Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Oyster Bay New York To Westbrook Connecticut

It rained all night while we were at anchor in Oyster Bay, on the North Shore of  Long Island, New York. We woke to a 'sit and wait' kind of day with chilly temps and more rain. There wasn't much to do beyond running the engine to charge our batteries so we putz the day away, sipping coffee and enjoying a hot breakfast. We are itching to get to Connecticut! A pair of swans circled Mystic, looking for a handout. It's evident that they are familiar with transient boats. Mother Nature rewarded us with a glorious sunset; and a promise of a better day tomorrow!


Character or attitude

Swan family looking for a handout

Oyster Bay sunset

We were up and ready to leave the gorgeous hamlet after our second morning on the hook. It takes us an hour to get from our anchorage to Long Island Sound but there is so much to see and photograph along the way. Oyster Bay is filled with mansions and good old boats! The wind was light and coming out of the north which means there will be no sailing. We decided to cross to the Connecticut side of Long Island Sound which will shorten tomorrow's journey a bit. We made good time moving north. The wind picked up around 1:00 then dropped again. It was a quiet, easy day of dodging shoals and rocks.

 Eye of the Storm anchored in Oyster Bay

Oyster Sloop, Christeen, heading out on a charter cruise

Oyster Bay homes

Plum Point, Oyster Bay

Fort Hill Mansion, Lloyd Harbor, Oyster Bay

Down East Oyster Boat Ida May III

The Connecticut coastline welcomes us with it's beauty. We passed several landmarks that we know and love; New Haven and Hammonasset. We are headed for an anchorage off of Westbrook where a V shaped jetty will offer protection from Long Island Sound. We cautiously made our way around Duck Island and see a bay filled with sails. It is Race Night.. We tucked into the opening in the V which looks like a mountain from our view (Λ)We dropped anchor then sat on deck to watch the races. It's a gorgeous evening with big fluffy clouds which help with our west facing view and adds details to the beauty of the sunset. The boats move from the bay out into the sound and around Duck Island before racing to the finish line behind us, just outside the jetty. We need a blanket to take the chill off the cool evening air.

We ate our dinner in the cockpit and celebrated the long journey that got us here. Tomorrow, we will arrive in Mystic, our final destination for the 2019 cruising season. We are so excited!

Falkner Island Light

Good Old Boat

Hamanasset State Park

Westport Race Night starting line

Dramatic sky

Direwolf  Heading home

The chase behind Duck Island

Racing to the finish

The winner approaching the finish line

Westbrook, Connecticut Sunset

2 comments:

Bob said...

Great writing as always, just that it's Westbrook, CT.

Cruising - Team Rogers said...

Ha! Yes it is Westbrook! Westport is further south. I'm from CT, how could I have miss that, silly me! Thanks for the correction Bob!