Turning the Corner into Long Island Sound & closing the loop

Turning the Corner into Long Island Sound

& closing the loop

About a week (OK more like a couple weeks) ago we left the Atlantic for the more protected waters of Cape Cod bay – through the Cape Cod Canal into Buzzards Bay for stops in New Bedford, Newport, New London and finally into Port Jefferson on Long Island. And then…..

New Bedford is home to an impressive whaling museum.  All things whaling are on display from art work with a whaling theme to the tools of the trade. The thousands of artifacts were available free since the museum is constructing an addition to enlarge their exhibition and education space.  The minor inconvenience of skirting the workers was rewarded with a free pass to the riches of this museum.

Even a walk in this historic downtown was a pleasure on a sunny fall afternoon – the 20^th century wealth of this town was evident in the elaborate public buildings.  And even today, the harbor supports a vast fishing fleet. To curb over fishing, days on the water are limited so we got to see many of the boats in the harbor.

Newport RI, our next stop, is famous  for attracting many mega yachts and even cruise ships.  We were a tiny dot in this harbor still packed with boats weeks after Labor Day. It is hard to find a more cruiser friendly spot with easy access to all provisions, great restaurants, and scenic walks in town or along the famous cliffs. Sights included mega mansions and mega breakers.

We made a brief stop in New London CT to have dinner with our friends on Water Hog and check their new dinghy hoist. New London itself has a spruced up waterfront and well maintained main street.  The breakfast spot seemed to be the Muddy Waters Café on Bank Street – where crowds waited patiently for the fresh sandwiches, sweet treats, and coffee. We knew we were in the right place when the Amtrak policemen joined us!

After a night on the hook off Joshua Cove we glided into Port Jefferson to meet up with Aramco buddies enjoying a mini reunion in Miller Place at the Martocello’s home.  Friends from our years in Saudi share many common experiences, and it is always good to reminisce and catch up on the current projects.  It was also a treat to see two of the Martocello boys who have grown into handsome and delightful young men as well as browse the photos from 20 years ago that show the boys as we first knew them.

Since the weather shut down an easy passage south, we opted to while away a few more days on Long Island.

Thanks to Irene and Steve, we had a tour of the north branch. Their hospitality – included a night off the boat in Uncle Bill’s Mattituck canal palace – every bedroom is a suite and common areas are far from common. The best part was spending a few more hours with good friends (none of us are OLD!)

We finally drug ourselves away from Port Jefferson to seek shelter in the protected harbor at Port Washington.  This is a well-known cruiser friendly stop just a short hop from NYC.  We elected to hang on the boat.  Although Hurricane Joachim thankfully headed out into the Atlantic, given the 25 to 30 knot winds and rain, touring was not an attractive option.  Instead we went to the movies, shopped at the handy and expansive Stop and Shop, local West Marine and assorted hardware stores in this pedestrian friendly town.  Riding the dink in high winds can be a damp experience, so it was also a special treat to take advantage of the water taxi included with our mooring. Sadly we did not catch enough WIFI to upload photos or post to the blog hence this catch up edition from Erben Renewal – heading south!  We stopped in New York Harbor behind the lady to close our Down East Loop in style.