seems to be a popular beach resort.  Our marina is also a service yard and the technician confirmed the alternator on the port engine is shot.  We plan to stay in Boston for a week beginning Sunday so we will fix that problem there.  Today we move on to Plymouth to see the Rock and the Mayflower.

Essex, CT; Stonington, CT (July 23-27)

We backtracked further to Essex to meet our friends from Wales who were in the country for a wedding.  We have known Bob and Liz James for many years and have grown close to their family having watched the kids grow from early teens to young adults.  We had a terrific time at dinner with them at the Griswold Inn (an Inn and Restaurant that has served continuously since 1776).  Although we have shared many good times together over the years in different parts of the world this night was special.

Jim, Debby, Liz, Bob
"The Griz"

Bob, Jim

Same Bar Second Night

Even though the Essex Yacht Club where we stayed has a very nice facility the staff and members left a lot to be desired.  The staff was incompetent and the members were aloof, unlike every other club we visited.

The ride from Essex back east to Stonington, CT was pleasant.  Debby has not had to use the patches we got in Mystic.  Stonington is another old whaling village that sits on a peninsula jutting into Fisher Island Sound.  It is small, compact and filled with homes constructed in the mid 1700s.  Like Essex touring the town takes all of 30 minutes.  One can imagine it has not changed significantly in the past 200 years. 

Whistler's Mother once lived in this 1780s house
Stonington, CT

The Stonington Harbor Yacht Club where we stayed is relatively new with nice floating docks and friendly members.  We took advantage of the free laundry facilities.  Sunday afternoon Debby found the Water St Café had a jazz band that could rival those we would see at HAGS in Ft. Lauderdale.  The band members were all older than Jim, but played good Dixieland.

Charlie Coland's All Stars
Water St Cafe

Newport, RI; Mystic Seaport (July 17-23)

We loved Newport.  It was like Annapolis on a larger scale.  In two days of walking around we did not see all that was on offer.  There were many interesting shops, bars and restaurants.  Unfortunately, we did not leave enough time to visit the famous summer “cottages” of the wealthy of a bygone era.  Perhaps we will stop on our way south in the fall to do that.

The Newport Yacht Club was not at all what we expected.  It was very unpretentious and basic.  The people were friendly and helpful with the bar being the cheapest in town.  Dockage in this town is ultra-expensive with the club being only slightly under market rate.  It is convenient to the center of town, however.

Newport Yacht Club

Jim’s daughter Cassie, son-in-law Mike and grandkids Riley and PJ were in town for a wedding in Mike’s family.  We had several opportunities to see them and also Mike’s brother’s family over the course of our 3 day stay.  It was great to see them all after such a long absence.

Mike, Debby, Grandson PJ

On Monday the 20^th we backtracked to Mystic, CT.  It was a pretty day, but once again Block Island Sound was choppy.  Debby tried Bonine without success, and spent 4 hours in bed again for the trip.  We docked at Mystic Seaport Museum in a prime location in the center of the museum.  This museum, like Williamsburg,  VA. And Sturbridge Village, MA is a village depicting life in a bygone era; in this case a 19^th century seaport.  They restore old sailing vessels and have many in the water on display.  There are shops depicting the trades of the day such as rope making, iron working, sail rigging, etc. and many exhibits on the whaling era.  Jim was in his element, Debby not so much.

Each building has a story

19th Century whaling ships

Prime Dockage

On the 22^nd we took the dinghy into the town of Mystic and had a nice lunch at S&P Oyster Café over looking the Mystic River.  We stopped at the Mystic Pizza made famous by Julia Roberts in a movie by the same name.  The town centers around a small bascule bridge that crosses the river with shops and restaurants on both sides.  After much confusion at the local CVS we were finally able to get Transderm ear patches to treat Debby’s sea sickness.  Hope fully they will work. 

Shelter Island, NY; Newport, RI (July 13-17)

Fortunately the marina we chose for Shelter Island was also a service yard.  They were very accommodating when I described our steering problem on the dinghy.  Within 2 days they had the parts and the dinghy in the water and serviceable (once again it is a b.o.a.t.).  On the first day we spent much of the time dealing with the maintenance issues, but at the end of the day we took advantage of the marina’s courtesy shuttle and visited two local inns, Sunset Beach and the Pridwin Inn for cocktails.  Of the two we enjoyed the Pridwin the most.  Sunset Beach was too “Miami Beach” for us.

Pridwin Inn, Shelter Island

 This marina also has electric cars for rent that look straight out of the Jetsons.  On the 14^th we rented one for the day to tour the island.  We got to see most of the high spots as the island is only 4x5 miles.  Many beautiful classic cottages and quite a few interesting restaurant/bars.  Lunch at the “Dory” in Shelter Island Highlands was pleasant.  Debby was in need of a hair fix so I dropped her off at Anna’s while I restocked our bar and did some reprovisioning.

Debby always gets nervous going to an unknown (to her) stylist.  When she returned she was ecstatic, not only with the result, but also with the relationship she developed with Anna.  Anna shared many of the same life experiences as Debby, so they rapidly became kindred spirits.  We will probably have to stop in Shelter Island on the way south so Debby can get her hair done here again.

Read sign in lower right (outside liquor store in Dering Harbor)

With the dinghy fixed we traveled to Greenport on the north shore of Long Island; about a five mile run from our marina.  This was great little town with a multitude of unique shops, bars, and restaurants.  Claudio’s seems to own the waterfront with open air restaurants on two piers and a full service place across the street.  It is billed as the oldest family run place in the country being operated continuously by the same family since 1870.  The bar was particularly impressive and the food was good.

Claudio's 1870 Bar

Debby on the Carousel, Greenport

 On the 16^th we toured Coecles Harbor in the dinghy, stopping at Rams Head Inn for lunch.  This is a very quiet isolated place set on a hill in a grove of oak trees.  It has 17 rooms (some with bath down the hall), its own beach, tennis court and bocce court.  Lunch there was just average, but the setting was delightful.

Cottage in Greenport

Cottage in Coecles Harbor

The ride to Newport, RI started out in flat calm seas.  Unfortunately, as we entered Block Island Sound with wind against an outgoing tide it got a bit bumpy and Debby had to spend most of the trip in bed.  We arrived at Newport Yacht Club in time to have a visit with Jim’s daughter and her family who are staying nearby in town for a wedding.

New York, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Shelter Island (July 7-12)Ellis Island

Great Kills Yacht Club on the east side of Staten Island is quite a treat.  Very friendly, welcoming members and the cheapest bar anywhere ($2 drinks, $4 for premium).  Manhattan is an hour away by either the train/Staten Island ferry or an express bus.  We took advantage of both. 

On the 8^th we took the train/ferry to lower Manhattan then went to the 9/11 Memorial and the new World trade Center.  Both are very impressive and the Memorial is very moving.  We took the subway to 14^th St. to see the Chelsea Market thinking it would be like the Ferry Building in San Francisco.  Unfortunately, it is not.  We couldn’t get out fast enough.  We did find a neat little French Bistro for lunch nearby then walked a bit on the relatively new High Line Park.  It is a linear elevated park on the site of a former rail line.  Of course no visit to the city for Debby would be complete without going to the original Macy’s claiming to be the largest department store in the world. 

New World Trade Center

9/11 Memorial

The following day we returned to the city in late afternoon to meet our friends, Al and Dorothy Oliver.  It rained and we got soaked waiting for the bus, but we were looking forward to seeing them after a 15 year hiatus.  Al and Jim served together on the board of ISTAT throughout much of the 90’s and Al preceded Jim as President of the organization.  Over the years we met in many exciting places like Paris, London, St Paul de Vance and Singapore.  Debby and Dorothy became fast friends and the Belles of all the Balls and receptions in these locations.  We had a great reunion at Ruth’s Chris in mid-town on 51^st Street.

Jim, Debby, Dorothy, Al at Ruth's Chris

Taxi service on Staten Island leaves a lot to be desired.  However, you have to eat so we endured the cabs and did reprovisioning on the 10^th.  We were also able to do a COSTCO run to stock up on some staples.

The 11^th was a very exciting day as we cruised through New York harbor on our own boat.  It was a perfect weather day and we were able to time it right to catch the tidal current in the East River thru Hell Gate on the north end.  The pictures tell the story, but do not capture the thrill of being there.

Verrazano Narrows Bridge

Lady Liberty

Brooklyn Bridge

 

New York, New York

Who knew the East river was a runway?

Ellis Island

We anchored that night in Oyster Bay on the north shore of Long Island.  It was a calm, picturesque anchorage.  The next morning we decided to put the dinghy in the water (the first time since we left) to tour the town only to discover the steering was inoperative.  A big disappointment, so we left and moved on to Port Jefferson about another 25 miles up the coast.  Again we anchored out.  This time as it was Saturday night and as being near a beach it was very crowded.  On the 12^th we pressed on to Shelter Island where we plan to stay for a few days.  Hopefully we can get the dinghy fixed there.

Sunset at Oyster Bay

Annapolis, Chesapeake City, Cape May, Barnegat Bay, New York (July1-6)

After family and friends left us we had one last day in Annapolis.  We had an enjoyable lunch at the very old Reynolds Tavern dating from the 1700s and toured the town some more.  In the early evening we went for a last drink at AYC and started talking with the man next to us.  It turns out he was Rear Admiral Tom Lynch (ret.).  He was captain of the Naval Academy football team, headed the Eisenhower Battle Group during Desert Storm and was later Superintendent of the Naval Academy.  While in the Med on the Eisenhower he had the occasion to meet Margaret Thatcher’s son who subsequently moved to the US.  He invited the son to visit him when he was at the Academy.  The son asked if he could bring his boss and Tom said sure.  Turns out his “boss” was his mother, Maggie Thatcher.  He was very proud that he got to give the former Prime Minister a personal tour.

When Tom left another gentleman took his seat.  He too had interesting tales to tell as a former DEA and CIA agent.  Although long retired he showed his old ID card which said he was agent 007!

On July 1 we left for the 2 day journey to Cape May, NJ.  It was a pleasant trip up the Chesapeake Bay to the C&D Canal which joins Chesapeake Bay with Delaware Bay.  We overnighted in Chesapeake City on the canal then proceeded down Delaware Bay for the long ride to Cape May.  The ride started out OK, but by mid afternoon it got a bit bumpy.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge

The 3^rd and 4^th of July were spent touring the seaside resort of Cape May.  It is picturesque with many restored Victorian homes, most now converted to B&Bs.  It is a real tourist town.  We had lunch at the impressive Inn of Cape May on the boardwalk.  You could just picture Nucky Thompson (from Boardwalk Empire) coming down from Atlantic City for vacation.  Fireworks were on display both on the 3^rd and 4^th, but we were not impressed.  It was interesting to note that the city charges $6/person/day for access to the beach.  If Miami/Ft. Lauderdale did this we could eliminate the sales tax!

Magnificent Victorian Private Home

Inn at Cape May

The ICW in lower NJ is almost impassable necessitating an open ocean run.  Although the day was pleasant enough, the 2-4’ swells coming on the stern quarter made for an uncomfortable ride.  Debby was queasy all day spending most of it in the prone position.  By late afternoon an east wind had picked up which coupled with an outgoing tide made for a “sporty” entry at Barnegat Inlet.  

"Sporty" Barnegat Inlet

Barnegat Light 165'
Second tallest in USA
Built in 1859

We spent the night in a very pleasant small marina called Spencer’s in Waretown.  Then on the 6^th we came up Barnegat Bay on the inside to Manasquan Inlet where we went out to the open ocean for the final 30 mile run to Staten Island.  For the next 4 days we will be at Great Kills Yacht Club, a very friendly member run place in a well protected harbor.