Day #53: New Haven, Connecticut

We wake to a foggy morning on the Connecticut River.

Look closely and you'll see a wake from the moored sailboat off Nellie's bow. The ebbing current is 2 mph.

Yale's Grace Hopper residential dorm.

While exploring Yale University we came across a residential hall with a familiar name. In the early 1980's a then nearly 80 year-old Admiral Grace Hopper spoke to a group of young, inexperienced officers at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. I was lucky enough to attend. She told us to challenge convention--memorable in itself coming from a senior officer. A computer pioneer with a forte in software, Hopper is credited with being the mother of COBOL. Handing each of us wires that were exactly 11.8" long, she explained, "That's how far light travels in a nanosecond." We were then asked to imagine how many of these nanosecond wires, put end to end, would be be required to reach a geostationary satellite. The answer, about 23,000 wires. She went on to explain that that's why satellite communications is relatively slow. The author Jay Elliot came up with a fitting epitaph for Grace Hopper: "'All Navy', but when you reach inside, you find a 'Pirate' dying to be released.

Nellie's crew in New Haven Harbor.

Shelter Island, NY to New Haven, CT

On a Pequonnock Yacht Club mooring. 41 miles today, 1151 miles in 2019 and 9384 miles from Naples.

Day #52: Essex, Connecticut

Meeting up: Teddy Bear 37VT15 and Nellie D. 37VT63 

Gunkholing, it really is a nautical term, describes perfectly what we're doing, e.g. meandering.  Today's destination, Essex, was selected last night after asking local boaters where they'd go next.  Essex, we were told, is both historical and quaint.  And so it is.  In the old days gunkholing sailors went where the wind blew.  They went without a schedule but with a goal of seeing something new.  That sounds like a great plan to us.

On a mooring in Essex, Connecticut.  36 miles today, 1110 miles into 2019 and 9344 miles from Naples.  DBH

Day #50 & #51: Shelter Island, NY

Mystic Village's bridge only opens once an hour.

The Race is a nasty bit of water even on a calm day.  I'd not want to traverse it on a windy day.

Long Island's Sag Harbor is full of million dollar yachts.  A slip here would only cost Nellie $310/night.   

Sag Harbor; around these parts, and by anybody in the know, the name is usually said in low tones and with reverence.  But  why?  Something is attracting all the mega yachts.  It turns out that the surrounding towns are the attraction.  Towns like  Southampton Village, Bridgehampton, and East Hampton Village.  The lightbulb in my head finally turns on.  Sag Harbor is the primary port for The Hamptons--summer playground to the wealthy.  No wonder it's chock-a-block with million dollar yachts.

Peter Reich, Teddy Bear 37VT15, escorts Nellie through the shallows and to his dock on Shelter Island's south side.

Nomenclature, especially for a sailor, is critically important.  Smyth's 700 page The
Sailor’s Word-Book defines 14,000 terms.  Why should I be surprised then when our land-based cousins come up with a few terms of their own.  All the way down the Hudson and out to the east end of Long Island we've heard locals talk of "The City." I'm thinking Oz.  They mean the Big Apple, New York City.  Now we're hearing North Fork and South Fork.  I'm thinking TV cowboy westerns, The Rifleman specifically.  They mean the eastern terndrils of Long Island.   By the way, Sag Harbor and The Hamptons are in the South Fork.

Safely tied to the dock at Peter and Loren Reich's, Shelter Island, NY.  37 miles in the last two days, 1074 miles in 2019 and 9308 miles from Naples.  DBH

Day #48 & #49: Mystic Seaport, CT

Heading down a glassy Thames River.

The Lighthouse at the entrance to the Mystic River.

Nellie on Mystic Seaport's wall.  In the background is the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan.

Mystic Seaport, a preserved, early 1800s village is Disney World for cruisers.  The place is littered with classic old ships and boats.  The shoreside vintage buildings highlight trades that were vital cogs in the ship building industry.

Oddly, this homage to the past really makes me appreciate a mid 1900's invention: fiberglass.  Wood ships start to rot the second they're launched.  Nellie's fiberglass hull and topsides are as sound today as when she was launched over 32 years ago. It's a Herculean effort to maintain a wooden boat.  Fortunately, Nellie isn't nearly so demanding.

14 miles in the last two days. 1,051 miles into 2019 and 9,276 from Naples. DBH

Day #46 & Day #47: Navy Submarine Base, New London, CT

A glassy Long Island Sound

 We raise anchor and get underway early as the winds are forecasted to build throughout the day.   They do, but we survive.

A sub in dry dock.

My favorite definition of cruising is, fixing a boat in new and interesting places.  I bet you can guess where this is going. We stopped at Burr's Marina, just up the Thames in New London, Connecticut, to put 101 gallons of diesel aboard.  Immediately after departure Nellie's engine started revving.  Bicki and I shared a knowing glance--there's air in the fuel.  The diagnosis was confirmed by a quick glance at the fuel filter's sight tube; air bubbles were indeed streaming past. We throttled back and limped up the Thames to our slip at the Navy Submarine Base at New London--a new and interesting place.  Diagnosing problems at the dock beats the heck out of doing it underway.   So, where was the air coming from?  My conclusion, after exhausting all the usual suspects is, there's nothing wrong with Nellie.  Rather, it was a procedural problem.  Long story short (shorter?), the stream of  fuel from Burr's high volume pump entrained air as it struck the surface of the fuel in Nellie's tanks.  This well and completely aerated the fuel--think diesel milkshake.  [Update: no subsequent revving problems, the engine is running fine.]

I need to backup a little and tell you about the approach to the sub base; it was intimidating.  We first hailed and then were closely inspected by a heavily armed Navy gun boat.  After passing muster we were cleared into the marina.  The base offered a nice respite from both high marina costs and the hubbub of the public ports.

41 miles in the last two days. 1,037 miles into 2019 and 9,262 from Naples. DBH

Day #45: Mattituck, NY

Along the 1-1/2 mile river into Mattituck.

The string of nice weather days continues.  After breakfast ashore at Le Bonn Boulangerie--we may have left Quebec but we haven't lost our passion for French coffee and breads--we drop the mooring line and head east.  The anchorage at Mattituck, our destination, is small and reportedly fills quickly on weekends.  All true.  Nellie is the third boat in the anchorage and pretty much fills it up. 

Pat and Ken Smith pose with our donut haul.

It has been weeks and I'm suffering mightily from sugar donut withdrawal.  So, once ashore, we go looking for the fabled North Fork Donut Company.  We arrive as they're closing.  I explain my predicament while eyeing their prodigious selection.  "It's your lucky day," I'm told.  "We normally give any leftover donuts to the homeless shelter; but they're not coming so take a box full on us."  I'm in heaven.  While dinghying back to Nellie we stop at the other two boats in the anchorage and share our bounty.  The skipper of the first boat tells us he's a retired police officer.  Taking donuts to a cop, is that good karma or what?

35 miles today. 996 miles into 2019 and 9,221 from Naples. DBH

Day #44: Port Jefferson, NY

(Photo credit: Port Jefferson Historical Society)

It's an easy cruise between Northport Bay and Port Jefferson as both the seas and winds are calm. The littoral is softening before our eyes; the tree lined rocky coast is giving way to sandy beaches.

Port Jefferson was a shipbuilding town. Now it's a vacation town. Once an hour the Bridgeport Connecticut ferry disgorges sightseers.

Enjoying the breeze and the umbrella's shade on Nellie's dinghy deck.

On a Port Jefferson mooring (with free launch service).  31 miles today. 961 miles into 2019 and 9,186 from Naples. DBH