Stratford, CT

We are having shorter cruising days now that we’re on the Connecticut coast again. On Tuesday, September at 10 a.m. we left the Thimble Islands for the last time this season bound for Stratford. Our plan was to see Steven and Ann again because we had a number of items mailed to them and because we like to spend time with them! 

It was a lovely cruising day with calm seas and not as chilly as previous days.  As we came to Stratford, we cruised up the Housatonic River known for its rather fierce current. The river was filled with lots of moored sailboats and lined with lovely homes.

After going under this attractive bridge (photo #1)  we arrived at the Boardwalk Marina on the 12:50 and tied up at a face dock under I-95 and railroad overpasses (photo # 2 -  not so attractive)!

We were helped by a dockhand festooned with a Trump tee shirt and hat who wore no mask and who heartily shook our hands to welcome us. He was very nice but not Covid conscious!  We went to walk up to the marina office and walked and walked and walked. It was so far away, Lynn was concerned about being able to carry the laundry that far to wash in the laundry that was advertised.  When we finally arrived at the marina office we discovered that indeed there was no laundromat! Oh well!

The good things about the marina:  the price was lower than many places in this area, a Stop And Shop, BJ,s, and West Marine were within walking distance and it was close to Steven and Ann’s home. 

Ann and Abby picked us up at 5 and took us to Ann’s amazing garden, part of a communal garden in Stratford.  She gave us baskets and clippers and told us to pick all the vegetables and flowers that we wanted. What fun! We picked lots of tomatoes, eggplant, kale, Swiss chard, marigolds (which are edible!) and Lynn’s favorite zinnias!

From there we headed to Steven and Ann’s where we waited for Steven and drank a bottle of Moët and play with her adorable cats.

For dinner we drove to a really good Italian restaurant in Stratford where we sat outside and had a lively, very fun and delicious dinner. We stopped back  at Steven and Ann’s for a nightcap before they drove us back to Zendo.  Another fun evening with the Katzen’s and a lovely posy to remember it by!

Stony Creek, CT (return trip)

On Monday, September 21 we left Old Lyme bound for the Branford Yacht Club.  We left at 8:45 because we had almost a 4 hour cruise and we were meeting our friend Ted there around noon.  Ted is the gentleman who had allowed us to use his mooring ball at the Thimble Islands for two weeks, free of charge.  He had also offered to pick up the outboard motor that we had to have repaired when we were in the Thimble Islands. And he was selling us three extra solar panels leftover from his own installation!

It was a quite a chilly but clear day and Lynn was all bundled up on the flybridge during an uneventful cruise to Branford.

When we arrived, Ted was there to greet us and Jonny hauled the outboard and three large brand new solar panels onto Zendo.  He has been wanting to get solar panels for awhile. We won’t be as reliant on our generator once the panels are installed.  His plan is to install them over the winter so they’ll be ready to use next cruising season.  Jonny was somewhat frustrated with himself for not repairing the outboard himself but we really didn’t have a good time and place for him to work on it. His plan is to sell it along with the dinghy that we had used before buying our new one a couple of years ago in Canada.

After receiving guidance on how to install the solar panels we stopped for a pump-out at the yacht club and had a short one hour cruise back to the Thimble Islands where we anchored this time.  We relaxed for a couple of hours before meeting Lynn’s cousin Sally for dinner.

As we took the dinghy into the harbor we passed the unusual technique used in the Thimble Islands to mark many of the inner moorings. They use long straight tree branches to mark the mooring locations. We wonder about their sturdiness in storms but they do have a particular charm!

We had tried to get together with Sally two times before but as they say, “the third time is the charm”.  She picked us up at the harbor and we went to Rossa Vino in Branford for dinner. This was the same restaurant we had eaten at in August with Steven and Ann, et.al. and once again we were able to sit outside. This time it was cold enough that they turned on the heaters halfway through the meal. We had a very nice time catching up with Sally since we hadn’t seen her since last summer.

By 8:30 we were heading back to Zendo where we started to settle into our cozy saloon for the night.  Unfortunately, the heat in the saloon wasn’t working properly (the same unit that we gave us trouble with the AC).  Jonny mucked around with it for over an hour and it just got worse. He even called the fellow who had helped us with it in Baltimore, but that didn’t help either.  Again, the unit in our cabin was working so we could warm up that room for the night. Oh well, what would Jonny do if he didn’t have a project to work on or a problem to solve?

Old Lyme, CT

It was cold outside on Sunday, September 20, in the low 40’s! We were at anchor so Jonny had to fire up the generator to turn on the heat.  It was sunny and clear and not expected to get beyond the low 60’s.  Jonny made a cozy breakfast of hot oatmeal with fruit and nuts which was perfect!  We bundled up for a dinghy ride into Mystic where we were to meet Jonny’s cousin, Jimmy. Once again we passed through scenic Mystic Harbor.

We met Jimmy at Mallove’s and picked up our recent purchases then headed out on foot for a second breakfast!  Jimmy’s first choice had a long line in front so we crossed the bridge to the other side of town and went to another favorite of his, owned by a local Greek guy.  The little breakfast place had great omelets and outdoor seating and we had a really nice visit with Jimmy.

It was time for all of us to get on with our days so we headed back to Zendo and took off for our next stop at 12:30.  As we cruised out of the Mystic River we saw a number of boats with huge Trump flags blowing in the breeze. Unfortunately (to us),  this has been a rather common sight in our travels on the water this year.

We were bound for Old Lyme Dock where we had stayed on the way up. It took us almost an hour to get out of the Mystic River because we were held up by over 30 minutes at one of the two bridges waiting for a train to cross.  In the meantime, we were enthralled by the mackerel skies!

As we entered Long Island Sound we were happy to see that the seas were relatively calm though the air was quite cool and crisp due to a strong high pressure front.

We headed up the Connecticut River, through yet another bridge. You can see that Lynn is rather obsessed with bridge photos!

By 5 pm we arrived at Old Lyme Dock where the huge yacht, Excellence, was still parked out front and we found ourselves in a slip under one of the biggest versions of Old Glory that we’ve ever seen.  

We nestled into our spot in this tiny “marina” and settled in for a cozy night all plugged into power and nice and warm!

Mystic, CT

We had a very short one hour cruise from Noank to Mystic on Saturday morning, September 19. The weather was sunny, but blustery and very cool with highs in the 60’s.  Cruising up the Mystic River was very interesting as we passed through the village of Mystic and especially Mystic Seaport with all of its historic ships. 

We dropped anchor right across from Mystic Seaport in a calm but shallow area with only one other boat nearby.  As soon as we settled in, we hopped aboard our dinghy and went in to explore the town of Mystic. We hadn’t been here in a few years and never by boat so we were happy to be here. 

 

Mystic was a historically significant seaport where over 600 ships were built starting in 1784.  Its main industry now is tourism but the village has maintained a lovely character.

One of the first things we did was to stop at Mallove Jewelers, the business started by Jonny’s grandfather over a hundred years ago!  It is now owned and very competently run by his cousin Jimmy whose home in Waterford we had visited while we were in New London.  It’s impossible to visit Mallove’s without buying something.  This time our little family has two birthdays coming up, Lynn’s this week and Stephanie’s on Halloween.  Needless to say, it was a productive visit!

Afterwards we strolled around this historical and nautical town which is bisected by the Mystic River.  We were looking for a place to have lunch and there were plenty of choices (including the pizza place made famous by the movie Mystic River).  We selected a non-seafood choice, Grass and Bone, where we shared a delicious rotisserie chicken and yummy side dishes.

As we walked back towards the bridge we saw the strategically located ice cream shop which we couldn’t resist for dessert.  Once again we will be skipping dinner! Here are two views of the same Mystic River Bridge.

Mystic is filled with lovely historic homes, boats and buildings.  Everyone wore masks and all the Covid protocols were being followed.  It was fun walking and browsing and just being in such an an interesting place.

After heading back to Zendo, Jonny went for a paddle board ride. We caught up with Andy and Janice by phone who were enjoying Rosh Hashanah dinner which we were sorry to miss this year. That night we relaxed and watched a couple of episodes of Madame Secretary. We wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year, L’Shana Tovah!

Noank, CT

The weather was predicted to be blustery and the seas quite choppy over the next few days. It appeared that if we left early on Friday, September 18 we would have a pretty good chance of making it out of the worst wave heights and into the more protected confines of Long  Island Sound. We would be able to hug the coast on the north side of the Sound and be protected from the prevalent north wind.  That was the plan.

However, when we woke up at six that morning, we were exceedingly close to the catamaran in front of us. Apparently we had not let out as much line on our anchor as he did and he drifted so close to us that we were quite worried.  Unfortunately it didn’t seem like anyone was awake on the cat and we couldn’t see its  name to hail it on the radio. After we fretted about it for 30 minutes trying to come up with alternatives, the owner appeared on deck. We had hoped that he might pull himself up but he didn’t offer to do so. He only agreed to keep an eye out as we tried to pull up closer to our anchor and let out more scope or just pull up the anchor and move.  We chose to do option two. So with Lynn at the helm, Jonny at the anchor line and the other boat owner ready to lower his fenders to protect his boat, we managed to pull up frightfully close to the cat, pull up our anchor, and quickly pivot away without hitting him.  It was a close call.  Needless to say we neglected to get any photos of it in frenzy of the moment.

That maneuver sealed the deal for us and since we were now wide awake we decided to head out and brave the elements.  We bundled up for the cold with our heavy duty rain jackets and two additional layers beneath them. Heading out of Naragansett Bay we encountered very rolly seas with 3 to 4 foot swells and a following sea. We hobby horsed uncomfortably for a couple of hours until we reached Point Judith once again passing the summer “cottages of the rich and famous along our way.

At that point we were able to turn westward and were now in the lee of the north wind. From then on we had a much more comfortable, but still chilly passage.

We had been contemplating going to Stonington, Mystic or Noank and we chose Noank because Lynn hadn’t been there, plus it looked to have a protected cove where we could anchor.  At 12:40 we dropped the hook in a cove next to promontory that looked like it might have a church and cemetery on it. Most noteworthy was the amazing stone seawall. 

We took the dinghy for about a mile into the tiny village of Noank which is actually a part of Groton. We put our name on the waiting list at Ford’s, a popular local spot for lobster right on the waterfront.

While we waited for our table, we strolled through the hilly village filled with historic homes many of which had fabulous water views. We even saw some with huge Biden signs which was a nice surprise. We often see boats in marinas with large Trump flags!

We had a delicious lunch sitting on their outside terrace which was more like a dock. Great Rhode Island clam chowder and yet another delicious lobster roll for Lynn and lobster bisque and a cod sandwich for Jonny.

Afterwards we walked some more throughout the town.  When we have these big lunches we always get away with skipping dinner and partially justify our indulgence by taking plenty of long walks!  Noank provided a great opportunity to do both!

As we were walking Jonny was searching for the home of his childhood neighbor who had moved from New London to Noank. The father was the publisher of the Norwich Bulletin, a local newspaper. Jonny was delighted to find the house, a most extraordinary one to say the least!

That night while watching the news, we learned of Ruth Badger Ginsburg’s passing, a big loss for the country and her family and the unfortunate start of yet another nasty political fight.