Long Island & Cape Cod

Thursday, June 22, 2017

We are deviating from our Great Loop route for the next year, heading to New England for the summer.  We will return south as far as the Chesapeake this fall and spend the winter months in Washington DC, docked at the Capital Yacht Club.  Obviously the weather will be cold but we hope the proximity to all the museums and mass transit up and down the East coast will compensate.  We will also plan a trip back to Texas for up to a month to take care of annual doctor's appointments and visit friends and family.

Today we leave New York, cruising up the East River.  We pass the Staten Island ferry terminal in lower Manhatten.

Whitehall ferry terminal

Currents in the East River can run up to 5 knots in some areas, especially in the narrow curve known as Hell's Gate.  So we must time this run to coincide with the switch to some, but not too much, current going in our direction.  Our early departure for a favorable current has meant lots of ferry traffic but few other boats to dodge.

Queensboro Bridge, East River

A different view from the East River.

New York City from the East River

Soon we pass this lighthouse and enter Long Island Sound. We are again blessed with calm seas!

Sands Point Lighthouse

A few hours later we approach our stop for the night - Stamford CT.

Stamford CT Harbor

The city has a very sturdy hurricane gate to protect the inner harbor in the event of a major storm.  It seems strange to see hurricane protection this far north, but storms do occasionally come this way and "nor' easters" can also cause hurricane-like conditions.

Stamford Hurricane Barrier

We are tied up at our marina, planning a one night stay before moving to an anchorage near New Haven.  When we check the weather forecast, high winds and thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow night, so we arrange to stay here two nights to avoid riding out a storm at anchor.  We had wanted to go ashore in New Haven to see the Yale campus and a couple of museums of interest, but we were unable to find any marinas that could accommodate our size.  In combination with the threatening weather, we choose to skip New Haven, at least for now.

Harbor House Marina, Stamford CT

Saturday, June 24, 2017

Since we're skipping New Haven, we have a 90 mile cruise today to Mystic CT.  We decide to get an early start despite the timing with low tide.  Tides here are 8 feet, the most we've seen so far.  Oops!  We have plenty of water depth in our slip, but as soon as we start down the aisle along our dock to the main channel, we are aground!  Rats!!  At least the bottom is soft mud.  We wait about 30 minutes and the rising tide frees us and we are on our way.  Okay, we can check this one (touching bottom) off our list - not our bucket list but the one that includes all the things we don't want to do.

Long Island Sound

Calm seas again today!  We are starting to see groups of floats attached to lobster traps, even in very deep water, so we keep a constant lookout for them and must avoid hitting them.  Rope connecting floats to traps, if wrapped around our shafts, would be very bad indeed!  Line cutters attached to our shafts are supposed to cut any lines we snag but don't always work as advertised.

Faulkner Island lighthouse

Several large ferries provide service across Long Island Sound.  These large car ferries run 40 MPH!  Some just cross the Sound; others go between the north shore and Cape Cod (Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket).

Car ferry

After 10 hours, we are finally in Mystic CT.  The harbor is filled with boats and is very picturesque.  I have little time to take photos as we must both watch for small boat traffic and watch water depths as we wind our way through a very narrow channel.

Mystic Harbor

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Mystic CT is a charming waterfront town with upscale shops, restaurants, B&Bs and restored loft apartments and homes on both sides of the river.  Town is a bit too cutesy touristy, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Mystic River view

Lovely old waterfront homes line the Mystic River.

Mystic River view

Mystic River view

And boats - lots of boats.

Mystic River view

Mystic River Park is a popular spot to stroll along the river.  The bascule bridge visible in the distance uses 2 large concrete counterweights to lift the roadway. 

Mystic River Park

Here's a closeup of the bridge.  Built in 1920, it was designed by the chief engineer of the Otis Elevator Company.  The bridge connects Mystic with West Mystic and appears to carry as much pedestrian traffic as it does vehicles.

Mystic Harbor Highway Bridge

A short walk across the bridge finds more shops and restaurants in West Mystic and lots of traffic on this busy weekend.

West Mystic shops

Several musicians were playing outside the shops.

West Mystic CT

An equally trendy restaurant scene is found on the Mystic side of the river.

S&P Oyster Company, Mystic

A never-ending variety of boats ply the river.

Mystic River from Mystic River Park

The dry, cool nights here allow plants to thrive.

Liberty Pole Square, Mystic

And flowers are everywhere!

Seaport Marine, Mystic CT

S&P Oyster Co, Mystic

Mystic also boasts many restored historic homes.

Mystic home, 1770

Mystic home, 1812

Mystic home, 1843

Mystic boasts a large maritime museum that we were planning to visit.  Upon arrival, it appeared it was mostly an entertainment complex with period reenactments and interactive exhibits aimed at kids.  We opted to skip it - hopefully not a mistake.  Instead we Ubered to nearby Groton to tour the Submarine Force Museum, home of the USS Nautilus.

The large circle illustrates the diameter of the modern Trident class nuclear sub, USS Ohio (1979-present), and the small circle, the diameter of the first Navy sub, the USS Holland (1900).

Submarine Force Museum, Groton CT

Robert's cousin served aboard the USS Nautilus, so this tour was special to him.

USS Nautilus

The USS Nautilus was the first nuclear-powered sub acquired by the US Navy, serving from 1954 to 1980.

USS Nautilus, afloat in the Thames River

Her nuclear power allowed her to stay submerged far longer than earlier diesel powered subs.  As a result, she was the first sub to successfully complete a submerged transit of the North Pole.  In commemoration of the historic transit, her captain was presented an original 1870 French copy of Jules Verne's famous book, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, which is on display aboard the sub.  She was named after Jules Verne's fictional sub, the Nautilus, from his book.

USS Nautilus route under the North Pole, 1958

We were allowed to tour the operational areas and crew quarters of the sub but, alas, no engine room tours (still classified, we were told).

USS Nautilus - tight spaces!

Monday, June 26, 2017

Today we will make a short, 27 mile run across Long Island Sound to Block Island.  We get an early start, only to be held up waiting for this railroad bridge to open.  Seems the morning Amtrak trains to New York get priority.

Mystic Harbor Railway Bridge

We see very little boat traffic on this quiet Monday morning, compared with our arrival on Saturday afternoon.

Mystic Harbor

Lots more time to take photos of this picturesque harbor.

Mystic Harbor

We pass the small town of Noank just before entering Long Island Sound.

Noank CT

Noank CT

Morgan Point Lighthouse

Soon we have passed a chain of rocky islands and entered Block Island Sound.  We are again pleased to see calm seas for our two hour crossing.  Lots of deep water here - a good thing!

Crossing Rhode Island Sound

We soon approach Block Island RI.  Sandy cliffs expose glacially deposited Cretaceous rocks.

Block Island RI

The few marinas at this popular tourist stop are quite pricey so we opt to try a mooring, our first!  The bottom here in Great Salt Pond is rock with a thin layer of sand on top, making anchoring difficult.

New Shoreham mooring field

Mooring balls are popular in New England so we need to learn how to use them.  We have seen a few mooring fields, mostly in Florida and Annapolis, but most were not sturdy enough to secure a boat our size.  Finally we will have a chance to learn a new skill!

Moored, Block Island RI

Mooring balls are anchored in place by chain passing through the ball to either a large weight resting on the bottom or to a large steel plate screwed into the bottom.  Some sort of eye or rope will be attached to the top of the ball that must be snagged from our boat and tied off.  This one had a rope with a loop at the end and we were thrilled to snag it on the first try!

Mooring ball #85

Once tied off, the harbormaster comes to our boat for payment.  Mooring balls are a small fraction of the cost of a slip, especially at these trendy overcrowded destinations.  Although we have no power or water hookup, the weather is cool enough to not need air conditioning so we don't need to run the generator except to cook.  And the mooring seems much more secure than anchoring, allowing the Captain to get a good night's sleep, a good thing!

New Shoreham Harbormaster

Once settled on our mooring, we call the launch service on VHF radio.  He quickly arrives in his boat and we hop on board for the short shuttle to shore.  We enjoy a wonderful sushi lunch at The Oar with a great view overlooking the mooring field. 

Lunch at The Oar

We will stay here only one night since we are trying to get to Boston before some stormy weather arrives in a few days.  A quick look around and we decide we will plan to return on our way back south to explore the entire island.  The main harbor lies about 1.5 miles from our stop and seems to have the most activity - shops, galleries, restaurants, hotels and the main ferry landing.  There are no bridges to the island so everyone must arrive by boat or plane.  The local airport is served by a couple of commuter airlines and private planes - no Southwest landings here!  We're told they are expecting 3000 boats for July 4th and will be rafted 2-3 abreast on each mooring ball.  Oh my!

This island is also close to the famous Cape Cod destinations of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, which we will visit on our return trip in late August.  Woods Hole, home of the well-known Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is also nearby and may warrant a stop.


We enjoy a nice sunset from our mooring and a quiet dinner and movie on board.

Sunset, Great Salt Pond mooring

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

We awake for another early departure to see this very unusual cloud formation move over our location.  It stretched completely across the horizon and moved quickly out to sea.

Great Salt Pond, Block Island RI

Soon we are on our way, passing the Coast Guard station near the harbor entrance.

Block Island Coast Guard Station

Once in the open Rhode Island Sound, we encounter a fog bank.  Fortunately the visibility remains 1/3 mile or more and lifts fairly quickly.  Our radar reading skills get put to the test, though - good practice for Maine, where we are told we will see lots of fog. Ugh!

Not sure what attracted this group of gulls to this spot, but we have seen this after fishing boats pass so must be lots of bait in the water.  We are thrilled to see such calm waters as Rhode Island Sound is open to the Atlantic Ocean and can get nasty when winds blow from any southerly direction.

Gull convention, Rhode Island Sound

After crossing Rhode Island Sound we pass up the center of Buzzards Bay.  We stop for the night just before the west entrance to Cape Cod Canal, which will take us through a land cut to Cape Cod Bay.  We are able to use a mooring ball here, belonging to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, located nearby.  We understand the mooring balls are available for free if they are not being used by the Academy. These balls have an eye on the top and no rope, so are a little harder to tie to.  After some effort to maneuver the boat against gusty wind to get close to a ball, we again succeed tying up on the first try and do a happy dance! 

Massachusetts Maritime Academy from MMA Moorings

An interesting sunset from our mooring.  Gusty winds and numerous boat wakes make for a bumpy night but this was the most convenient stop for our brief stay.  Fortunately a line of thunderstorms dissipates before reaching us.  This was certainly not as restful a stop as Block Island!

Sunset over Onset Harbor from MMA Moorings

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

We will transit the Cape Cod Canal this morning, leaving in time to catch the current going in our direction.  Large tides and a relatively narrow canal with no locks cause currents to flow up to 5 knots, so we definitely want the tide moving in our direction.

Cape Cod Canal

This man made canal is reminiscent of the C&D Canal, transited several weeks ago.  This one also has hike and bike trails along both sides and lighting for night use.  It is much more heavily used by fishermen lining both banks.  We also saw lots of bicycles and this gal on Rollerblades.

Cape Cod Canal

Cape Cod Canal

Cape Cod Canal

We pass this big guy just as we exit the canal jetties into Cape Cod Bay.

Exit from Cape Cod Canal

Seas get a little choppy as we turn north toward Boston.  The air temp is decidedly cooler, coming off much cooler water on this side of Massachusetts.  Although seas calm after a couple of hours of chop, the cool temps keep us in the pilothouse the rest of the day.  It's good to have options!

Cliffs near Sandwich MA, Cape Cod Bay

Shortly after noon, we pass Boston in the distance.  We will stay in Lynn MA, about 10 miles north of Boston, for a week or so while we run errands and re-provision.  We had planned to stay in a marina in downtown Boston, but our 4th of July time frame allowed the marinas to add a large surcharge to their already high rates.  Combined with no view of the fireworks, limited parking options and very crowded and rocky marinas due to lots of ferry traffic, we opted for a quieter and cheaper spot in the suburbs.

Boston from Massachusetts Bay

We pass the quaint beachside town of Nahant, just before arriving at our marina.

Nahant MA

Looks like we got lucky on our marina choice!  This is our view.  And we will have the option of watching fireworks in Lynn on the 3rd, and again on the 4th in Boston. Before our first day here ends, we have met lots of friendly and helpful liveaboard boaters and have an invite to a Friday night steak cookout at a neighboring yacht club.  And the city park next door is full of squirrels for Boka to chase.  Life is good!

Boston from Seaport Landing Marina, Lynn MA