This first week has been fast paced, much more so than we want but we are still mostly in our home waters and trying to get south. On Tuesday (day 1) we motor-sailed to Newport RI with light winds from behind. We attempted to sail at one point with our Gennaker wing-on-wing with the full main sail, but our speed of 3 knots with 12 miles to go was a sign to drop the Gennaker and continue a motor sail the rest of the way. We visited Newport in July so we just popped into town for Jenna to get an ice cream and candy at Kilwins.
Wednesday, we headed to Stonington, CT but it was yet another light wind day, this time “so light” we didn’t even bother raising the main. Before leaving in the morning, I took a trip up the mast to troubleshoot our wind indicator. It has decided to either send no data at all or weird data (like a 300 knot gust of wind, while the wind was 3 knots!). I am not fan of heights but it needed to be done. Unfortunately that saga will continue on in next week as well – stay tuned! After a four hour motor, we arrived, anchored and went into town. We had stopped here last year, but we never got to explore town as we arrived late and by the time we finished dinner at the Breakwater restaurant, a thunderstorm sent us quickly back to the boat before it poured. This time, we took a nice walk through town, and went to the Velvet Mill which is a collection of small shops. It was a neat spot, but we were there late and it was mostly closed up and very quiet.
Thursday was our longest trip, over 60 miles (8 hours) from Stonington to Port Jefferson, NY. The morning was dead calm. We motor-sailed the first half of the trip until the wind filled in and then we had a great sail. As we approached Port Jeff, the wind started gusting even higher, so we put a reef in the main sail. Grabbing the mooring at Port Jeff Yacht Club proved to be a bit tricky. They are VERY closely spaced and the first one we grabbed we did not feel comfortable. We were too close to the mooring behind us. After contacting the launch, we moved to another, and although we fit, it’s extremely tight for a 51 foot boat! We had two nights here. We were last here in 2018. Jenna didn’t remember it but she fell in love (all over again) with the giant Candy/Ice Cream store.
Saturday was yet another light wind day, so we once again motor-sailed to Port Washington, NY. We were trying to grab a “first come first serve” mooring before a line of severe thundershowers passed. These were well spaced and several were available as we arrived just after 1PM. The T-storms blew through mid-afternoon and a train of showers continued all night and into the morning today.
We are here for the day and plan to head to Liberty Landing near the Statue of Liberty tomorrow. We can say from personal experience (in 2018) that it is amazing to go along Manhattan on your own boat and arrive at the Statue.