Milford CT to Point Judith RI - Northern Long Island Sound Run

North Dumpling Island Light House   

Sailing Regatta    

What I failed to mention in the last blog was that as the day 7/13/17 wore on, clouds rolled in again and by the time I was abeam Charles Island off Milford, it was seriously threatening a downpour. The storm raced with me into Milford and won, hands down. The seemingly long slog up the Wepawaug River on which Milford Harbor is situated, was wet and tight through a massive collection of predominantly pleasure craft slipped or moored both shoreside and midstream. Milford Boat Works where I grabbed a slip, was at the head of navigable waters, at least for larger craft.

Watch Hill Light House   

The following day 7/15/17 was rainy all day so I stayed put, after a nice breakfast aboard of potato fries, ham, eggs and picante sauce, I wandered about town a bit, read and generally enjoyed a lazy day. I had hoped to meet a friend who lived there but that didn't pan out.

Commuter Yacht "Aphrodite"              

High tide was 4am on the 15th so I was underway early so as to catch a favorable current heading north along shore under a gray, damp sky. By 6:50 New Haven on the Quinnipiac River was abeam. Soon Branford and Guilford were astern. It was in that area that I attained my best speed for the day- 9.3mph or about 8.1 knot. As I passed abeam Clinton about 9:20am, I slowed to "no wake"speed as I came upon a large group of sport fishermen in a variety of boats, mostly small runabouts- perhaps a fishing tournament. By 10:30 I was abeam the Conneticut River to port and the northern end of Long Island in the distance to starboard. By just shy of 1pm I was abeam New London where Suzan had come aboard on the trip south to New York City and the Hudson. About 12 miles later I was passing Watch Hill Rhode Island. Here I had the pleasure of seeing "Aphrodite" a totally restored and beautiful 74 foot 1937 Classic Commuter yacht,  roar by at about 30 mph, her twin 1,000 horsepower Caterpillar diesels just purring.

Point Judith Light House

By this time the sky had cleared to become a mostly sunny afternoon. After passing Watch Hill, the scenery became mostly long stretches of beaches and the occasional fishing vessel til I reached Point Judith Harbor of Refuge. Once inside the refuge, I dropped anchor and settled in for a nice evening on the hook, watching the Block Island ferry and other craft come and go from Snug Harbor, Jerusalem and Galilee. This time around, the sea was a little more calm than last so the boat rocked less and I slept better.

Block Island Ferry heading out.   

Hudson River Alone-Coeymans(New Baltimore,NY) to Haverstraw Bay

Roundout Lighthouse

Tanker Palanca Montevideo   

Esopus Meadows Lighthouse   

Galleon Replicas    

Bannerman Castle/ Arsenal

Pete Seeger's Clearwater

At Coeymans Marina, I (Suzan) jumped off Puffin and headed home by land to Massachusetts leaving Dean to captain alone the mighty and sometimes rough Hudson River to and around New York City. So, July 10th, heading out of Coeymans with a 5 to 7 mph wind on the nose, Woodstock, the cat and I (Dean) had a pleasant trip down to Roundout Creek and the Hudson River Maritime Museum and Boatbuilding School. About two hours into the trip I spotted 5 deer playing and grazing along shore. A bit further along I noticed a bald eagle and blue heron standing on the shore right next to each other, which I thought to be kind of curious, like a couple of fishermen discussing tactics and gear. Periodically a tug and barge on water or AmTrak or freight train along either shore would pass by, whistling it's approach. We made 41 statute miles that day. Once secured dockside in Kingston I took the bike into town for some sightseeing and groceries. The following morning I was underway downriver at 6am. Ten minutes later Puffin was exiting Roundout Creek, passing Roundout lighthouse and back into the main body of the Hudson River. About a half hour later I'm passing Esopus Meadows lighthouse, warning of a large area of shallow flats at a bend in the river. Just off the town of Hyde Park on the eastern shore, on the charts, is an anchoring ground for vessels awaiting loading or unloading. There sat the Palanca Montevideo, a 182ft asphalt/bituminous tanker, obviously awaiting loading as she sat very high off the water. Another large tug and barge passed by creating a wake which sent Woodstock scurrying below decks. Shortly a breeze sprang up creating ripples across formerly placid waters as Newburgh came into view, where two black Galleon style ships like the Nina and Pinta, appeared to be taking on passengers. Next Woodstock and I passed by Bannerman's Castle on Pollepel Island. It is a Scottish style castle/ armory and residence, built around 1900 by Francis Bannerman for safe storage of his company's munitions and war materials and a summer residence. A little further downriver we pass by West Point, home to the US Military Academy for the Army, perched on a plateau above the river. It is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the US, established by George Washington in 1775. About an hour later off Peekskill I noticed a large sloop that looked like Pete Seeger's Clearwater, which, it turned out to be! The Clearwater, a replica of the sloops sailing the Hudson in the 18th and 19th centuries was created to bring attention to the toxic chemicals, raw sewage and oil pollution fouling Pete's beloved Hudson back in the 60's and 70's, decimating fish populations along much of it's length. It made me happy to see she was still at it. Pete and his boat have been very successful. You can now fish the entire length of the Hudson though one must still be very cautious of what you eat from the river. That afternoon I decided to drop anchor in Haverstraw (Half Moon) Bay. 56 miles this leg. It had been a hot sticky day so after a light dinner, just before dusk, I took my first swim since starting the trip-much of the water having been to muddy or the weather to cool or rainy. The water was so cool and refreshing, I went back in several times before turning in after a beautiful, peaceful sunset.

West Point Military Academy  

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Sunset Haverstraw Bay

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After the Warm---Alaska

Hi, now traveling to Alaska for a short time. Going from 60 degree weather to 0 is not the most fun. Especially when your flights are delayed and one spends overnight in Seattle Airport because of snow. The weather in Anchorage and surrounding area ranges from 0 to 20 degrees that time of year with short spans of daylight- from 9:45/10:00 until  3:30ish you get some daylight and by 5-6:00 the sky is dusk turning to darkness. It is strange to wake up to darkness when you are expecting a sunrise in the early morning.

I am visiting outside of Anchorage and in this neighborhood your child walks or is driven to the school that is a short distance away. The kids arrive at school for 9:00 in the dark and almost leave when the day is getting dark.
This will all change after December 21 when, unlike our East Coast, you gain more daylight each day than we do in the east as by June 21, you have almost 20 hours of daylight vs our 15 hours.

When returning to home, I will fly into Portland or Seattle where the sun rises before 8:00 am and sets around 4:30.
Even though the daylight is a short time, the mountains and trees glisten with snow.  It is a Winter Wonderland here, despite the cold temperatures/ Most are not bothered by the cold and dress like we do at 30's. So weird, yet a 60 people are loving their warm weather.


Another glance , sunset from downtown Anchorage.





Home for the Holidays and getting Puffin ready for our Great Loop adventure. You can follow on this blog.

Time away from our Boat adventures

We are on a travel to the western United States. This time, California and----Alaska.

We visited San Diego and some of the cool stuff to see there. One can spend a few weeks and not see all San Diego has to offer. The first few days, we stayed at the Bahia Hotel Resort in Mission Bay.www.bahiahotel.com. This Resort offers much to the traveler who wants ammenities at their fingertips. Anything from Marina- sailboats, kayaks, paddleboards, beach, Spa, Restaurant, and gift shop on premises. Visit their site to see all that is offered at one location.
First day we visited Sea World, a great adventure, everyone enjoyed.
We ventured (by Uber) to Seaport Village to shop while the boys rented wave runners and played in Mission Bay.

Next to an intown location- Old Town- part of San Diego.www.oldtownsandiego.org We stayed in close proximity to Old Town, just across the street and transit tracks ( where you can hop a bus, subway, or trolley to metro San Diego. We jumped on a Tour Trolley in Old Town  that took us to major points of interest -- SD Marine Museum where we were able to board some of the old Naval ships and submarines of the West Coast. One ship was used in the movie-"Master and Commander". Along the route, Seaport Village (shopping), Horton Plaza, The Gaslamp area (nightlife), Little Italy, Coronado Island (Hotel Del Coronado http://hoteldel.com/
And---Last, not least, the World Known--San Diego Zoo. www.sandiegozoo.orgWhat a fantastic time, so much to see.  The Zoo is located in Balboa Park, that has much to offer besides the Zoo. So interesting!!









Next adventure-- off to Anchorage, Alaska for some cold winter weather!!!