"ARRR! Jim-Boy, Thems that dies bes the Lucky Ones." Long John Silver

SHIP'S LOG:

It is no easier getting up at 3AM on the second day than it was on the first! Still it had to be done. A simple check of the marine forecast indicated that it would be a perfect day . . .there would be a storm until after midnight (That's a perfect day for this summer!) and there would be sun and there would be wind. It was a perfect opportunity to make the trek from Captain's Cove Seaport in Bridgeport to the Thames Yacht Club in New London. The move was further inspired in that I have been waiting for this since they hauled the boat back in December (has it really been that long), plus I don't have the money for another night on the transient dock and i am getting far too comfortable ashore. there is an old sailing proverb that good harbor ruin boats and sailors. It was time to shove off.

It didn't get off to an auspicious start as I trip coming downstairs and dropped the anchor light I was carrying. I busted the chimney but the rest of the light was intact, so another purchase awaits on the horizon. The ride to the boat was quick and uneventful and I got to the boat by 6AM!!!!!

A half-hour of prep - checking the engine oil, turning on the various systems, firing up the engine, undoing the docklines, and I started backing out at 6:31AM. Thankfully there was no wind at that moment. In addition, the boat that had been tied up directly behind me, and I mean DIRECTLY BEHIND ME, either sank, got blown out to sea or was moved, so there was nothing impeding my backward departure. I cleared the harbor without hitting anything - a notable achievement considering my recent history - and at 7AM I was off to New London.

There was no wind at this time of the morning and the sky was cloudless, though there was a bit of a haze. I got to a particular buoy outside of Bridgeport and set a course of 078 degrees magnetic which would take me safely - if I stuck to it - to a buoy outside of New Haven. Due to the fact that I was motoring, that is not as simple as it sounds. The prop push water against the rudder tends to make turning the rudder - that is called steering - a bit of a chore and since the prop turns in a clockwise direction, it tend to push the stern of the boat to the right making the boat want to do left turns. I have to constantly turn the boat back on course which is a bit of a chore because it is called steering.( See previous sentence for explanation.)

I passed "the Gulf" at Milford where I had my one and only successful anchoring on last year's trip. Approaching New Haven, I was looking for a large Red & White Whistle Buoy and I missed it in the haze. I thought I saw it but it turned out to be a boat. While the GPS had me in the general direction and area, I didn't want to get too dependent on it as the can lead you astray as anyone who has one in their car can testify. I finally punched up the "NAVIGATE TO" feature only to find that I had already past it. In truth, to compensate for what I thought was bad dead reckoning, I had actually gone way outside of it by a couple of miles and was looking for it on the wrong side of the boat!!!!

Since there were any number of reefs and rocks along the shoreline from New Haven to Old Saybrook, I used the "NAVIGATE TO" feature and kept a better look out. The next buoy was a Green GONG off of Falkner Island off of Guilford. It is fronted on the West by Goose Island which is mostly underwater and is a place best avoided . . .especially by anyone sans insurance . . . like me. I located the buoy on the GPS, hit the "NAVIGATE TO" button and a "magenta Highway" appeared on the screen. As long as I kept the little boat on the magenta highway, the BIG BOAT and I were safe. It was a two hour cruise, still no wind, and I hit the buoy - figuratively - spot on. I did the GPS thing again, aiming for a bell buoy off the Old Saybrook breakwater and two and a half hours later, there I was off Old Saybrook. . . . like magic. Boy, you can see how boaters can get addicted to using the GPS. It is quite accurate and some systems can even interface with other systems on your boat, including your auto-pilot. You can have the thing run your boat and be safe and sound . . . so long as you program it correctly, you don't run out of power, and it doesn't throw some kind of electronic hissy fit. One has to be carefully not to get too dependant on this one system or you can end up on the rock. Heck, i can do that all by myself!!!!

After Old Saybrook, the next stop was the Tower/Horn at Bartlett two miles off the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant. IT was a 90 minute trip. Now I was getting back into home territory. It even seemed comforting to see the large red and white tower of the power plant. from there, it was another hour to my mooring at TYC. I was feet dry by 4:30pm. Huzzah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

People ask how it went. It was a boring, dull, uneventfully, wonderful trip. The engine worked like a champ as did all the systems I used. I couldn't have been happier. I was absolutely exhausted though, having been at the wheel from 6:30 AM to 4PM.y good friend, Ray, picked me up and we journey BACK TO CAPTAIN'S COVE SEAPORT in Black Rock Harbor in Bridgeport to get my car. As a final expression of farewell after so may months there, the local seagull visited my car . . . . the bastards! Then it was a two hour drive back home, for the last time, dinner, a little bit of Red Sox, and of to bed to sleep the sleep, if not of the just, then of the truly tired.

CAPTAIN'S PERSONAL LOG:

I don't want to say that I was scared to death but I surely was anxious. . . . . at least at first. I had visions of going aground in Black Rock Harbor and having to turn around an put back it. But it didn't happen. Aside from the fact that there was no wind until after I was secured to the mooring in New London, it was a great trip. Lots of time to think and pray and look around and simple enjoy. It has been a long time in coming but well worth the wait! ! ! ! !