Cruising Long Island Sound

[munimula62]

Another option is New Haven Harbor - We've tucked behind one of the three sea walls on our way to Block. A little further in is thenMorris Cove anchorage on the eastern side of the harbor. Slips or moorings can be had at Pequonnock Yacht Club which feature arguably the best restaurant on the CT coast - Shell and Bones. S&B will serve you in the usually lively clubhouse on the second floor.

[ksuderman]

Thanks everyone, this is exactly what I was looking for. Time to dig out the charts and find these places on the map.

This is our first foray since moving out of the wannabes column and we are moving the boat from its former home to its new summer home in Provincetown where I have a mooring for the summer. I've hired a captain with local knowledge, but I want to do most of the route planning myself. I like to have a plan in place, but I also like to wing it based on current conditions and having lots of options is a good thing.

[RSB333]

An alternative to Onset is Marion (Sippican Hbr) with a small anchorage, one local grocery store within walking distance of the town dock. I have overnighted on the town dock at this time of year as the traffic thins out after sundown.

[captainmarknc]

Block is one of my favorite places, but too early in the season. I would stay at Newport over Pt Judith or Block. Sailors paradise!

Old Saybrook, (Saybrook Point Marina) at the beginning of the CT River is the only 5 star marina in the area if your wife needs a spa treatment. Worth a short ride to inspect Hamburg Cove from there. If you have the time, Essex Island Marina and the Griswald Inn is what these trips are all about, IMO.

Mystic or Stonington is also good. Great area for boating.

[bensolomon]

As others have stated, get an Eldridge Coastal and Today pilot. Indepsensible in LIS. Also, stay in greenport on your way. We stay at the municipal marina ( water front park). You can take the ferry to shelter island for a day trip with your bikes. At greenport, rent bikes from Dan's bikes. Call and they deliver the bikes to you.

Also, check out Konstcosta winery in greenport. It's a one mile bike ride from the marina.

Highly recommend mystic. Tons of Marinas there. You will want to get a reservation way ahead of time.

From Mystic go to Newport.

Block is overblown, in my opinion. In the summer, I'm surprised the entire Island doesn't sink from the amount of visitors that arrived from the fast ferries every hour. I used to go to block as a child when it was a nature preserve and we were the only boat that had anchored out in Great salt pond. Went back a year ago to show my wife what a lovely place this was and was thoroughly disappointed. In fact, couldn't wait to leave. It must have been 200 boats in the morning field and we were three deep on the dock side by side.

Have a great trip!!!

[SVRocinante]

We’ve done this trip a good number of times and while we did make a stop in Port Jefferson one time, we’ve never returned… just not our cup of tea.

Our typical legs are:

1. Northport to West Harbor, Fishers Island (long day - just anchor overnight)
2. Fishers Island to Cuttyhunk (absolutely love it - spend a day or two)
3. Cuttyhunk to Provincetown
   (long day; anchor behind Hog Island channel sand spit if you need to wait for the tide to get through the canal)

If you have any particular questions, please feel free to reach out; enjoy!

[jalmberg]

I'm from Huntington, and we've gone up to Maine several times, so I know the route well. We almost never stay at marinas, so can only talk about anchorages.

We usually go overnight from Huntington to Fischer's Island Sound, choosing the time as best we can to arrive at the end of the ebb tide. That way, you have the ebb with you when it really matters. There are several little protected coves to anchor in, but if you anchor in West Harbor you can go ashore for a walk.

If I want to break up the passage, you don't have too many great options, which is why we bite the bullet and just get it over with. I personally love sailing at night. However, the Thimble Islands are a good place to stop and anchor, if the weather is relatively settled. Very pretty, easy in and out, but you can't go ashore.

The New London city marina has VERY inexpensive moorings, and they are nearly always available. They are right in front of a pier with a restaurant and there is often music in the evening. Very few cruisers put in there, because the city has a kind of gritty reputation, but they are working hard to come back and we had no problems and a lot of fun there. You can anchor right outside the mooring field, too, but the moorings are so cheap, we didn't bother.

Mystic is a great stop. Right across from Fisher's Island. We don't bother taking our big boat in to Mystic, but anchor off Mason Island and take the dingy in.

I'm not crazy about Block, but worth stopping once if you've never been. It's stupid crowded and I've never been able to get a mooring. The anchorage is very deep, and very crowded, so its hard to find a spot big enough to put out sufficient scope. Honestly, unless you like drunken crowds and dragging powerboats, I wouldn't bother.

Newport is also a fun and easy stop. We have always been able to anchor near the Ida Lewis Yacht Club. You get there and think, "We'll never find a spot!" but there always seems to be room. If not, there are plenty of other places to anchor nearby.

Cuttyhunk is great. We always anchor outside and have never gone ashore. It's just an overnight stop for us, but one of these days we are going to dingy in and take a look!

We almost always anchor in Onset harbor, to wait for the right tide to go through the canal. Again, we've never not been able to anchor there. There always seems to be room. Just be careful when entering the Onset channel. There is a vicious tide race right at the channel mouth. If you can hit it at the very short slack tide, do so. Otherwise, be prepared for a few moments of frantic steering. It's only the first few seconds, then you are in calm water.

We always sail direct from the canal to Penobscot Bay in Maine, so can't help you with the rest of your itinerary, but crossing Cape Cod Bay is dead easy. For us, it's just the first part of the long passage up to Maine. Kind of a break after the canal or the open Atlantic. Lots of whales there in the right season, so keep your eyes open!

Have fun!

[tweitz]

I second the comment about the Thimble Islands being a lovely spot. If you go there, be careful though. They are very rocky and not overly well charted.

[Dolphins]

A wonderful book about cruising the Sound is "Coast of Summer" by Anthony Bailey.

[Spring-Fever]

Be sure to sail (or motor, more likely) THROUGH the Thimble Islands channel. It's a great experience to glide past these islands and homes at close-range! Also, anchorage (or moorings if you prefer) at Menemsha. Go ashore to Larson's seafood market, where you can buy fresh fish - or lobsters/clams already steamed for you. Nice beaches for day anchoring on north side of Elizabeth Islands (just East of Cuttyhunk). If winds are right, you could pull off an overnight there, too.

[ksuderman]

Well that was interesting.

A big thank you to everyone that suggested stops and activities along the way, but .... hahahaha was I naive.

I thought I had done my research. I thought I had prepped the boat. I spent lots of money getting work done. I've read the horror story threads from delivery captains and I tried really hard not to be "that guy".

I was that guy.

I want to give a HUGE shout out to Captain Frank Lord that stuck with me and MacGyvered us out of too many situations to count. I won't go into the gory details, but what I thought would take 4-6 days took 9. After fixing the issues we found at the dock we set sail only for the engine to die after about 5-6 hours of use. We were plagued by fuel delivery problems the entire trip. My unlimited gold TowBoatUS membership has more than paid for itself. In addition the solar panels weren't charging anything, we would periodically lose ALL electricity, and both cabin top winches had broken stripper rings so while they looked like self-tailing winches they weren't. And oh yeah, the head didn't work.

But all in all it was a great trip! Capt Frank said I got about five years worth of experience that week. We had a great sail up the sound, and from Point Judith to Cuttyhunk, and another across Cape Cod Bay. We had a glorious sunset in Point Judith, some awesome meals in Milford and Mystic. The fuel problems have been solved (fuel pump, knock on wood) and the engine now starts and runs like a charm. The head is working after we snaked a new discharge hose from the toilet to the holding tank. The solar panels are charging after fixing a broken wire and resetting a breaker for the controller, and several electrical gremlins have been sorted after tightening some loose wires on the ground bus behind the panel.

Best of all, our boat is on her new mooring and just sitting in the cockpit enjoying a refreshing beverage has made it all worthwhile.

Now to start on the bazillion items we noticed during the trip. I can hardly wait until replacing the lifelines makes it back to the top of my to-do list.

[mako]

I’m from Huntington area also (Dix Hills to be exact) and grew up boating on the Sound and the Great South Bay. If you come across my Danforth anchor that I lost 50 years ago, I’d appreciate getting it back [emoji846]

Nice thread - thanks for the memories

[argold57]

We are at City Island tonight. Thinking about where we can get a propane refill (not exchange) as we head East. Hopefully not too far a walk from dingy dock or water taxi stop... Any recommendations? It is not an emergency as we do have a 5 lb reserve tank.