We departed around 9am after taking Frank to shore. We were waiting for the right time so we could time the current at Hells Gate. The morning was overcast and the wind was expected to pick up throughout the day and go back down at night. I wasn’t too worried about the wind because we were going to be in the rivers. We made it through Hells Gate without incident and a positive push. We turned off to the Harlem River which took us through Manhattan, The Bronx and Yonkers. We breezed past Yankee Stadium (we still hate them) and saw the other side of the island of Manhattan. We had the river to ourselves, the only other boat we saw was when we came across a swimmer with a boat escort which we slowly passed so we didn’t wake her. This brought us out about twenty miles up the Hudson River, skipping the commercial traffic on the lower part, and it put us out at Englewood and Yonkers. We continued north up the Hudson and stopped at Croton Point Park. This is an area on the river that is almost three miles wide. There is also a marina there that is a known good stop, but the anchorage is free. Looking at the weather we still have a day or so before the hurricane hits and it looks like a good night to spend on the hook. We found the anchorage and got a spot as close to land as we felt comfortable due to depth and settled in. There were a few other boats anchored but as we thought none stayed the night. There is a little bit of anxiety about this upcoming storm but we made the best of today’s situation. The only time we left the boat was to swim or take Frank for a walk. Tomorrow we are heading for a marina, but we don’t know which one yet… We were treated to another great sunset and retired knowing tomorrow could be a long day and night.
Today was a long travel day. We left around 8:30am after settling up our dock and turning in Mick’s car keys to the office. Our plan was to go to City Island, New York so we could get closer to the Hudson River and run away from the approaching tropical storm/ hurricane. It was a pleasant day and the trip was fairly uneventful until we got to City Island. The anchorage listed in our guide didn’t appear to have any good shore access which is kind of important to Frank. We circled around for a bit trying figure out if we could make it work, but finally decided nothing looked good. Port Washington was just across the Long Island Sound and we had stayed there on our way through and knew what to expect. We decided to head over there and pick up a free mooring ball. Once we got there though it was fairly late in the day and all the free moorings were taken. We dropped anchor pretty far out and figured this was the best we could do. Frank was loaded up for a ride to shore and we went for a nice walk. On the way back I noticed that a couple of moorings had become available so we decided to pull anchor and move a little closer on a mooring. Once we were secured we settled in for the evening. We kept watching the weather as the hurricane/ depression was continuing to move in our direction. Dinner was made and we looked at tomorrow’s option. We now had to go back through Hells Gate and time the currents appropriately. We also decided it would be a fun trip to go up the Harlem River, which takes several miles off the trip instead of going all the way back to the Hudson River. Whatever we decide, we have about two or three days to get somewhere safe before this hurricane hits the area…
Timing our currents, we left at 9:30am and arrived at Guilford around 1pm. We were again making a somewhat short jump of about twenty miles. We were finally catching up to our friend Mick, who I mentioned, had told us about this New England side trip. He had been hanging out here in Guilford for some time and was waiting for us. I had spoken to him and told him we were on the way. He told me the dock master was aware and there was room for us. On the way I called the dock master to confirm and he told me “ A friend of Mick’s is welcomed and we trust him”. Wow. We found our way in to the marina and I saw that there was space, but it was tight. Not only was it tight, we had to back in. Ouch. This will be interesting with one engine and no thrusters. I maneuvered in to position and attempted to back in. I wasn’t confident on the first try and started to pull back out when everyone, including Lauren, said I had had it good. I continued to back in and got us perfectly in line behind Mick on Phantom. Both Mick and the dock master were there to assist and we were soon secured to the wall. We chatted a bit and lunch was in order once we got settled. Frank was walked and we met Mick for lunch at Guilford Mooring House. We caught up with each other and had a delicious lunch. Mick beat me to the check and picked up tab. I was not expecting that! We chatted a bit more and then returned to our boats. Later I rode with him to the West Marine to pick up some stuff and got a tour of the country side. Once back to the marina Lauren and I walked around town a bit then finally retired for the evening.
Day 2- Mick met me in the morning and gave me the keys to his truck. He was departing in his boat but told me we could use his vehicle to explore. Nice! We have not had a vehicle since I don’t know when. We drove to Walmart and a few other stores and really stocked up. This might be the last stocking of large major items like dog and cat food, kitty litter and the likes before we get home to Cleveland. It’s crazy to think we’re actually almost home- we’re still quite a ways away, but much closer to home than when we left. We filled the truck with our bulk supplies and returned to unload everything. Lauren had scoped our a place for dinner: The Place. This was an amazing dinner and a perfect one year anniversary of our trip. New England at its finest. Clams and lobster was had for dinner, with more clams for dessert. Who knew butter and cocktail sauce on fire roasted clams would be so delicious? They did. Lauren even brought a table cloth to cover the wood slab/ table and we had wine too. Nothing was lacking. This might have been a pinnacle of this trip. Dinner was complete and we made our stuffed selves back to the boat. We had decided tomorrow’s trip will be a longer jump to get us close to the Hudson River as there is a hurricane/ tropical depression forming and expected to come this way. We don’t really want to take a chance so we figured it would be best to get back inland a bit.
We only were going about five miles back down river today so we definitely weren’t in any rush. I have found that the best thing ever (to me) is to wake up and jump in the water. before doing anything. Wow. Refreshing, and really wakes you up! We eventually pulled anchor and headed downstream to Old Saybrook. There is a train bridge we had to pass and it was open but I called the bridge tender anyway just to be sure since I’m still a little scarred from the Mystic bridge experience. He responded with ”its open, go ahead”. I thanked him and proceeded through. We turned in to the North Cove and worked our way up through the mooring field. The depth got a little lower as we got closer to the town dock but it was deep enough. I spotted a mooring ball marked with ‘72 hour limit’ right in front of the dock. I had read that the moorings were close to the dock, but didn’t realize they were that close. We were about forty feet from the dock, but I still showed about seven feet of water. I also had read that it can be uncomfortable because the fisherman cast their lines out that far. There were no fishermen at the moment so we hooks our lines and settled in. Ahhhh… I am always happy to be a mooring ball. We hung out for a while and soon enough some people showed up to fish. We were actually close enough I could speak to them. I apologized for being in the way and they were cool. “No worries- we’ll fish around you”. Nice. I took Frank for a walk and explored a bit, then returned back. We loaded up the bikes and headed off to the nearest grocery store. We picked up some more food and supplies and returned back to the boat. I then headed back to the local liquor store for ice and beverages. After we were settled again I took Frank for another walk. We found an overgrown road which led to some abandoned buildings. One building had an old car torn apart and the other building I was afraid to enter. We found our way back and retired for the evening after an amazing sunset.
Day 2- We decided we would stay here for one more day. We took the bikes and rode around to explore some more. We toured the town and found out Yale was ‘kind of’ founded here. “On October 9, 1701 the Collegiate School of Connecticut was chartered in Old Saybrook. It moved to New Haven in 1716, and was later renamed Yale University.” There was a bit of a scuffle about the books during this move, and obviously Yale won. We continued on and decided for lunch at Livs Shack. We found a table outside and enjoyed some lunch. We continued on and explored some more before returning back to Klondike. Frank was walked some more and we decided on our next stop: Guilford, Connecticut.
Before we left I took Frank for a walk and trekked about a mile or so to a donut shop and picked up some treats at Deviant Donuts. We returned and surprised Lauren with our bounty. Now we’re back in the Long Island Sound, making our way back toward the Hudson River, but staying on the Connecticut side. Our trip today was about twenty eight miles which took about four hours. We had timed the currents perfectly and averaged seven knots. We went up the Connecticut River and came to the area the anchorage was listed. We could see the mooring field on the port side, and lots of room on the starboard side to anchor. We worked our way starboard, and as close as we felt comfortable to an island which already had a bunch of boats anchored off of it. We knew most, if not all, would be gone by nightfall. We dropped anchor and hung out for a bit, swimming and enjoying the day. We were chilling out chatting on the deck when we both looked over to see a guy floating by, holding a flotation device (think floating cushion). The current is pretty strong in the Connecticut River so the boats all point into the currents. Lauren and I both noticed him at the same time and looked at each other. I jumped up and called out to him: “do you need help?” I asked, as I was moving toward the dinghy. He responded with a “yes” and I was cruising toward him in no time. I caught up to him and got him in the dinghy. I was returning him to his boat as he explained to me his children thought it would be funny to let him drift, but he was pretty pissed. I dropped him off to his boat and was departing quickly, declining the offered beer, when I heard him start to talk to his kids. Lauren and I watched him pull anchor and depart pretty quickly. I’ll bet that wasn’t a fun ride home for the children. We spent the rest of the day swimmers and chilling, with a couple of trips to the island for Frank.
Day 2- We wanted to check out the town so we took the bikes in to shore. A little bit about Essex: “The largest ship ever constructed in the Connecticut River Valley, Oliver Cromwell, established Essex Village as the place to build wooden sailing ships, and between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars over 600 vessels of many types were produced in Essex. For this reason, and others, British forces burned 27 vessels in Essex in 1814 and took or destroyed stored rigging materials and a lot of rum. Sailor’s priorities haven’t changed much over the years.” Mmmm….Rum… back to the story: We biked around and checked out the town, which wasn’t a whole lot. There were a few places open but most were still closed, Including the Rubber Duck store. Bummer, but we did get some coffee and hang out for a bit. We returned to the boat and decided to take a boat ride farther up the river. to check out a castle: Gillette Castle- “The castle was originally a private residence commissioned and designed by William Gillette, an American actorwho is most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes on stage. Gillette lived at this estate from 1919–1937”. Check this link out for some crazy facts about the castle. We meandered up the river then turned around and came back down to the anchorage. The rest of the night was spent swimming, having dinner and planning our next destination. We decided we were going to head back to Old Saybrook where we see there is free mooring and should be a nice stop…
Today we weren’t going too far- a little under twenty miles. We still have to plan on currents, so we didn’t pull anchor from Watch Hill until 10:45am. It was a nice day for a boat ride! We were following a parade of boats into town and there were bridges that had to be timed for the openings, which was perfectly timed on our part. We were approaching a train bridge and I could see it was open. The charts say it stays open unless there is train traffic. We were just about to pass through it when out of nowhere the horn on the bridge blasted and it started to close! Our bow had just passed the opening and we were in trouble! I got on the radio right away and called to the bridge while simultaneously shifting in to reverse and gunning it to stop our momentum. The bridge tender came on the radio and said he had stopped the closing and we could continue through. At this point I told him I had already stopped and was turning back- it isn’t easy stopping a twenty ton boat! He then asked if we could make it through the opening and he would hold it open if we could? WTF?! I told him we could make it, but I now have to turn back around; it was frustrating and a bit scary, but I turned us around and we squeaked through, only to have to wait at the next bridge which only opens on the quarter hour. Whew! Our friend Mick, who had really pushed us to do this New England side trip, had told us about an anchorage here in Mystic. He told us to anchor just past the Mystic Seaport Museum, “located north of the Mystic River Bascule Bridge from the Village of Mystic, is a re-created 19th-century coastal village that opens a window to America’s maritime history. Some of the popular exhibits include working renovated ships and the preservation shipyard, where vessels are constructed or reconstructed using traditional methods of the 18th century.” As we traveled up the river we passed some cool sights and then went through the downtown area. After that was the museum, which we dropped anchor just past it. Looking over to shore we could see two buildings- one was Twisters Ice Cream shop and the other was Sea View Snack Bar. Nice! Since we were hungry, I took a quick trip with Frank over to shore on the dinghy and walked over to the snack bar. I ordered some food to-go and chatted with some nice people in line. Once I had the food, we retreated back to the boat to eat. After lunch, we loaded the bikes in the dinghy and headed to the museum dinghy dock to unload. We rode around the museum for a bit, checking out the historic village. We had located a grocery store that didn’t look too far away, so off we went in that direction. We found the store and did some shopping. The ride was a bit hilly, but we were able to manage. We brought everything back to the boat, including the bikes, as everything else we were planning on doing was within walking distance. After everything was put away and we relaxed a bit, we took the dinghy to a free dock closer to downtown. We walked around and scoped out the area, but it was quite crowded which made us a bit uncomfortable. Since we were here we had to have a famous Mystic Pizza- you know- there was a movie about it. “The title of the film was inspired by a pizza shop in Mystic, Connecticut. Screenwriter Amy Holden Jones was summering in the area and chose Mystic Pizza as the focus of her story about the lives of three young waitresses”. I still haven’t seen the film, but apparently Julia Roberts is in it. We ordered online a pie to go and picked it up to take back to the boat. We ate our pizza which was quite good, then I dec a run in to the ice cream joint was in order. I took Frank with me for some shore relief and picked up some treats for all of us. Frank was losing his mind trying to eat his ice cream before we got back. I held him off so we all could sit together on the back deck enjoying our treats and enjoying the serenity of the night.
anchored by the snack and ice cream shops
Day 2- We went needed to get gas for the dinghy, so we took a long ride down the river to the closest marina that sold gas. We filled up and headed back to town, as we wanted to check out some of the shops we had seen yesterday. One of the places was a marine consignment shop which I spent time browsing around. They had everything and anything you could think of. I restrained myself but browsed for quite a while, then we continued on to some other shops Lauren wanted to browse in. We eventually headed back to the boat and prepared dinner, with a trip to the ice cream shop for dessert. Our next stop will be up the Connecticut River to Essex.
this is the bridge that started to close on us! This is where he stopped and let us through…
We had a thirty five mile cruise back through Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. We were hoping to have some Watch Hill oysters , since we were going to be there. The trip was pleasant and uneventful, with the last hour winding back in to Little Narragansett Bay which is quite shallow on either side of the channel. Once we got to the anchorage area, we saw there were several boats already anchored, but there was plenty of space. We found a spot and dropped anchor staying far away from the others. There was a nice long, sandy beach close by to walk Frank, which had the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. The town of Watch Hill was about a half mile dinghy ride away. The thing about Watch Hill is that it’s where wealthy people who don’t want the commotion of the Hamptons or Nantucket go to keep themselves tastefully tucked away. Once we were settled in we swam for a bit, then decided to head in to town. We couldn’t find any place that sold the namesake oysters except for some fine dining options, and they were quite expensive there. That was a bit disappointing. We walked around town for a bit, then found a place for lunch. We ordered some sandwiches and sat in the park overlooking the water to enjoy them. On the way back to the dinghy I stopped at the town dock to inquire about water. We needed to fill our water tanks on Klondike as we were getting pretty low. The dock hand told me we could pull in and he would just charge me an hours rate (@ $10/hr) and we could fill up. I talked it over with Lauren and we decided we should go ahead and fill up today as the dock hand said the guy working to tomorrow may not be as agreeable to it. We returned to Klondike and prepared to go in for the water. We pulled anchor and went in to the dock. Just as we were approaching another boat pulled in and took up the whole dock. We just waited for a bit, then the boat moved back to give us some room. He was waiting on guests to take out for a sunset cruise. We filled the tanks and got everything in order, then headed back out to the anchorage. We went to about the same spot but a little closer to the beach.
Day 2- We went back to town so we could walk around. Taylor Swift has a house here, so we walked there. The house towers over the town and is impossible to miss. The previous owner, Rebekah Harkness was known for her glamorous parties that brought in the likes of Salvador Dalí and other celebrities, and was known to fill her swimming pool with champagne. She owned the house from the 1950s until her death in 1982. Taylor purchased the estate for 17 million dollars cash. Swifts recently released album, Folklore, features a song called “the last great american dynasty” which recounts Harkness’s legacy and parallels Swifts experience in the town, The house is next to another beautiful beach which we hung out on, but we didn’t plan well as we didn’t have our swim suits. We then walked over to a cool lighthouse which was an easy walk. By mid afternoon we were back on the boat, swimming and floating on our rafts. Tomorrow we plan on going to Mystic, Connecticut…
We Weren’t going far today and swimming was definitely in the plan. We got a late start, not pulling anchor until 11:30am. By then it was hot again and we needed to find a good place to cool off. We planned on going to Jamestown since we were so close anyway, but I found an anchorage in Mackerel Cove which looked like a good stop. We pulled out of Newport and cruised past Clingstone. which is a house built in 1905, perched atop a small, rocky island in an island group called “The Dumplings” in Narragansett Bay, near Jamestown. The house is completely self sufficient… We got as close as we could cruising past it, then turned into Mackerel Cove. We worked our way past the young kids learning to sail and dropped anchor as close to the beach as we could, without being too close to the already anchored boats there. Aaahh! We can swim and cool off! Yay! We are a bit dubious about swimming in an anchorage or mooring field with a lot of boats, so we were happy to find this spot. We jumped in and floated on our rafts, enjoying the warm sun and cool water. We hung out here for a few hours then pulled the anchor and headed around the corner to another anchorage that is closer to Jamestown. We wound our way through a mooring field and dropped anchor where we were comfortable. We had to take Frank in to shore, so we all loaded up in the dinghy and headed in. We had a nice long walk across the island to town. I stopped in a small shop and picked up some fancy cheese as a snack for later as well as some elusive Narragansett Brewery beer, then we stopped at The General’s Crossing Brewhouse for a beverage. They had a small outside patio area and we sat there with Frank. The bartender even brought Frank some water and a treat. He sure does get spoiled! Eventually it was time to head back before it got dark. We planned our next stop over dinner, which we agreed to be Watch Hill, RI.
We woke up to thick fog. Damn. I guess were n leaving as early as we thought…We finally left New Bedford around 8:30am and arrived in Newport about 1pm. The trip was thirty two miles from anchorage to anchorage. We turned in to the bay and were met with tons of boat traffic. Sailboats abound and they were traveling in every direction. It gets a little stressful for me trying to watch every direction and dodge boats. The sailboats seem to think they always have the right of way, even in a narrow channel. We eventually arrived to the anchorage which was in a large mooring field. We found a spot between some moored boats and anchored boats and we dropped our anchor. It was a little tight, but we found room. Once we were comfortable it had set, we hung out and watched the show of boats and yachts coming and going through the harbor. It was finally time to head to shore and walk Frank. The dinghy dock wasn’t too far away. We walked Frank along the park and returned for the bikes. We were hungry so we went to Newport Lobster Shack. We ordered a lobster dinner, a lobster roll and some Chowder. Yeah- we’re liking Cape Cod. We then rode to the ‘Cliff Walk’. “The Cliff Walk along the eastern shore of Newport, RI is world famous as a public access walk that combines the natural beauty of the Newport shoreline with the architectural history of Newport’s gilded age, along some of the most beautiful coastline in all of New England. Much of it goes through the property on which many of the Newportmansions are situated.” We hiked along and enjoying the scenery. We returned to town, then returned back to the boat for the evening.
Day 2- As I was walking Frank I saw a food truck (pizza) parked nearby. I talked Lauren into stopping for a pie before we started biking. We then rode the bikes to Fort Adams which is now a state park and explored the grounds. Lauren has found out about Newport’s Famous Ten Mile Drive and wanted to bike it. I protested a bit, but finally relented. Off we went! The ride was quite awesome and the hills were evenly distributed up and down. The views were fantastic and it was a nice ride. We made our way back in to town and stopped at a grocery store for some water and supplies. We stopped for ice cream at Cold Fusion Gelato to get refreshed and finally back to the boat. The rest of the night was spent having dinner and planning our next stop, but we are staying one more day here.
Day 3- We took the bikes and found Cardines Field: “It is believed to be one of the oldest ballparks in the United States. A local historical debate continues as to whether baseball was played prior to 1900, making Cardines one of the oldest existing ballparks in the country, or if play didn’t begin until 1908, the earliest documented proof of stadium construction”. We couldn’t get inside, but we could see through the fence. We then headed to St. Mary’s Church, where Jacqueline Lee Bouvier married then-Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy. After getting some pictures there we continued on toward a brewery we thought was closer than it actually was. We rode the bikes for a bit, then decided it wasn’t worth it as we were along a busy highway, so we turned around and headed back. We detoured back through town and did some light shopping, picking up a hat and magnet to add to our collection. Finally we made it back to the boat, took Frank to shore and made our plans for tomorrow. We are going to check out Jamestown, but we want to swim as it has been hot, so our plan is to find a good swimming hole and take it from there.
We wanted to stop somewhere different on our way back. Today we are heading back through Buzzards Bay toward the Long Island Sound, but were going to stay on the North side. We had to come back through the Cape Cod Canal so we had to time that. We left Plymouth around 8am and got to the canal around 11am. We timed it perfectly and sailed right through. We made our way across Buzzards Bay and turned in to the anchorage around 2:30pm. Unfortunately the anchorage wasn’t as protected as we thought and there was a good blow causing some small waves. We dropped anchor as close as we could to shore for protection and hung out. There was a beach somewhat close by that looked like a good dinghy landing spot for Franks walks. We eventually made it to shore and walked up along the shore walkway toward town. We made a quick stop in a Dollar Store for some snacks and headed back. There wasn’t much to do except hang out and hold on. The waves eventually started to fade away and the generator was started for dinner. We decided our next stop will be Newport, Rhode Island. There looks to be a few good anchorages there and it is a popular port to stop, so we are looking forward to it.
