Easthampton,NY

We left Crocker Marina in New London on Friday, August 23 for a short three hour crossing to Easthampton on Long Island to visit our friends Ernie and Sophie French. We had a very calm passage on an overcast day.  The seas were flat and we had just a little rain but the clouds lifted by the end.  Three Mile Harbor, the passage that took us close to their home, is quite long and there were hardly any boats in it. We couldn’t anchor quite as close to shore as we would have liked because of the shallow waters.  Ernie was waiting for us at the water’s edge on his friend’s property where we could pull up the dinghy and leave it on shore.

We walked a quarter mile up the hill to his home which was basically equidistance between the harbor and the Atlantic. What a gorgeous setting on the far eastern end of Long Island!

We hadn't seen Ernie and Sophie since their wedding seven years ago so it was a real treat catching up with Ernie and getting to know Sophie who is so warm and friendly. Ernie was full of stories about living in the Hamptons and his charter and drafting businesses.  They cooked a delicious dinner and we ate on their back deck on a lovely evening.  After they bought their home a few years ago, Ernie completely renovated the house and it’s very comfortable. That night we returned to Zendo just as it got dark and spent a restful evening at our anchorage.

Our original plan was to stay for two nights but the weather forecast for the day we planned to cross back over to Connecticut said that the seas would be quite rough. So after consulting with each other and Ernie, our local boat captain, we decided it would be more prudent to make the crossing that afternoon.  Unfortunately for us, Sophie had to work on Saturday but Ernie took us for a drive through the beautiful countryside in that part of the world as we headed over to nearby Sag Harbor. 

We strolled the charming village, checked out the mega yachts in the marina, stopped for a quick lunch, and shopped for a few provisions before heading off. 

Ernie dropped us off at the dinghy and after our reluctant farewells we dinghied out to Zendo for the cruise back to Connecticut.  We hope to return in the future for further explorations and to spend more time with our gracious hosts!

New London, CT

A short three hour cruise was all it took for us to arrive in New London from our Duck Island anchorage in Westbrook on Wednesday, August 6.  The day was overcast but it was lovely sailing along the coast passing familiar shore side towns with their traditional styles. We cruised past the beautiful Harkness Memorial Park, Eugene O’Neill Theatre, Ocean Beach and the New London Lighthouse.

After stopping for fuel, we tied up at the Crocker Boatyard which would be Zendo’s home for two weeks. The next three days were a series of family get togethers with most of Jonny’s cousins reuniting at the home of their mothers ostensibly to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Mallove’s, the family jewelry store!

We partied at various venues including rental homes, local waterfront restaurants, and the Ocean Beach Pavilion which included fireworks and an Elton John cover band!  We feasted on lobster, steak, and had our fill of our favorite fried oysters, corn on the cob, steamers,  Rhode Island clam chowder and famous local Michael’s ice cream.

We wandered the historic “city” of New London which is taking good care of itself though it has struggled over the years economically.

Stephanie and her cousins had a blast not having all been together for many years.

Jonny’s mother Janice, the family’s matriarch, was in her glory to be back in New London where she had lived 90 of her 94 years before moving to Florida.

On two consecutive days we took a crew of cousins for a cruise of New London harbor on Zendo. The first day was especially exciting as a surfaced submarine entered the harbor.  Navy boats kept everyone safely at bay.

The second day, all the kids jumped overboard for a swim in the relatively warm waters (for Connecticut, that is)!

All in all, we had a fabulous time and by Sunday everyone was dispersing to their homes in California, Washington state, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, etc. For the next 10 days, we would be traveling back to Miami to unpack our condo before returning to Zendo to resume our cruise.

Westbrook, CT

We had a really fun morning on on Tuesday, August 5 at Safe Harbor Marina in Stratford, CT.  Lynn’s sister Lisa, and two of her childhood friends, Janie and Dara, and Susan, one of Lynn’s high school friends came on board and spent the morning with us.

They brought breakfast and we had a very lively visit catching up on each other’s lives as they checked out our boating lifestyle. Lisa had been vacationing on Cape Cod with her family and then stayed longer in Connecticut to visit a number of old friends.  Now they she is retired she doesn’t have to rush back home to prepare for a new school year!   By noon, after they took Lynn and Stephanie for a grocery store run, it was time to say good by and shove off.

We cruised along the lovely Connecticut coast lined with traditional waterfront homes.

The destination for the day was an anchorage off of Westbrook, CT called Duck Island. We were meeting up with cruising friends, Liz and Steve Kemper aboard Shingebiss. Five hours later we found Shingebiss in a pretty and protected harbor and we dropped our hook nearby.  We took the dinghy and the salmon we had purchased that morning over to have dinner with Liz and Steve. 

We had a lot of fun hearing about their travels since we hadn’t seen them in many months.  Liz has just been elected to the Board of Directors for the Marine Trawlers Owners Association which Jonny is also on so we’ll continue to see them regularly.  We wintered Zendo in the same marina that they winter in and we’ve become quite fond of them.

That evening we had a delicious dinner of salmon, pork chops, pasta salad and a tossed salad.  They taught us how to play Farkel and we watched a little of a PBS show commemorating Woodstock’s 50th anniversary before departing for Zendo.  A good time was had by all!

Stratford, CT

We had a slightly rough crossing of Long Island Sound on Monday, August 4 as we headed from our Oyster Bay anchorage to Safe Harbor Marina in Stratford. It was sunny but a bit cool especially for Stephanie who was sitting on the shady side of the fly bridge and was somewhat inexplicitly freezing, while Lynn who was sitting in the sun was just fine!

Once we crossed the sound it was smooth sailing up the Connecticut coast past Stamford, Westport, Fairfield, and Bridgeport.

As we arrived at Safe Harbor Marina on the Housatonic River in Stratford, the current was fierce.  Jonny tried three times to get into our assigned slip but it was way too risky. We asked the marina if we could tie up temporarily at the T dock which they easily agreed to. Lucky for us they let us stay there overnight so we didn’t have to wait to move at slack tide.

                                     

We showered and got ready for Jonny’s cousin Steven to come pick us up. He came by around five and after showing him Zendo, he drove us to Fairfield to visit his mom who unfortunately is not doing very well. We did have a nice visit with her which was important for us as she is getting up in years and it’s not often that we get to see her.

Afterwards, we went to Steven and Ann’s home where they have the most beautiful garden.  Steve’s sister, Abby and her husband Rich met us there and we all enjoyed a bottle of champagne together.

From there we headed to a very good Italian restaurant in Stratford called Biagio’s Osterio.  We had a very lively evening reminiscing and regaling each other with funny stories.  The evening ended with Steven and Ann bringing us back to Zendo where we stayed up late drinking brandy and port.  Unfortunately we completely forgot to take pictures - apparently we were having too much fun!

Oyster Bay, NY - Official Start of 2019 Cruise

The 2019 cruising season officially kicked off on the weekend of August 3 when Lynn and Stephanie joined Jonny aboard Zendo at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City.  For the past three weeks Jonny had been traveling solo from Zendo’s winter berth at Olverson’s Marina on the Chesapeake north.  Lynn was stuck in Miami overseeing the final renovations of the recently purchased condo there.  After flying to Philadelphia and staying at Stephanie’s, we finally joined Jonny in Jersey City where we had a celebratory dinner at a good Italian restaurant.  Not only were we celebrating being together and the start of a family vacation, but we also toasted Stephanie’s brand new job (still at Aramark) and promotion to General Manager!

We will have a week together cruising Long Island Sound and culminating in Jonny’s family reunion in New London.

We left Liberty Landing at 9 a.m. on Sunday, August 4 for a gorgeous cruise up the East River
passing many of NYC’s iconic landmarks.

 

 

From there we headed over to Oyster Bay on Long Island where we originally intended to visit Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt’s home.  Unfortunately, we were late arriving and the tickets were sold out for the day, but we made the best of it at a lovely anchorage surrounded by hundreds of sailboats.

                                      

   

 We swam and paddle boarded to our hearts’ content. So relaxing!

Afterwards we dinghied over to the village of  Oyster Bay and found our first brew pub of the trip followed by a dinner of some of our favorite foods - clam chowder, steamers, fried oysters and crab
cakes.

We managed to miss a rain shower and returned to Zendo for a relaxing evening of Scrabble on the
aft deck surrounded by a beautiful sunset. What a great way to start our official summer cruise season!
   
                                   

Callao, VA - Our Journey’s End

Our original plan for the day was to cruise halfway to our final destination of Olverson’s Lodge Creek Marina on the Yeocomico River off of the Potomac.  We didn’t leave until 10 because we didn’t expect to have a very long day.  As we got underway the bay was calm and the weather was beautiful. 

We thought conditions were going to deteriorate and Jonny was concerned about how bad the seas could get as we crossed the Potomac. But the weather continued to be nice and the bay was amazingly calm.  After a lot of discussion we decided to just make it a long day and go all the way to Olverson’s.  This was a bittersweet discussion because it would mean ending our seven month cruise a day early and we were not anxious for it to end. But it made the best sense and that’s what we decided to do.  Lynn joined Jonny on the flybridge for the remainder of the day because it was warm enough to be up top and we wanted this last experience for our journey.  She is knitting an afghan for Stephanie which is serving a dual purpose of keeping her warm in these cool temperatures.  It has to be finished before we get to Florida because it’s much too hot to work on it there!

We arrived at Olverson’s  around 6 and tied up at an outside dock. We had to wait until the next day to see if we could get into a covered slip without taking down our bimini.

Once we got settled in we celebrated the end of our wonderful journey with a cocktail.  We traveled 4,658 miles since we left Miami on April 17.   It’s been a fabulous trip and we are sorry to have it end.  We’ll look forward to planning for our next big cruise.

In the meantime we would be spending the next several days at Olverson’s  prepping the boat for the winter.  Jonny had hoped to work with someone at the marina to do it with him so he could do it himself next time.  Unfortunately there was no one available to do so.  The regular mechanic was recuperating from hip replacement surgery.

Olverson’s is in a very remote part of Virginia and there are very few resources here other than a hardware, grocery, and Dollar store.   Fortunately, we have MTOA friends, Liz and Steve, who are keeping their boat here for the winter.  Because they are from Minnesota, Steve is very familiar with winterizing boats and has offered to help guide Jonny through the process.

Jonny got to work the next day draining the fluids from the engine and adding gallons of antifreeze.  Zendo will be in a state of upheaval for the next couple of days while he finishes winterizing and we pack up our belongings.

Poor Georgio is having to be ultra flexible in finding places to perch!

Another MTOA member had left their SUV here and needed someone to drive it to Miami since they were spending the winter in the Keys.  This solved our problem of how to bring all our belongings back to Miami.  Our plan, if all goes well, is to start the drive home on Monday and hope to be back in South Florida by midweek.