Thursday June 27 th up at 5:30 AM preparing to sail onward. After a ride to shore, a dog walk, coffee to-go from Nitro, we hauled the dinghy and motor before casting off mooring 17. Pleasantly surprised by the light wind and calm sea state we sailed upwind, close-hauled, at a true wind angle (TWA) of around 38 degrees. When we rounded Point Judith the wind shifted a bit to our favor, and we sped along at 7 to
8 knots (top speed 9.3). Jax was relaxed and happy in the cockpit. The small rollers and steady breeze where just what we needed after the reset in Newport.
It was early afternoon when we ducked inside Fisher Sound bound for Noank at the mouth of the Mystic River. Our first landfall in Connecticut. We were greeted by a friendly staff and dock side tie up at Noank Shipyard. Noank was a complete surprise, a sleepy village stitched in beautifully manicured 17th to 18th century vintage homes. Quiet streets were lined with perennial gardens that blended with the backdrop
of the sound. We enjoyed the most memorable meal so far (Herrings), where we shared a bottle of Sancerre while taking in the waterfront views. Scott had lobster served on biscuits in lobster bisque, so yummy.
We learned from guests at the restaurant that the Wooden Boat Show was at Mystic Seaport Friday. It was a bit of time travel with 18 th century whaling ships, fishing schooners and every imaginable wooden pleasure craft conceived for the last 100 years.
The visit put the trip in a larger context of life at sea through exploration, shipping, fishing industry, and pleasure cruising over the last 2 centuries. We appreciate the luxury aboard Kailoa after reading the day in the life of a dory man aboard a fishing
Schooner (L. A. Dunton) on the Grand Banks.
Saturday, we left Noank for Old Saybrook at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Scott remembered visiting here as a teenager with his family on Winward Ho. Under cloudy skies, one reef in the main, and full code zero we flew on a reach in the SSE winds and calm seas. In 4 hours, we had reached our destination. We are loving the expansive and varied coastline of Connecticut.
One of the things I love about sailing is visiting water resources that were part of my water quality work. Unlike most cruisers, when I think of Long Island Sound, the 10 square mile hypoxic zone comes to mind. When too much nitrogen is discharged into Long Island Sound (LIS), it creates low oxygen conditions, known as hypoxia, making it harder for aquatic life to survive. In some instances, excess nitrogen creates zero oxygen zones, also known as dead zones. Fish can’t breath and need to avoid the area.
Due a 30 plus year effort of multi-state collaboration through the Long Island Sound Study, a large portion of the nitrogen load to the zone has been removed through the upgrade of wastewater treatment plants in New York City. Infrastructure investments have reduced annual nitrogen to the LIS by more than 42 million pounds. But there is still a lot of work needed to address the polluted runoff from VT, NH, MA and CT. We could see the change in the water color from clear blue to muddy brown as we approached the estuary. We later talked to a local that indicated that the water quality has much improved and that stripers are plentiful. What a hopeful message for the
future.
We spent 2 days at Saybrook Point Marina on a dock, due to weather on Sunday. Today we will explore Old Saybrook Village and take in the sights. In reflection we could spend a month or more in LIS. With so many ports of call in the sound, it doesn’t matter what direction the wind is blowing from…….Tomorrow we depart for Port Jefferson on Long Island.
HOLD FAST
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