LATE SEASON IN THE SOUND

A late season sail, and our first time out of Narragansett Bay in a year. Wow, it felt good but man is it easy to get used to bay sailing i.e., no eight foot seas.  No biggie but it did find my daughter Alli horizontal in the cockpit trying not to lose her breakfast.

Long Island Sound was the destination via Block Island.  The pond at Block was practically empty,  no troubles finding space to anchor.  The scent of coffee was filling the cabin in the wee hours of the following morning when we pulled anchor to head for the sound.  Two small Canadian boats had come in during the night and were rafted up not far from us.   This was the last chance to move before a gale arrived and it felt eerily quiet with the fog muffling any sound.  With the wind at our back we ghosted out of the entrance and slid quietly through the water alongside the cliffs and rolling hills of Block Island.

Our few days in the sound left me with a few impressions.   The water is incredibly clean there given the population.  It is not New England, but let me backtrack a bit,  we were visiting the Long Island shore.  Sag Harbor has a shabby, chic vibe, with an old IGA, hardware store, and even a five and dime in the downtown – an accomplishment these days!  The harbors were blissfully uncrowded but folks were still out sailing even though the winds were hooting.  At Dering Harbor we snagged a mooring and enjoyed the sun in the relative shelter of the tree-lined shore.  Very much a seasonal community,  the Heights is also very quaint and a stroll along the river made me feel as though I had walked back in time with gracious verandas overlooking the banks and ancient hardwoods with drooping boughs creating a canopy overhead. Before leaving the following morning we had to make a run to the local pharmacy.  First time I have ever experienced a diner/pharmacy before, the locals were bantering away over their morning coffee while we made our purchases.

On our last evening we chose to anchor in the lee of Shelter Island and skip going into the pond-like harbor.  Unknowingly,  we chose a beach that was closed to visitors and shortly after we began our exploration the Nature Conservancy patrol vehicle arrived to give us the bad news,  we had to leave.   Not before I scooped up some of these gem-like shells though.  I had never seen such colorful shells before and they were glittering all along the water line.

Before the sun rose the next morning we were off under a brightly moon-lit sky.  A few hours later the sky turned a deep red as a new day dawned.  We had good wind all day and thus enjoyed our best day of sailing in quite awhile.  We arrived in Newport with plenty of daylight left, found our spot outside the mooring balls and watched the boats come and go before heading into town for a meal ashore.

Our sailboat Nyapa is now hauled out and the memories of our ten days will have to carry me through till next spring.  I brought the shells home and Alli crafted some jewelry from them as a gift for my recent birthday.  I will be playing around some more with them but for now here they are for you to enjoy too.

Peace,

Amy