July 22
We awoke a little after dawn, expecting to have an early departure and a long day. We also awoke to fog. The forecast for today is a 100% chance of rain, including possible severe thunderstorms in the afternoon like yesterday. So, after a little coffee and thinking, we decided to change the plan. Instead of doing sixty-five miles to Duck Island, CT, we will do about fifteen miles to Oyster Bay, NY on the north shore of Long Island. A couple we met in Cape May told me that Oyster Bay was not to be missed anyway. The cruising guide says there is an anchorage and a mooring field.
We waited until 08:00 and the fog was still with us. Visibility was a little over a mile, so while it was a little spooky, it wasn't really dangerous since we would see any traffic in time to avoid it. We weighed anchor and slowly headed out. The water was flat calm and we could see early morning fishermen in their little boats, as well as one large fishing party boat already out. We motored east, unable to see the shore on either side, although it's not far away. It occurred to us that we haven't been able to see much for the last two weeks. When we left Norfolk almost two weeks ago, it was very, very hazy, reducing visibility to two miles or so. Even though it was hot and sunny, the horizontal visibility sucked. All the way up the NJ coast was the same. Then coming through NYC, it was very hazy and then we got pounded by the thunderstorm. So, why not a real foggy day?
The ten miles or so to the entrance to Oyster Bay went uneventfully. We didn't get run over by any large traffic, although one barge did come from behind us as we were bearing off to the south to enter the bay. Oyster Bay is about five miles long, so we went south to the end of the bay and the town itself. There is a huge mooring field here, with probably four or five hundred boats on moorings. Oyster Bay Marine Center runs the moorings and also has a fuel dock, showers, and a ship's store. The wind picked up considerably as we motored south in the bay, but it didn't rain on us. I cut through the mooring field not realizing there is a nice open path on both sides for boats passing through and found the fuel dock. We approached the dock and tossed our lines to two young girls who were the dockhands. The wind was blowing us off the dock, and they got our lines around the cleats, but then were barely able to hold them. I hopped off and pulled the boat in and got it secure. They knew what to do, but simply didn't have the strength to do it. We filled up with diesel at $3.39/gallon, the highest I have paid in the States. We paid $2.29 in NJ a few days ago. It's hard to blame state-to-state differences in taxes, because marine diesel does not include road taxes. Since there are more storms predicted, we opted to take a guest mooring instead of anchoring. The mooring field is so big that I'm not sure how much room is left to anchor anyway. We were assigned a mooring way out at the back of the pack, but it really doesn't matter since they have a launch to come get us to go to shore when we want.
We picked up our mooring and were secure about 11:30. Since it wasn't raining yet, and the radar didn't show any imminently, we hailed the launch to take us ashore for lunch and exploring. The launch was there in a few minutes and took us to shore. We shared the launch with a local couple who filled us in on how to get to town on foot. We had already read it in the cruising guide, but they wanted to be helpful. From the dock we walked through the parking lot, across the street into the large city park, across the park and the Long Island Railroad tracks and one block up and we were on the main street of Oyster Bay.
The downtown area of Oyster Bay is a few blocks square, and we walked around checking out the lunch options. I read about an oyster place that sounded good, but we never found it. We had passed a place called Toby's Burgers, and that sounded best so far. We were approaching the end of the village and didn't see anything better so we turned around and headed back to Toby's. About a block away, it started to sprinkle so we hustled and got there just as the sky opened. Toby's was a stereotypical NY restaurant/diner. Outside it wasn't like a diner, since it was a storefront along a city block and not a stand-alone building, but inside it was similar. If you've not experienced a NY diner atmosphere, I can't explain it. The guy who acted like the owner seemed very Italian and spoke Italian to many of the customers who were obviously locals. The waiters were all guys older than me (real old) and all had heavy European accents of one sort or another. The menu was very varied, but had a half page dedicated to "the best burger you will ever eat". Can't pass up a line like that. I had a half-pound medium-rare cheeseburger that was indeed one of the best I have ever had. Hate to say it, but it was probably better than the Cheeseburger In Paradise from the Margaritaville in New Orleans. By the time we finished eating, the rain had let up but was still coming down a little.
We walked back down the street thinking we needed a place to sit until the rain stopped. A nice neighborhood bar would be nice, but instead we settled for the gazebo in the center of town. (I know that no town in NY is dry, but I didn't see a single bar in our tour, and the restaurant didn't serve either, although the menu clearly stated that you could bring your own beer or wine.) We sat in the gazebo for ten minutes or so, until it stopped raining. I said it stopped raining, because the puddles in the street no longer had drops hitting them. Barb said it was, but she was looking at the areas under trees, where the water was still falling off the trees. So we headed out. But, the flaw in the plan was that where do you walk? Under the trees on the sidewalk! It wasn't all that bad, until we got to the end of the block where we had to cross the street to re-enter the park. There, a drain must have been clogged because there was a huge puddle, about six inches deep, blocking our way. Barb had her Crocs on, so she didn't care if she walked through water. I had my boat shoes on and didn't really want to get them wet. She walked on through the puddle and then teased me from the other side. I backed up, got a running start, and tried to jump the fifteen feet or so to the dry pavement. Of course I came about a foot shy and not only got my foot wet, but splashed water all over my legs.
We still had to cross the LIRR tracks, and as we approached there was the sound of a train just leaving the station west of our crossing. He tooted the horn as he approached the pedestrian crossing and we waited. We waved to the engineer as if he were a boater, and he waved back. After the train passed, we crossed and walked through the park. We took the long way and enjoyed walking through a large park which includes a Theodore Roosevelt memorial. Teddy apparently had a summer home here and is the local celebrity. We would have like to tour the home, but it's three miles from town, and we are on foot. From the park we can see the lightship Nantucket. We have toured a couple of these old lightships in the past year, and I wouldn't mind doing another, but it is tied up at least a mile's walk in the wrong direction, so we skipped it.
We took the launch back to the boat and relaxed for the evening. We relaxed except for one little time. The wind had died off, and the current was controlling how the boats swung from the moorings. We were next to a large sailboat and we swung quite differently than them. We had hollered at each other that we could get close, and then we did. We were probably ten feet apart, and would have touched, but we decided to move. The next mooring over is empty, so we dropped the one we were assigned, and moved. Nobody is close enough to hit us now. I called the office on the radio and told them what we had done, and they said it was ok. The rest of the evening was nice. We never did get a real big blow and I slept soundly all night through.
GPS N 40-52.958 W 073-31.176 Nautical miles traveled today 15. Total miles 5798.
July 23
Even though we took a few miles off the trip, today is still a fairly long day at fifty-five miles. We were up about 07:00, and underway a little before 08:00. The first five miles was just getting out of Oyster Bay. Once out in Long Island Sound, we set the course to Duck Island, forty-nine miles away. The wind was from the northeast, and only five to eight knots. We put the genoa out to give us a little more stability and motorsailed on. The big difference today is that IT'S CLEAR !! We can see both the CT shore to the north, and the NY shore to the south. At it's widest, which we will pass through today, Long Island Sound is less than twenty miles across. So, from either shore, you wouldn't see the other side. But, from the middle, you can see both sides. Not necessarily the coastline, but both sides are hilly, and have towns with tall buildings, so we were in contact with both sides all day.
Being one long course, you would think the trip would be boring, but there are floats to watch out for all the way, so it was actually fairly stressful. If we were sailing, we wouldn't worry about floats so much. If the prop isn't turning, you can run right over a float and probably not snag it. But motoring, we don't want to wrap a line around the prop. These floats seem to come in pairs, which leads me to believe they mark submerged nets as opposed to crab or lobster traps. We passed between obvious float mates with no problem, so the nets must be deeper than our draft. The other odd thing is that these floats are in water over a hundred feet deep. I would have thought the fisherman would keep their stuff out of the deep enough water where a commercial boat might cross them, but I guess not.
A little after 15:00, we approached Duck Island. Duck Island is a tiny island but there is a man-made breakwater coming off two sides, making it a nice anchorage. On the north side of the anchorage is the town of Clinton, CT. We dropped the hook in about seven feet of water at low tide, along with half a dozen other sailboats, all who look to be "locals" as opposed to long-term cruisers. Being Sunday, there are lots of local jet skiers, fishing boats, and other fast guys buzzing about making wakes, but as the sun set, the traffic calmed down and we settled in for a nice night.
GPS N 41-15.557 W 072-28.794 Nautical miles traveled today 55. Total miles 5853.
July 24
We have a relatively short day today, so we took our time getting underway. We left the Duck Island anchorage and headed east along the coast. The tide is coming in, so there is a significant current running against us. We are only making about five knots at full throttle, but again, since it's a short day it doesn't really matter. There was almost no wind all day, so we didn't put the sail up. There seemed to be fewer of those pesky pairs of floats around until we got near New London and Mystic, where they got thick.
As we approached the entrance to New London we were greeted with lots of big ship traffic. Not big tankers or freighters who move relatively predictably and slowly. Several ferries operate out of here, to Block Island and to Long Island. They are big and fast, but I'm sure they are used to dodging private boats. I held my course and speed and they seemed to not mind setting a course to avoid us. We continued east to the entrance of the Mystic River, where we will be stopping today. The village of Mystic is about four miles up the river from the village of Noank, which is right at the mouth of the river. Today we are going to anchor near Ram Island, just east of Noank. We approached the east side of Ram Island from the south and dropped the hook in about twelve feet of water. There are only a couple other boats here, and they don't appear to be cruisers, but rather just day trippers.
After an arrival beverage, we launched the dinghy. We headed over to the west side of the peninsula that Noank is on, to Spicer's Marina. We met a couple, Jack & Carol on Reach, in the Bahamas and Jack works here during the summer. We plan to get together with them while we're here and although we know they are not around today, I wanted to check out the marina. We tooled around there and then went to the east side of the peninsula where another marina, Noank Shipyard is located. We pulled up to the fuel dock to fill our gas tank and noticed a restaurant on the premises. After getting the gas, we moved around to a dock where the fuel dock girl said we could tie up, and went to Costello's for a late lunch. I had my first lobster roll of the trip. For those of you who may not have been to New England, a lobster roll is a cold lobster salad served on a roll. Barb had crab cakes and a bowl of lobster bisque. The only thing missing was they didn't sell beer.
After eating, we took a walk into Noank. There isn't much to Noank, but it is a cute little town. Most of the houses date from the 1800's, and have signs on the front with what I guess is the original resident's name and the date it was built. Most are well taken care of and have been updated with modern siding, etc, but still retain the old charm. The "downtown" consisted of a small grocery, a liquor store, a thrift shop, and another general store. We had read about this general store in the cruising guide. We didn't go in, but we did note the sign on the front that says "Ice Cold Ice". See the picture gallery for evidence.
We walked back to the dinghy and tooled north up the Mystic River. The channel for big boats is fairly narrow, and winds around a bit, so I figured I would check it out by dinghy before doing it for real Wednesday. The reality of it wasn't as scary as the cruising guide made it out to be. It is clearly marked and you would have to be common sensically challenged to screw it up. (We have heard quite a few people who qualify as that on the radio recently. Maybe because boating is more seasonal in the northeast, we have heard many people on the radio who should not be operating boats.) On both sides of the river, there are several marinas, and several huge mooring fields. The charts make it appear that these mooring fields are pretty shallow, but there are plenty of good sized boats in them. Because of these mooring fields, there is almost no place to anchor if you draw more than five feet, except where we are.
We went all the way up the river to the village of Mystic. We tooled around Mystic Seaport to see where we would be tying up Wednesday. We have reservations there for Wednesday and Thursday when my daughter and grandkids will be meeting us. We got some neat pictures of the museum boats from the water. Not the usual perspective. We went back under the bascule bridge in Mystic and tied up at the town dinghy dock. We walked across the bridge into the main block of Mystic. I told Barb we needed to find a bar or an ice cream shop. Or both. In the main block of Mystic, the score was ice cream shops three, bars, zero. We went back to the east side of the bridge and a block away found John's. John's is a typical northeast neighborhood bar. Connecticut has a no-smoking law now that includes bars. As we walked up, two guys were standing outside the front door smoking. Turned out one was the bartender. He said he'd be in in a minute to serve us as soon as he finished his smoke. Inside we found half a dozen guys at the bar and one couple at a table. The bartender came in and served us two beers. I had a draft and Barb had a Corona. The bartender was tickled when she whipped out her Corona coozy and slipped it over the bottle. He said "Now here's a professional".
We just had the one beer, and then walked back across the bridge to an ice cream shop. Since we had such a late lunch, we'll have ice cream now and call it dinner. There is a band setting up to play a free concert right by the bridge and the dinghy dock, so we sat on a park bench and waited for them to start. They weren't bad, but after three songs, they just weren't grabbing us, so we hopped in the dinghy for the ride back. Going back I cut across the mooring fields instead of following the channel. We got back to the boat to find the anchorage very rolly. Much more so than when we left. The wind is very light and from the southwest, which means the island should protect us. But the swell is coming in from the east and is quite uncomfortable. It also doesn't help that we are dealing with the noise in the mast of the furling tube not having the mainsail on it. Despite my efforts to secure the tube inside the mast, it makes a lot of noise when the boat rocks and is very annoying. We may look into moving to the Seaport marina tomorrow instead of waiting until Wednesday.
GPS N 41-18.810 W 071-58.571 Nautical miles traveled today 20. Total miles 5873.
July 25
Last night pretty much sucked. The anchorage turned out to be very rolly, with the combination of current and wind making the boat lay sideways to the swell. The rolling of the boat probably could have been tolerated, but without our mainsail, the rolling is accompanied by the slapping of the roller furling extrusion inside the mast. For the non-boaters, imagine somebody banging a metal bucket that happens to be over your head. It was very annoying. And when I did sleep, it worked it's way into my dreams.
So, first thing this morning, when the Mystic Seaport Museum Marina office opened, I called to see if we could come in a day earlier than our original plan. It broke their heart to take more of my money, but they said sure. Unfortunately, they run the place like a hotel, and check-in is after noon, and check out is by eleven, so we had to sit in the rolly anchorage a couple more hours. I used this time to do a little work. We have been noticing that our bilge pump has been running more frequently over the past week. At first it seemed to only run a lot while we were underway, leading me to think something was leaking when the engine was running. But the last couple of days, it has run about twenty times overnight, so it may just be the old rudder shaft packing box needs tightening again. I moved the mattress and climbed down to the rudder and sure enough it look like the packing nut had backed off a little. I tightened it and tightened the jam nut against it and ran the pump manually once to start with an empty bilge. Twelve hours later, the pump had not run again, so problem solved.
The other thing we did was to try out a new dinghy stowing method. We hoisted the dinghy as usual, but instead of using it's painter (the line you tie it to a dock with) wrapped around the davits to keep it from swinging, we used the new nylon tie down strap we bought in Atlantic Highlands. The old way was causing abrasion which resulted in the water leak that I fixed in St. Augustine. We found that after a few days of traveling, that water leak was back, and I'm blaming the line wrapped around the tube. Of course I need to re-fix the leak and see if it stays fixed, now that we have an alternative way to stop the swinging.
To get from the Ram Island anchorage to Mystic Seaport, we have to travel a little less than four miles up the Mystic River. Since we practiced yesterday in the dinghy, it was no big deal. To get to Mystic Seaport, you have to pass through two bridges. One is a railroad bridge, which is open unless a train is coming. This is the opposite of what we are used to, but you call the bridge to make sure it will be staying open as opposed to asking them to open. The bridge opens and closes frequently since commuter trains pass through all the time. They have a big neat sign on the bridge when it is closed that says "Bridge will open in XX minutes" and the XX part is light bulbs which make a number. Unfortunately, coming from the south, you are coming around a bend in the channel as you approach the bridge and you can't see the numbers. Well, as we approached, the bridge was closed. And we couldn't see the numbers. We were one of six boats, three power and three sail, who wanted to get through. I had my radio on the channel the bridge monitors and had not heard anybody else talk to them. So, I called and asked the ETA for opening since that would determine my strategy for waiting. The operator was polite, but I got the feeling he thought I should be able to read the sign. He said it would be less than ten minutes, and I thanked him. We circled and maneuvered and waited. Remember, a sailboat doesn't sit still well, unless there is no current and no wind. Fortunately we have only a little of both, so it wasn't too hard. In a few minutes two trains passed, one each way. Then the bridge opened and we moved into the beginning of downtown Mystic.
The Seaport is on the other side of a highway bascule bridge which opens once per hour at forty minutes past the hour. This was the basis of our timing to leave the anchorage. We were through the railroad bridge and only a quarter mile or so from the highway bridge at 12:30. We told the highway bridge tender we were coming, along with most of the other boats. (Some boats don't feel the need to talk to bridges and locks and just piggy-back along with those of us that do.) We hovered nicely for several minutes waiting for the bridge to open and then proceeded towards it. The local water taxi was right in front of us, and the driver never seemed to even look our way and be aware that we were fifty feet from him and a lot bigger. We hugged the right side of the bridge as we passed under side by side with him. Once through the bridge, he seemed to notice us and proceeded to give his passengers a description of what kind of boat we were.
We hailed the Seaport on the radio and learned that we would be on the north side of their dock spaces, where we had decided yesterday that we would prefer to be. We got tied up with no problem and I went to the dockmaster's office to check in. With that taken care of we hit the showers. The northern heads and showers are just about fifty feet from the boat. As is the northern gate to the outside world. After showers, the most needed thing was lunch and beverages. The Seaman's Inn Restaurant & Tavern is just outside the gate and seemed the obvious choice. We had a nice lunch there.
After lunch we went back to the boat to find out where the local West Marine was. It is only a little over a mile away, so we decided to get our weekly exercise and walk there. It seemed like more than a mile, but that's what Mapquest said. We found the wire we needed for an attempt to fix an ongoing instrument problem, the right brand of motor oil which seems to not be common in the northeast, and a deck brush head to replace the one that is deteriorating from the sun. The walk was kind of three quarters of the way around a circle, so I asked the guy who checked us out if we could cut the circle off since we are on foot. He was about to tell us how, when another employee said he would give us a ride back to the boat. That's the second time West Marine employees have helped us out that way.
We had contacted Jack & Carol from Reach earlier and arranged for them to pick us up for dinner. We went to good place not far from here for a nice dinner. We then went back to the boat for a few drinks and more story telling. It was fun to meet up with them again and hear what had happened since we last saw them in Marsh Harbor.
GPS N 41-21.812 W 071-57.878 Nautical miles traveled today 4. Total miles 5877.
July 26
I got up before Barb this morning and took a little stroll around the grounds of Mystic Seaport. It was cool being inside the grounds while it was still closed to the public and just a few of the workers were beginning to get things ready for the day's visitors. I walked a bit and sat on a park bench for a while, thinking about how many times I've been here before as a tourist but it being different this time in my boat (even if it's not wooden and historical).
We spent the morning just relaxing and poking around, waiting for my daughter Melani, her kids Mitchel, Jaycelyn, Brianna, and Tyler, and Mitchel's girlfriend Rachel to get here. They are driving a couple of hours from Westchester county NY to visit for a couple of days. If you've never read my bio on this website, I'll give you the family demographics. Melani is the younger of my two kids, and she has four children; Mitchel 15, Jaycelyn 4; and twins Brianna and Tyler 3. Fortunately that means that the adults and almost-adults (Mitch and his girlfriend Rachel) outnumber the little people five to three. This will be important for the next two days.
One of the things to entertain us in the mornings is the tiny sailboat classes that take place in the river, just off the marina. These are apparently camps sponsored by the museum. We saw similar boats in Annapolis. The kids look to be about six to twelve years old. It's fun to watch through binoculars and see who's having fun and who isn't, and watch as they tip over and get helped out by the teenage counselors.
About 13:00, the gang got here. We met them on the street and went to lunch. After lunch we went and checked them into their hotel, which is just a block from the Mystic Aquarium where we went next. We spent a few hours at the aquarium. I have been to this aquarium a number of times, and recommend it if you like aquariums. This is the first time I have done it with three little kids. It's a whole different plan when you a herding little people with short attention spans. And, of course, what interests them is all visual and not a lot of listening to the explanations. So, Grandpa had some adjusting to do.
After the aquarium, we went back to the hotel and everybody except Barb & I went swimming. We watched from the sidelines as Mel, Mitch, & Ray each entertained a little person in the pool. After an hour or so of swimming, we went back to the room for rinsing, drying, hair fixing, and dressing, and went out to dinner. We are going to Mystic Pizza for dinner. I have been told that there is better pizza to be had in Mystic than Mystic Pizza's, but it's one of those tourist things you have to do when you have first-time Mystic visitors. If you're not aware of why it's a tourist thing, it's because Julia Roberts' first movie was Mystic Pizza, filmed here in the Mystic area in 1988. We got there and got seated upstairs, where I had never been before. It may have been coincidence. May have been because we had little kids and there were lots of families with kids up there so we wouldn't disturb anybody. Or, may have been because we were a party of eight and that's where they had big tables. Regardless, the eight adults who sat down right behind us made so much noise that our three little people would never have been noticed. We enjoyed the pizza (a pizza has to be real bad for me not to enjoy it) and a couple of local beers for the big folks. We had mozzarella sticks for an appetizer and it was fun watching the three little ones figure out the stretch cheese.
After dinner we walked the two blocks through downtown Mystic to the Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream Parlor. It's the last shop on the street just before the bridge. We all got ice cream and the little people did remarkably well for having cones in the summer and not making too big of a mess. After ice cream, we got the car and Mel dropped us off at the museum entrance on the way back to their hotel. We went back to the boat and really enjoyed a couple of adult beverages.
GPS N 41-21.812 W 071-57.878 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 5877.
July 27
We slept relatively late this morning, awakening after 08:00. Mel called about 09:00 to see if we wanted to join them for breakfast. I suggested they go to breakfast while we showered, and then come to the museum when they were ready. About 11:00, they arrived at the museum, and we got them in. The marina deal here is complicated. They have a transient dockage rate that rivals NYC last year. Or, you can become a "member" for $99 and the dockage rate decreases a dollar per foot and includes museum admission for all onboard. Well, at our length, planning on staying two days, becoming a member is a wash when you figure the admission costs. Staying three days it became an even better deal. We also found that just showing our pass proving we were on a boat got anybody in that was with us. So, the whole gang got in with us.
We spent all afternoon doing the museum thing, and spent a little time on our boat. Jaycelyn and Brianna got to be little pirates in one of the shows and hold the booty that real pirates might have taken off merchant ships of old. And Tyler got to introduce himself to a number of strangers and ask them to give him high-fives.
We looked into staying in this marina one more day, but they are booked solid for the weekend. So, I tried to call the Fort Rachel Marina right in downtown, between the bridges, to see about tomorrow night. Their phones seemed hosed up, and they didn't answer on the VHF. So, once we left the museum and drove to downtown for the teenagers to shop a little, we drove down the street that parallels the river to the Fort Rachel Marina. The office was closed at 17:01, and checking at the Mystic Downtown Marina produced the same results. So, I guess we'll work that out tomorrow.
We hooked up with the teenagers, and went to Margarita's, a Mexican restaurant. We had a good dinner, and then hit the ice cream shop again for desert. Mel dropped us off at the boat on their way back to the hotel. On the boat not more than ten minutes, the forward air conditioner started making a very ugly noise. It sounded like the compressor self-destructed. We checked for cooling water flow and had none. Unfortunately, it sounded like the unit had not kicked off gracefully when the water flow stopped, which usually isn't good. We'll research more tomorrow. For now, a few adult beverages are in order, both to calm down from a day with little people, and to calm down from another boat problem.
GPS N 41-21.812 W 071-57.878 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 5877.
July 28
This morning I started to try and find us a place to stay tonight. I still could get no response on the VHF or the phone from the Fort Rachel Marina. I tried the Mystic Downtown Marina again and got somebody. They weren't sure if they would have a slip or not, but could let me know in a couple hours. We don't have to leave the museum marina until 11:30, so I said I'd wait to hear form her.
We walked about a quarter mile down the street and met Melani and the gang for breakfast at Kitchen Little. Kitchen Little really is very little and serves breakfast and lunch only. We got seated quite quickly although the place was full. They have a half dozen large picnic tables out back, right on the river which was perfect. The food was quite good. I had an omelet called the Sinker. That's because it has everything but the kitchen sink in it. It was great and I was stuffed.
We bid goodbye to Mel and the kids after breakfast. They are headed back to the real world and we have to find a place to park tonight. We went back to the boat and I called the Downtown Marina back again. She said there was one slip she wasn't sure about, but since I needed to make a decision, she better say no. So, I called another number that we got off a sign on the street yesterday. A lady answered like it was her home phone. I asked if they had a boat slip available and she said yes. I gave her the boat name and said we would be there right after the 11:40 bridge opening. At about 11:20, we cast off from the museum dock and slowly made our way toward the bridge. It's only a half mile or so, so we just barely poked along and drifted towards it. It opened right on time and we passed through with a few other boats.
The place we are going is between the Mystic Downtown Marina and Fort Rachel Marina. It is about a dozen slips that are part of John Carija Boat Works. They are not listed in the Waterway Guide, and they do not monitor the VHF like a regular marina. They primarily have all-season rentals, but they sublet slips when people go off on a trip. I called back on the phone as soon as we were through the bridge, and Mrs. Carija said she would send her husband right over to the docks to show us which slip and take our lines. Sure enough, he was there and we tied up with no problem. The only facilities that come with this slip is a bathroom with a shower, and of course water and electricity. We told Mr. Carija that we would be staying at least one and maybe two nights. He was ok with that and said we would just settle up whenever we decided to leave.
My first task once secure was to investigate the front air conditioner. I already did some web research to see how much a new one costs and where to get it. If I have to replace it, we're looking at about $1700. Not a happy thing. If just the water pump has gone out, that's only $150, but would take a couple days to get. I first turned it on to see what it did. To my surprise, the compressor ran, although there was no water flow. Maybe the compressor had not self-destructed after all. I opened the raw water strainer on the cooling water, and was greeted by a god-awful fishy smell. I pulled out the strainer basket, and found it to not be badly clogged, but there was remnants of jelly fish in it. I took it outside and hosed it off, then brought the hose in the boat and blew water backwards through the system to unclog any more jellyfish guts that might be stopping up the intake. I put it all back together and it works! Wow! We went from looking at big bucks and long down-time to cool and happy for free. I need to go thank the boat gods quickly before my luck changes.
We then went for a walk. There is a used boat parts store here that we wanted to browse although we really don't need anything. We went to it and strolled through. Lots of stuff, but nothing we need. We then walked to the nearest liquor store to get beer and Pepsi. We considered calling a cab to go back, since we are probably a mile from the boat now, but bit the bullet and walked with the load.
Late in the afternoon a thunder storm came through. It looked on radar like there was real heavy cells just north and just south of us, but where we were just got a nice shower for a little while. While it rained, Barb went out on deck in her raincoat and brushed the deck as the rain rinsed it. I sat in the cockpit with a beer. We don't know if anybody was watching or not, but I'd have been the envy of every boating guy out there if they saw it.
Once the rain stopped we walked down to Mystic Pizza for dinner. We enjoyed another House Special pizza and a couple of beers.
We have been in touch with Jack & Carol on Reach again, and plan to go over to Fisher's Island with them tomorrow and spend the night. It's only three miles from the mouth of the Mystic River to Fisher's, but it's a popular local getaway with a nice protected mooring field.
GPS N 41-21.812 W 071-57.878 Nautical miles traveled today 0. Total miles 5877.