Moving south and west through Long Island Sound

After the cold front and the threat of electrical storms passed we got an early start and left Stonington. We really enjoyed our stay there and could have stayed longer but the calendar was moving on.

Lighthouse on North Dumpling Island off Fisher's Island in NY.

Wind in the harbor was extremely light but as we got out into the sound it increased but initially behind us. We had about 60 miles to go and the current would be turning against us in a few hours so I suggested that we maximize our opportunity to cover as many miles quickly so we motor sailed more southerly than westerly so the current could move us west and so when it turned we would already be out of the heaviest flow. We were able to cover about 20 of the 60 miles before we went to sail.

The wind did come up and after motoring long enough to recharge the batteries we went to sail. For several hours we had winds in the 15-20 kt range and we flew down LI Sound. It wasn't until after noon that the current turned against us and we got to within 5 miles of Port Jefferson when the wind died completely. We then motored the rest of the way and into the mooring field. For about an hour the wind was over 20 kts and we sailed on our main and staysail.

Since Martha's Vineyard we realized that we are after the season so we called and without hesitation the Harbormaster indicated there would be moorings available and the launch would be happy to take us in. We got on our mooring now about midway trough Long Island Sound and our first port in New York, in fact we had our pick of moorings, in almost dead calm. We showered and called the launch and went to town for happy hour and then back to the boat for dinner.

The view from our cockpit n Port Jeff.

Port Jefferson was a very pleasant town but after a quiet night we were ready to move on to our next hometown of Port Washington.

We started out with little wind but a favorable current and covered the 30 nm very quickly under power. As we got about 5 nm away the wind came up but we had some tight channels to negotiate and then into the Bay so we opted to continue motoring. If we had been familiar with the area we might have sailed but we still were concerned about getting in and secured before the storms arrived.

Eaton Point Neck Light.

We called the Harbormaster and he indicated there should be no problem getting a mooring and we found one right away. We took the launch into town and had a great pizza lunch at Salvatore's did some shopping and then headed to take the launch back to the boat as the weather appeared more ominous.

Home of John Phillip Sousa.

Also waiting for the launch we met 2 other cruising couples. Another example of how small the world is it turns out they lived near where we used to live and used to keep their boats where we used to keep our boats. Hopefully we'll catch up with them again and share more stories. But the launch dropped us off and shortly thereafter it began to storm and the rains came.

Tonight it has been raining off and on, heavy and slow but b;owing constantly. Again, I'm sitting inside our enclosed cocoon feeling comfortable and secure with the elements raging outside.

Tomorrow we plan to do the East River sleigh ride and expect to spend tomorrow night at Sandy Hook, New Jersey. So far weather looks ok and we have a target time to leave. The wind generator should keep us charged up tonight and hopefully we will have some sail. Lots of good photo ops tomorrow.

The New York skyline.