Cuttyhunk Island,MA

We were excited about our upcoming port of call, Cuttyhunk Island!  We left our Port Judith anchorage on Tuesday, September 15 at 11 a.m. It was a beautiful sunny day but the temperature was starting to show signs of cooling with temperatures in the high 60’s. It was a pleasant cruise going through Narragansett Bay and getting into the western end of Buzzards Bay.

It took about 4 hours to get to Cuttyhunk and then another 45 minutes to go around the island to enter its very protected harbor.  There were not too many boats there, but it had an extensive mooring field.  We tied up to one of the mooring balls, the eyelet variety, which is a bit trickier, but all went well.

Cuttyhunk is part of the Elizabeth group of islands that are located just north of Martha’s Vineyard. Most of them are privately owned by the Forbes family. Cuttyhunk was the first English settlement in New England but only lasted 22 days!  The Cuttyhunk Fishing Club bought most of the island in 1863 and its members included Jay Gould and others like him. Their guests included Theodore Roosevelt, Grover Cleveland and William Taft.  Now the island is sparsely populated with only 52 full time residents.  It attracts boaters and fisherman to its lovely harbor. There are very few tourist accommodations - a couple of inns on the island, and a few homes available to rent scattered over an area  2.5 by 1.5 miles.

That night Jonny went for a paddle while Lynn prepared meatloaf for dinner. All of a sudden a boat pulled up with two young women selling raw oysters, clams and shrimp cocktail! So that took care of the appetizer course of our dinner - delicious shrimp cocktail.

On Wednesday, we packed a picnic lunch and took the dinghy in and tied up at the town dock.  The townspeople we met were very warm and friendly and very careful about Covid (as is almost everywhere we’ve been in New England).  No wonder they are doing so well in their recovery!

Our plan was to spend the day hiking around the island.  There are lots of trails that line  the waterfront and roam through the woods.  We took one trail up to the highest point of the island and had an incredible panoramic view.

Some of the trails took us up cliffs where we could see across to Gay Head, the sandy cliffs of Martha’s Vineyard.  Most of the “roads” were really just dirt paths and the only paved roads were in the tiny village area near the harbor.  The only vehicles we saw were a few golf carts and one pickup truck.

Scattered throughout the island are bunkers that were used during World War II by the U.S. Army. Two hundred fifty soldiers were stationed on Cuttyhunk to watch for German submarines!

The village center included lovely natural shingled homes and an inn with amazing stonework. 

A small market was only open to on-line orders while we were there.  The restaurant (in the owner’s yard), a small museum, the town hall and the school were all closed.  But at the town dock one can get a take-out breakfast and order lobster dinners to go, which of course we did!  That evening, the raw seafood boat came by again but we were clearly satiated with our lobster.  We are definitely taking advantage of our favorite New England seafood on this trip!

Point Judith, RI

Our visit to New London was drawing to a close. On Monday, September 14, Lynn finally joined Jonny on his long morning walk through New London.  As he loves to do, Jonny pointed out the landmarks of his youth as we walked through this small city of 25,000. The downtown has transitioned to be one of restaurants and galleries and a much more limited number of retail shops and businesses.  

New London has had its share of up and down economic cycles but it manages to continue to make improvements with new buildings and neighborhoods under renovation. We passed the site of his family’s jewelry business, Mallove’s, which has moved to the suburbs and many older more historic buildings.  And we saw another of Nathan Hale’s famous red schoolhouses.

We returned to Zendo in time to shove off at 10 for the four hour cruise to our next destination, Port Judith, RI. It was a lovely cruise along Long Island Sound.  The weather was clear and sunny in the 70’s with a touch of autumn in the air.  We passed many beautiful homes lining the waterfront.

As we entered the long inlet towards Point Judith we saw a lot of people sunning themselves on the beach (while we wore sweatshirts)!

We were planning to meet Jonny’s cousin David for a picnic dinner. He and his wife Bobbie have a summer home near the RI shore. Unfortunately Bobbie was unable to join us but we arranged to meet David at a nearby marina.  We cruised up the inlet towards the anchorage we had selected in Point Judith Pond.  We found a perfect spot in this large but protected area with only a couple of other boats at anchor. After reading and relaxing on board for a couple of hours, we took off on the dinghy to meet David.  

David met us with a delicious array of local “delicacies” including an order of the now famous Rhode Island calamari.  We found a picnic table at the marina and had a great time catching up with each other’s lives after not having seen each other for a few years.  Afterwards we dinghied back to Zendo using a flashlight to guide us on the 20 minute ride through the moonless night.

New London, CT

A  quick 30 minute cruise brought us from our anchorage to Crocker Marina in New London on Friday, September 11. It was expected to be a nice day as we went under the Gold Star Memorial Bridge on this very brief journey.

It was good to be in a marina so we could wash off the boat and take care of some cleaning and boat repairs.  Jonny spent a couple of hours repairing the windlass while  Lynn cleaned the inside of Zendo and did two loads of laundry. That evening Jonny’s cousin Richie picked us up and we went to Fred’s Shanty and had dinner outdoors.  They are known for their burgers but Lynn couldn’t resist having a lobster roll.

On Saturday, Lynn was excited to welcome her old friend Nancy Moriarty aboard Zendo.  Lynn and Nancy used to work together at Mansfield Day Care Center near UConn which was Lynn’s first job out of college. It had been several years since they had seen each other and the visit was a wonderful way to catch up now that we’re both retired.  The three of us walked down the street to another New London favorite, Captain Scott’s, where we sat on their outdoor deck and feasted on clam chowder, steamers, fried clams and corn on the cob.  Each item was more delicious than the next!

Later on, Richie picked us up and brought us to his brother Jimmy’s home in nearby Waterford.  Jimmy and his wife, Robin, were  hosting a graduation party for family members and we were able to visit the beautiful old home that they have lovingly renovated. Their outdoor area was a perfect setting for a party with a gorgeous swimming pool, a fire pit, and a lovely pool house.  Robin had prepared quite a feast but we were only able to take advantage of her delicious Rhode Island clam chowder from an old family recipe.  We were still full from lunch and we were invited to another friend’s home for dinner that evening.

After a couple of hours, Richie gave us a ride to nearby Defender (a marine products store) where Jonny bought some boat supplies. Lynn found a great-looking warm jacket on sale - perfect for the cooler fall temperatures we would soon be encountering.  Our friend Betsy picked us up at Defender at five to bring us around the corner to the home she and her husband have in nearby Jordan Cove.  They had invited us to dinner at the summer cottage that has been in Betsy’s family for generations.  It’s a very charming traditional summer cottage across the street from the cove with 270 degree views of the water.  We sat socially distanced on their porch for drinks and nibbles.  As the evening got cooler we proceeded inside for the delicious dinner that Betsy had prepared of pasta with shrimp, scallops, and crabmeat accompanied by salads, breads  and even homemade desserts. What a feast!  We had a lovely time and later Betsy graciously drove us back to Zendo.

On Sunday morning, Joe and Betsy stopped by for coffee and so Joe could see Zendo. They are avid sailers and Joe, who hadn’t seen Zendo before, was interested to see our trawler.  We sat on the aft deck on another stunningly beautiful late summer day.

  

That afternoon, we were expecting Samantha, Jonny’s niece, to come down from outside of Boston.  She arrived around 1:30 and we gave Sam the choice of where she wanted to have lunch. As expected, she chose Captain Scott’s (the absolute go-to place in New London in the summer) to which we happily agreed and the three of us strolled over there.  Richie met us and we all feasted on lobster rolls, corn on the cob and a side of fried clams and onion rings.  We are going to roll out of town after all the food we have consumed on this visit!  We provided vicarious pleasure to Janice and Andy back home by FaceTiming with them so they could talk to Sam and Richie. Poor Janice was jealous that she could not be with us in her beloved New London.

Janice had also requested that we drive by her old home on Mallove Drive,  so of course we accommodated her request.  The house looked well cared for and even had the addition of new solar panels on the roof.  

And no visit to New London is complete without the last stop on our food tour, a visit to Michael’s Dairy for ice cream.  After satiating ourselves with that last tasty treat we said our goodbyes to Richie and returned to Zendo for an animated chat about politics before Sam had to hit the road.

This was our last night in New London and the next day we would head out to Point Judith in Rhode Island. We had a wonderful time seeing family and friends in Jonny’s charming home town.

Thames River, New London, CT

We had a leisurely morning at our calm anchorage in Essex on Thursday, September 10.  It was quite rainy and looked to be not a great day to travel so we just took it easy that morning.  It’s so nice not to have a schedule!  By lunch time we began to contemplate traveling since Long Island Sound was expected to have more favorable conditions today versus Friday.  After eating lunch (the final leftovers from our Gelston House dinner!) we lifted anchor and  took off for a short 3.5  hour cruise to New London. 

We proceeded south on the Connecticut River and then headed east on the Sound.

It rained on and off but the seas were pretty good and the cruise was pleasant.  Lynn was her usual busy self knitting an afghan for the Zendo.

As we approached New London, Jonny’s old stomping grounds and childhood home, he got more and more excited.

We went by the classic New London Lighthouse and later the square shaped Ledge Light in the distance.

The huge ferry returning from Long Island was approaching at a very fast speed and we needed to get out of its way.

We entered the Thames River and went by Connecticut College and the Coast Guard Academy.  Eagle, that impressive tall ship (originally belonging to Hitler) was docked by the Coast Guard Academy. 

And a lovely flotilla of little sailboats danced in the breeze.

Several teams rowing crew from the Coast Guard Academy were out rowing with masks on!  We cruised past them and saw a submarine being escorted by several boats.  As we approached our anchorage across from the submarine base we could see the Nautilus at its home port. 

That evening we enjoyed a very peaceful night at one of the calmest anchorages we have had on this journey. Tomorrow we’ll make the short hop to  Crocker’s Marina where we’ll stay for the weekend.