The perils of Long Island Sound

We pulled up the anchor early in the morning and said goodbye to Mystic.  We waved to the nice dock hand that allowed us to wash our boat, buy fuel and pump out when we arrived.  When we raised the sails, there was 10 knots of wind and we thought we would be able to sail the 30 some odd miles to our next stop.  Wishful thinking.  Sadly, we did a little sailing and a little motoring as we watched a huge regatta head out to sea.  The wind would pick up and then it would die.  We finally arrived at our anchorage for the night in Joshua cove, Horse Island.  We knew the wind was going to shift to the north during the night and thought the strongest winds were done for the day.  Boy, were we mistaken.  The southerly winds quickly picked up after we anchored, making the boat rock and roll.  It was very uncomfortable to say the least.  I became useless for fear of getting seasick.  I was really mad because we had a good wifi connection, but I wasn't about to sit and type on a computer!!  We entertained the idea of going elsewhere, but the sun was setting quickly and there was no better alternative within easy reach.  The girls and I took some dramamine and went to bed with Craig's advice "once you're asleep, you'll feel better".  I hoped he was right.

Lucky for Craig, he was right.  We slept well as the wind shifted out of the north and the boat was peacefully resting in the morning.  We could hear the wind howling through the rigging, so we knew there was strong wind awaiting us out in the sound.  We raised the sails at anchor and were under a double reef with 25 knots of wind right out of cove.  Woo Hooo!  We were flying.

Sailing past New Haven, CT.

Olivia enjoying the brownie batter spatula!  Mmmm, nothing better than warm brownies while sailing in a cool breeze

We passed a tug boat trawler with our sails full of wind.  He hailed us on the VHF as we crossed his stern.  The friendly gentleman on the other end promptly informed us that they would take away his diesel license if a sailboat past him!  Ha Ha Ha.  We chatted a while and continued on our way.

As many of you know, I love to cook and bake and am an avid Food Network watcher and geek.  One of my favorite shows is Unique Sweets.  Some time ago, while we were in the midst of planning our trip, I saw a show featuring a bakery in Connecticut.  I wrote it down, hoping we would someday make it there to try out the yummy baked goods.  Well, my friends, we made it!  We pulled into - or should I say we screamed in under sail - to South Norwalk to visit the Sono Baking Company.  You'd think it would be easy to dock or anchor and go ashore.  Oh no...not in this town.  The "visitors dock" wanted to charge $42 for our short 1 hour visit to the bakery.  They were unwilling to prorate our stay.  Geez!  Despite the frustration, we dropped the hook just beside the channel and Craig stayed back on the boat while the girls and I took the dinghy to shore.  We had a successful trip to the bakery.  Can you say YUMMM-YYYYY?!

Outside Sono Baking Company

Just some of the scrumptious treats

The two that we picked - 'Sarah Bernhardt' (almond cookie with a dollop of chocolate ganache, dipped in chocolate) and a raspberry thumbprint cookie.  Both were the best we have ever had!

After fetching our delicious treats, we swiftly sailed the 10 miles across the sound into Huntington Bay.  As we were crossing, we could see the New York City skyline on the horizon!  We had a peaceful nights sleep, ready for a day at the beach for Kate's birthday.

New York City skyline off in the distance

Sunset in Huntington Bay

Mystic, CT

The only signs of Tropical Storm Leslie that we could see were a few rolly swells and clouds so far off in the distance that it looked like bubbles on top of the horizon.  We were thankful she didn't come any closer.  The wind changed directions late Sunday night and the building northerly wind woke us up way too early.  The boat was rockin' in our anchorage that was perfect for the southerly winds but not so much for northerly's.  Craig and I reluctantly got out of bed in the cold morning light.  By 7 am we were on the road, so to speak.  We raised the sails and motored into the wind to get around the northern end of Martha's Vineyard.  Once we were able to turn south, the wind was on our beam and we were clocking 9 knots for nearly all of the 70 miles to Mystic!  It was sooo much fun.  The wind was opposing the oncoming swells, so we  never really felt them, which was a blessing.  But don't be mistaken, once we exited beyond the shelter of the islands of Buzzards Bay, the waves got sizably larger.  Fortunately, we were sailing parallel to them which makes for a comfortable ride.  The waves however, still crashed over the bow, through the trampolines and onto the cabin windows and dodger!  We were sailing so fast that a fine salty mist was kicked up into the cockpit.

Clouds on the eastern horizon as we left Martha's Vineyard

Passing by Vineyard Haven, the northwestern side of Martha's Vineyard

Is this Seattle or Massachusetts?  Seattle has very similar ferries

Olivia trying to hide from the morning sun as she takes a nap 

A hummingbird seeks refuge from the howling wind as we are sailing....poor thing must have been hungry too because it was trying to get the nectar out of the red, yellow and orange spots on the towel.

Almost there.....steering up the narrow, winding channel to Msytic

A nice layer of salt left behind from the many waves that crashed over the bow of the boat.  Some of them reaching the back of the cockpit!  After a nice bath at the town dock, she was looking sparkling clean!

Mystic is a small town up a long and winding channel at the northern part of the Long Island Sound.  At the end of a very long day of sailing, we were rewarded with an anchorage to ourselves in a very protected cove surrounded by homes and several small marinas.  We headed into town and ate pizza at the famous "Mystic Pizza" where the 1988 movie was filmed.  I remember watching this movie at least a couple of times, if not more.  How about you??  The girls thought it was neat that they played the movie on big tv screens in the restaurant.

Had to be a tourist and get pizza here

A dinghy ride up the Mystic river revealed this ship affectionately named "Mystic"

A view of the town from across the river

We spent a day at Mystic Seaport, "The museum of America and the Sea".  This is very much like Plymouth plantation in that it is a re-created 19th century coastal village.  Since we visited after the true summer season was over, we didn't encounter any characters dressed from 1876.  

This is a mast being made in the working preservation shipyard for the Charles W. Morgan.  The Morgan is the last surviving American registered whale ship built in 1841.  It sailed the globe for 80 years "in pursuit of leviathans, escaping fire and cannibals, Confederate raiders and Arctic ice".

The hot box used to bend the wood used to restore the ships hull

"The rope walk" building where the lines for the ship were made.  Pictured here are dozens of spools of single strands that were wound and twisted together to make very large, strong lines.

Inside a colonial home where mac & cheese are being made along with a salad made of swiss chard and onions from the kitchen garden.

The prosperous kitchen garden with lettuce, tomatoes, squash, herbs etc.

The beautiful gardens 

lunch stop

waiting for our fish and chips

We thought we should use this as our Christmas card!  Don't miss Maggie in the whaling boat and Kate falling out.  Ha Ha

We also went to the planetarium for a show about the night sky.  Above the door into the building was this quote:  "All hail to navigation, the art that reaches to the stars and bridges the globe to heaven." - Manilius's Astronomica (1st Century A.D.)

A comorant on the dock - he was so busy taking a bath that he was not bothered by us walking by

Our trip to Mystic was complete with a long walk to the grocery store, a visit to the local bookstore,  plenty of window shopping and a newly welded anchor.

Martha's Vineyard

It's approximately a 25 mile sail to Martha's Vineyard from Nantucket.  We accomplished this in a days time.  As we set forth from Nantucket, our plan was to stop for the night and continue on to Long Island Sound.  This decision, of course, was based on the unforgiving weather.  Tropical storm Leslie was offshore and may or may not have affected us in the islands.  We wanted to leave in case the wind kicked up or big swells prevented us from getting to Long Island Sound.
We dropped the sails and motored into Edgartown Harbor, the east side of Martha's Vineyard.  The anchorage was shaped by a large semi circle, surrounding beach exposed only to the north.  As the sun was shining in a cloudless sky, the light breeze and sun warmed our skin.  Once anchored, we put the dinghy in the water and headed for shore.

Entering the harbor

Edgartown lamp posts adorned with geraniums

The beach where "Jaws" was filmed

Martha's Vineyard was named for its bounty of wild grapes by the first European known to have visited in 1602.  Edgartown was overflowing with grand white Greek Revival homes that were owned by the ships captains'.  Fanlights and widows' walks are a sharp contrast to the weathered cedar shingled homes on Nantucket.  There is a sense of easy, down to earth living on Martha's Vineyard, that suits us.

The old whaling church

Edgartown book store

Cannonball Park

As it turned out, the weather was in our favor and we could stay a few more days.  The wind would be ideal for sailing on Monday morning.  So we headed for the beach to play.

Lighthouse Beach

Seashell names

Perfect day to fly the shark kite!

It rained on Sunday morning....

What better to do than watch football on the computer - Go Lions!

We were very excited to learn that a family we had been in touch with only via e-mail (way back last year no less) was also in Edgartown.  Finally, we would meet in person.  We had practically followed in their footsteps, leapfrogging each other as we sailed New England and Maine.  We made arrangements to meet at Mad Martha's ice cream shop (imagine that).  The Conway family is also out for a 1 year sailing adventure.  They have 3 kids aboard their sailing vessel 'Patronus'.  It sort of felt like meeting up with old friends. Even though we had never met, we knew about them from following their blog (as noted in our blogs we follow section).  The kids got acquainted while playing music on the jukebox while the grown ups talked about the trials and tribulations of the trip so far.  We compared notes and talked about the future route we would each be taking as well as the health and well being of the kids, boat school, boat equipment and repairs.  We had such a great time walking around the downtown area, the kids played in the rain and eventually we walked up to Atria for dinner to enjoy 2 for 1 burgers.  Kate and Reese were like two peas in a pod, completely in sync with each other.  Olivia and Porter were like old buddies walking side by side on the sidewalk.  Maggie and Bryson, both the oldest, didn't let that stop them from playing and having a good time.

2 avid readers pose with the avid reader statue

Reese, Bryson, Kate, Maggie, Olivia and Porter

Playing on the tree swing at the restaurant

Walking through town

After dinner we walked back to the harbor to watch the annual striped bass and bluefish derby participants get their fish weighed.  For 67 years this fishing derby has brought out the competitive nature of these friendly townspeople.

Young, old and everyone in between lining up to get the official weight of their catch

Fillet station:  The dock is brought in special for this occasion.  They cut the fish open to make sure that no weights or rocks etc. have been placed in the gut (which apparently happened a few years ago).  The fish fillets are then donated to the islands elderly.

Olivia and Porter eyeing one of the 2 grand prizes (the other prize was a truck)

Erica Conway, me, Craig, Mary (Chris' stepmom) & Chris Conway

We had such fun meeting and getting to know the Conway family.  We are excited and looking forward to seeing them again in Annapolis for the boat show (along with our other cruising friends on Escape Velocity) and then hopefully down in the Caribbean too!