A Visual Cruising Guide to the Southern New England Coast: Portsmouth, NH, to New London, CT [Lingua Inglese] - Brossura

Bildner, James L.

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0071489193 ISBN 13: 9780071489195

Casa editrice: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press, 2010

Riassunto

New concept in navigation provides the perfect complement to your charts and traditional cruising guides

This unique cruising guide features aerial photos matchedwith chart segments to guide you through channelsand harbor approaches. Prepared with input from local experts up and down the coast, hazards, safe channels, and key navigation aids are clearly labeled on photos and charts.

Su questo libro

Informazioni sull'autore

James L. Bildner is a life-long sailor and avid recreational pilot who shoots the photos for his books from his own helicopter. He owns a chain of upscale gourmet food stores in the greater Boston area and cruises the New England coast in his 52-foot Hinckley, Windward. A member of the Cruising Club of America, Jim has pulled together a network of local contributors to vet and detail the piloting instructions in this book. Jim is also the founder of the Literary Ventures Fund, a nonprofit with offices in Boston and New York, which invests marketing/promotion funds with commercial publishers to help exceptional works of fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry find the audience they deserve. Hometown: Marblehead, MA

Estratto. © Ristampato con autorizzazione. Tutti i diritti riservati.

AVISUAL CRUISING GUIDE TO THE SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND COAST

New London, CT, to Portsmouth, NHBy JAMES L. BILDNER

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 2010 James L. Bildner
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-07-148919-5

Contents

Chapter One

REGION I Eastern Long Island and Fishers Island Sound

—NEW LONDON, CT, TO POINT JUDITH, RI, INCLUDING BLOCK ISLAND—

New London
The Mystic Region
Stonington and Little Narragansett Bay
Fishers Island
Block Island
Point Judith

New London is less than 30 nautical miles west of Point Judith, but any passage between the two is complicated by the lack of an anchorage along the 14-mile coast between Fishers Island Sound and Point Judith, and by the strong tidal currents and treacherous shoals and rocks that separate Long Island Sound from Block Island Sound. Some 110 miles long and 21 miles wide at its widest, Long Island Sound communicates with the Atlantic Ocean through the East River and New York Harbor at its western end and through Plum (Island) Gut, The Race, and Fishers Island Sound at its eastern end. Through these constricted openings must pour enough seawater to fill the sound on every rising tide and empty it on every falling tide.

The results are dramatic. The flood through Plum Gut—the southwestern-most of the sound's eastern openings—averages 3.5 knots, while the ebb averages 4 knots, strong enough to set up standing waves when opposed by the wind. Between Little Gull Island (off Plum Island) and Race Point on Fishers Island to the northeast is the notorious 4-mile-wide main opening, The Race, with currents that range from 2.5 to 6 knots on ebb and flood and are characterized by strong rips, boiling eddies, and—when the current sets through a strongly opposing wind or sea—steep seas. The half-hour slacks at high and low water are the best times to transit The Race.

The third opening, at the eastern extreme of Fishers Island Sound, offers a choice of five passes through the rocks east of Fishers Island. Tidal currents average about 2 knots through all five passes and, unhelpfully, tend to angle across rather than flowing through the passes. Of the five passes, only Watch Hill Passage, Sugar Reef Passage, and Lords Passage are recommended to boaters lacking local knowledge.

Navigation between New London and Point Judith is further complicated by the busy traffic that characterizes these waters. Cruising sailors and powerboaters, racers, picnickers, anglers working the rips for bluefish and stripers (The Race is famous for its rich sportfisheries), tug-and-barge traffic between Boston and New York, ferries crossing the sound or plying between New London and Block Island, lobsterboats, commercial fishing vessels, and Navy and Coast Guard vessels operating out of New London and Groton all converge along this coast. It is not unusual to see a submarine heading to or from the submarine base located in Groton.

Still, these waters offer a magical feel and a unique combination of delights, including Mystic Seaport; the commodious, breakwater-protected harbor of Stonington; the dunes and beaches of Napatree Point; the sheltered shoaldraft waterways of Little Narragansett Bay, the Pawcatuck River, and Point Judith Pond; and offshore, the legendary yachtsman's destination of Block Island. If you are eastbound, this is a chance to breathe deeply of sweet, cool air from the Atlantic and to enjoy the transition from the urban bustle of New York and the harbors of central and western Long Island Sound to the more open waters ahead. You will also enjoy more dependable breezes—a welcome relief from the often windless summer days of the western sound.

However you choose to spend your time in this area, make sure you allow enough time to experience the full range, diversity, and beauty of its offerings.

NEW LONDON

FACING its sister town of Groton across the mouth of the Thames River, New London commands the northeastern corner of Long Island Sound. This is one of the primary yachting sites between New York and Boston. If you are approaching from the west or south, shape your course to leave Bartlett Reef and the 35-foot light on its southern end, Little Goshen Reef, Goshen Ledge, and green-and-red can "R" marking Rapid Rock to port, then carry a northerly heading between flashing green "1" and flashing red "2" at the mouth of the New London Harbor Channel. Be sure to account for the strong tidal currents that sweep this area, especially if you are navigating at night.

When approaching from Fishers Island Sound to the east, you have the option of following Pine Island Channel to the north of Black Ledge, then entering the harbor channel north of its mouth.

The Thames River is a bustling commercial and military port. Ferries run to and from Long Island, and there is always activity around the Coast Guard Academy, on the New London shore of the river, and the naval submarine base on the Groton shore. Your chart will show you the locations of anchorage areas reserved for Navy and Coast Guard vessels and also the security perimeter around the sub base, which you must stay outside. But the channel is deep, well marked, and well maintained, and there is ample depth west of the dredged fairway for small craft intent on avoiding close encounters with ships.

Greens Harbor (see photo page 19) provides the seawardmost and also the best Thames River anchorage and mooring access, though it can be crowded with boats in midsummer. Marina dockage is available in Shaw Cove as well as Greens Harbor. Indeed, marinas abound, and every conceivable yachting need can be satisfied in New London. This old industrial city has restored its attractive waterfront.

As home to the USS Nautilus Memorial/Submarine Force Library and Museum, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Connecticut College with its surrounding 750-acre arboretum, numerous parks, public beaches, and a wide range of shops, museums, and ethnic restaurants, New London and Groton provide an almost unlimited number of things to do, making a visit well worthwhile. If you're lucky you might see the square-rigged training vessel Eagle arriving or departing, perhaps even with middies standing at attention on its yardarms.

Cruisers wishing to avoid the intense traffic of New London Harbor or looking for a transient spot near the coastwise route may find an attractive alternative in the cove east of Avery Point and north of Pine Island (see chart page 18), at the combined mouth of Baker Cove and the Poquonock River (both of which are too shallow for cruisers). The cove provides moorings and some limited anchorage possibilities, though the holding is poor. The presence of the Groton–New London Airport's main runway on the shore nearby may mean that your night's stay is not a quiet one.

THE MYSTIC REGION

A BOATER turning east after leaving the Thames River immediately approaches the western end of Fishers Island Sound. Seaflower Reef stands guard over the western approach, and a half-mile to its southeast are the islets of North Dumpling, South Dumpling, and Flat Hammock. Behind them lies the entrance to West Harbor on Fishers Island. The U.S. Coast Pilot describes Fishers Island Sound as "exceedingly treacherous, characterized by boulder patches which rise abruptly from deep water." In The Thousand Dollar Yacht, a delightful memoir of sailing out of Stonington in the 1960s in a decked-over sailing dory, Anthony Bailey acknowledges that the currents "are fierce, especially for a section that does not have a great rise and fall of tide, and lobster pot buoys are now and then dragged under." He goes on to say that the Coast Pilot "is perhaps right in proclaiming the dangers of the sound, but it remains a glorious place to sail." Fishers Island Sound belongs more to Block Island Sound than Long Island Sound, he asserts, for it "partakes of the swell and the open sea.... In Fishers the summer breezes are salty. Even on calm July afternoons one can successfully whistle for a wind."

The 94-foot-high lighthouse on North Dumpling (a square house with light tower) is the most obvious marker in the western sound, and some 2 1/2 miles northeast of it lies the Mystic River entrance. Defined by Ram Island to the south, Mason Island to the east, and the Noank peninsula to the west, the Greater Mystic Harbor area is a must stop, home to countless marinas, moorings, restaurants, and stores and the much-loved Mystic Seaport Museum, the largest maritime museum in the country, which reserves a dock for visiting mariners.

From North Dumpling, a northeasterly course will take you to black-and-red can buoy "DIR" (Danger Intrepid Rock—see chart page 24), marking the 13-foot spot of Intrepid Rock. From there, continue northeast to green can "1," leaving it to port, then turn north to pass between green can "3" and red nun "2" off Swimming Rock, to the west of Ram Island Shoal. Proceed north to lighted red buoy "4" (flashing red 4 seconds) marking Whale Rock, leaving it close aboard to starboard. (It's important to follow the channel closely as you make your way past Ram Island, as numerous hazards sit just inside these markers.) Turn northeast to leave red-and-green nun "MH" to starboard, then turn northwest to enter the final approach channel east of Morgan Point, between nun "6" to starboard and quick-flashing green mark "5" to port. Follow the series of nuns marking the channel along the Noank shore into the inner parts of Mystic Harbor. As of this writing, the channel depths are greater than 10 feet.

Thanks to an abundance of marina slips and moorings, it is surprisingly easy to get an overnight berth here, especially nearer the mouth of the river. Room to anchor is harder to come by.

Though it will seem as though the channel winds and twists endlessly, a trip up the full navigable extent of Mystic River to see the many sights along the way is well worthwhile. As the channel continues along the west side of Mason Island, past Sixpenny Island and then Willow Point on the western shore, Mystic's bustling downtown comes into view. Unless your boat can squeeze under an 8- to 10-foot vertical clearance (depending on the tide), you'll have to wait for the Amtrak railroad bridge here to swing open. The bridge tender monitors VHF Channel 13.

Mystic Seaport Museum is a mile or so above the railroad bridge, tucked along the eastern shore of the river near the head of navigation. Occupying more than 40 acres and 100 buildings, the Seaport maintains the square-rigged whaling vessel Charles W. Morgan, the square-rigged Joseph Conrad, the Grand Banks fishing schooner L.A. Dunton, the schooner Brilliant, and other wooden boats large and small as well as a planetarium, boatbuilding programs, art collections, and a marine library. Just north of the Seaport is the Mystic Marine Life Aquarium, displaying over 6,000 specimens of marine life in over 40 exhibits.

APPROACHES TO STONINGTON AND LITTLE NARRAGANSETT BAY

FROM the eastern end of Fishers Island Sound, the best approach to Stonington (or the entrance to Little Narragansett Bay), leaves 46-foot-tall flashing red light "4" on the western end of the outer (Middle Ground) breakwater to starboard. From there, a due northerly course will take you into Stonington Harbor, leaving 31-foot flashing green light "5" at the eastern end of the west (Wamphassuc Point) breakwater to port. Alternatively, to head into the circuitous entrance of Little Narragansett Bay, you can follow a northeasterly course from the Middle Ground breakwater, leaving flashing red buoy "2" (Academy Rock) and red nun "4" to starboard (keeping west of the 4-foot spot between nuns "2" and "4"). (See additional chart on page 28.)

STONINGTON

DUE to the charms of the picturesque town, the harbor's easy entry and room for anchoring, its proximity to popular cruising destinations, as well as the breakwaters that protect it, Stonington has become a favorite stopover for cruisers. As the photo indicates, there is ample anchorage both inside the west breakwater—though this area is exposed to easterlies—and in the anchorage areas designated on the chart. The anchorage at the harbor's northeast corner is likely to be crowded with local boats, however. You may be able to get a berth on this shore at Dodson's Boatyard. Also on the eastern shore, nearer the mouth of the harbor, is the Wadawanuck Yacht Club with its active members and launch service.

LITTLE NARRAGANSETT BAY

THOUGH often skipped by cruisers who judge it a shallow backwater distraction from the deeper waters just to its south, Little Narragansett Bay is a hidden gem for shoaldraft boats. Make the approach east of Stonington Point as described above, arriving at the western end of the dredged channel around Sandy Point, which has a controlling depth of 7 feet as of this writing. From the northern edge of Sandy Point, the channel continues southeasterly to the tip of Pawcatuck Point and the mouth of the Pawcatuck River. As our photos suggest, Little Narragansett Bay is prone to shoaling, and it's easy to miss the buoys and encounter the hazards. This excursion, though delightful, should only be attempted with up-to-date local knowledge and good weather.

Once having arrived at Pawcatuck Point, you have two or three choices. The first is to leave flashing green buoy "23" to port and head northeasterly up the Pawcatuck River. In a shoaldraft boat you might find a snug anchorage in Colonel Willie Cove, Thompson Cove, or one of the smaller coves along the river, or a berth for the night at one of the river's marinas. The nominal channel depth remains 7 feet at least to Clarks Village, though shoaling may reduce that. Continue upriver to Westerly only with shoal draft and caution, keeping in mind that the river narrows considerably. The hospitable Westerly Yacht Club, in Thompson Cove, may well mark the upriver extent of your voyage.

The second alternative from Pawcatuck Point is to turn south into protected Watch Hill Cove (photo #3 above), which is tucked inside the landward end of Napatree Point at the extreme southern end of Little Narragansett Bay. We love this simple and protected spot, which offers warm saltwater swimming on Napatree Beach and is overlooked by the Watch Hill Yacht Club. You may be able to rent a mooring from the club for the night. More adventurous cruisers can run southwest from Pawcatuck Point to find a picnic or overnight anchorage in the lee of Napatree Beach when the wind is from the south. This anchorage becomes hazardous in a northerly, however.

FISHERS ISLAND HARBORS AND THE EASTERN APPROACHES TO FISHERS ISLAND SOUND

DEPARTING or entering the eastern end of Fishers Island Sound, cruisers have a choice of five passages into or from Block Island Sound. When approaching from the east, we usually navigate through Watch Hill Passage or Sugar Reef Passage, though Lords Passage is probably a little more straightforward than Sugar Reef Passage and may also be more convenient if you're approaching from or heading toward Block Island. Any of these is preferable to the other two alternatives, Catumb and Wicopessett Passages, both of which are trickier and less clearly marked. (Wicopessett Passage is sometimes subject to breakers.) The Fishers Island Sound passages provide a more direct approach to Fishers Island from the east than the remaining alternative, through The Race—and the Fishers Island Sound passages can also be safer when a wind opposes the tide. The Race, however, is easier to navigate at night or in poor visibility due to its relative lack of hazards and its excellent buoys and lights.

After transiting one of the passes from the east, we like to shape our approach to Fishers Island from just south of red flashing bell "6" off Napatree Point. From there we coast along the northern shore of Fishers Island, leaving the green cans off Wicopesset Island, Seal Rocks, and Youngs Rock to port. From there, easy passage can be made into any of Fishers Island's three harbors—East, West, or Hay.

East Harbor

FROM green can "17" off Youngs Rock, a southwesterly course will take you down the centerline between red nun "2E" and green can "1E." From there, an easterly turn will take you into the deepest water along the southern edge of the harbor. We have found reasonable holding ground over the 10- and 11-foot charted soundings there. East Harbor is home to the Fishers Island Club.

West Harbor

THIS is by far the most popular harbor on Fishers Island, and we include two photos for it. The inner harbor photo shows the shoaling on both sides of the entrance. If approaching from the east, leave can "5" to port and lay your course for flashing red buoy "6" off Hawks Nest Point. From the north, approach between red nun "2" off Flat Hammock and green can "1" off Pulpit Rock. From the west, approach between flashing red bell "2" and can "3" south of South Dumpling. From flashing red buoy "6," nuns mark the dredged channel into the harbor.

Because the harbor is so popular in the summer, space may be limited. The Fishers Island Yacht Club provides launch service and will help as many yachts as possible. If you desire to anchor for the night and space is hard to find, you can anchor in the area south of Goose Island. Most boats will choose instead to anchor outside the dredged channel.

Hay Harbor and Silver Eel Cove

GIVEN its limited space and inhospitable approach, Hay Harbor should not be attempted except in shoaldraft boats whose skippers know the local waters. Once inside, you'll find deep water in the center of the harbor.

BLOCK ISLAND APPROACHES

FROM a distance or in hard weather, Block Island seems a brooding, solitary offshore sentinel. Sixteen miles southeast of Fishers Island and nearly 25 miles southwest of Newport, it is far enough seaward to be cloaked with mysterious allure. Yet it is just 9 miles offshore from Point Judith and 10 miles east-northeast of Montauk, making it a practical weekend destination for southern New England boaters and a favorite destination for Narragansett Bay and Connecticut and Long Island cruisers.

The island takes its name from Adriaen Block, the Dutch explorer who sailed this coast in 1614. It is small—about 7 miles long by 3 1/2 miles wide—and does not afford to the big, open waters of Block Island Sound the sort of shelter that boaters sometimes praise and sometimes curse on Long Island Sound. A significant sea can build quickly on Block Island Sound in a strong summer breeze, or a fog can set in with little warning over the cool offshore waters. Occasionally wind and fog will accompany one another over the sound—a rare occurrence on the New England coast.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from AVISUAL CRUISING GUIDE TO THE SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND COASTby JAMES L. BILDNER Copyright © 2010 by James L. Bildner. Excerpted by permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Dettagli dell'edizione

• Editore: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2010
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0071489193
• ISBN 13: 9780071489195
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 272
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile
• Persona responsabile: GPSR Kontakt; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Germania