I'm sorry you have not heard from me but since my electrical problem in Boston I have not been on the VHF with the other boats and it sure is lonely. As I sat on my trailer thinking about Boston and how much fun was had. But there was not enough sailing and I thought that I would have to wait for Buzzards Bay trip but no! On Thursday things started to happen on the boat. The battery charger was connected, the tow vehicle was hooked to the trailer so I knew we were to be sailing soon. Big let down it was not Friday as all that happened was the charger was removed and clothing boxes were put on. I could see the cooler going into the truck but it was 9pm - to late to sail.
It was 7am on Saturday and off we went. I was so happy to be on Route 84 that means salt water. Great. What there pulling off. Oh no! They went for breakfast at the 84 diner. I did not get to Norwalk till 9:15 got rigged and was heading out to the sound by 9:45.
As we were going out the channel it was noted that the electrical problem was back so no gps or vhf or radio. Out came the paper charts and we continued on our way. Now I know why we have a hand held VHF radio on board that isn't hooked into the boat battery. It was a beautiful morning with wind from the north west about 10 knots we set a port tack and just went. There was some gusting to about 15 or 20 knots and the seas picked up to about a foot of chop but still we only rounded up once. After three hours of sailing Mona asked if we were there yet but since we set no destination we were not there. We thought Old Saybrook was to far so we sailed for two more hours to New Haven.
Took a left at can 17 and stopped at Oyster Point Marine. We spent the night at the gas dock for $1.50 a foot with clean bathrooms, showers and a great restaurant that was just a little more than what a non waterfront restaurant would have charged. Tony and Mona were talking about the excellent food. The dock was quiet and after they went for a little walk and did some book reading they had a great night sleep. It was like glass in the marina in the morning, at 7am,
Tony raised the main and started the motor and off we went. Winds were from the north west again but more north than west. Once into the main channel he put up my Genny and turned off the motor. Once out of the main channel we set a starboard tack and spent 5 great hours going back to Norwalk for the first 4 hours there were no other boats around. It was like having the sound to ourselves. We had to make the 150 Genny a 100 for a while as the wind would gust, We should have put a reef in the main, but we did not so there was a round up or two but still a great sail with little chop.
Back at the ramp in Norwalk there were two Macgregors on the hard one was a classic like me and the other a X. We made room for the classic to launch next to me but the X was going home. The owner of the X stopped by and gave Tony a Shackel Dog (go to shackeldog.com) then took off to the other boat. The trailer said he missed me and it was a great ride home.(only took 1 hour and 15 minutes)
Note from Tony: This was my first over night at New Haven, It was great, The harbor master was nice and the marina was clean. It was my choice to stay at the gas dock as there were slips available. I would recommend a trip there if you get a chance, plus the food was great. I have a 1989 cruise planning book that says New Haven is the best kept secret. Well the secret is not out yet so try it. "The Beep" is a 1990 MacGregor 26 Classic. She has written several articles for NE-TS. I any other boats want to contribute (since the owners seem to be too busy) just email them to webmaster@ne-ts.com