Archive for the ‘Newport to Manhatten’ Category

Mystic

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

After leaving Newport we motored out of Naragansett Bay in absolutely no breeze. At least it was sunny… Turning right at Point Judith we were briefly back in the Atlantic. I thought of the others heading straight out to the Azores from here…

Crew was myself, Bob, and Louise, so there was plenty opportunity for naps in the sunshine to recover from burning the candle at both ends in Newport.

The coastguard came and carried out an interrogation. Bless them, Dinah’s white ensign must have confused them terribly. I guess they don’t see one of those every day.

At 15.00 we cleared past Watch Hill Point and entered Long Island Sound. I was amazed at how shallow and rocky and tidal it was! This end of the sound was formed by glacial deposits, so there are loads of little islands with narrow channels between them. Dinah needs 2m of water to float, and we spent a lot of the afternoon in less than 4m. A little unnerving after over 4,000m in the Atlantic on Dinah’s last voyage!

By 17.00 we were entering the mouth of the Mystic River. Stunning. One of the most scenic shorefalls I’ve ever made… Weaving between little islands. Classic New England. Amazing properties on the riverfront the whole way up. They opened a railway bridge for us… And we pulled up at a marina right in the town itself.

http://www.dinah.sail.ie/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/newport-to-mystic.jpg

Mystic is a sweet little place. Not as big as I was expecting, which is no harm as long as you don’t need provisions! A lay day on Friday allowed us go explore the enormous marine museum.

Aileen arrived in the afternoon, so we now have a full crew for the trip to New York. First things first though. Saturday we will cross to Shelter Island on the South side of the sound. Sounds fantastic. Lets hope it lives up to its billing in the cruising guide…

Barry


Farewell Newport

Friday, June 26th, 2009

At 0900 EST Dinah slipped her lines, and left the dock outside the Newport Yacht Club where she had arrived to much celebration ten days earlier. That same cannon that had fired as she arrived went off again to mark her departure (thank you George!). It was quite emotional leaving, and I was glad to be wearing my sunglasses to keep up the macho appearance of a hardened solo skipper.

As we motored past the Newport seafront, I gave a little wave to each of the wonderful places that will be engrained on my memories forever. The Landings, The Moorings, Buskers Irish Bar (good man Tom!), the little beach in the middle of town, the New York Yacht Club, these landmarks now mean so much I’m sure it won’t be long before I find an excuse to come back…

It’s only fitting to say thanks to all those who made the event so special. David and Jill, Marten and Jean, the tireless race comittee. Norm Bailey and Chris Arscott, the two hosting club Commodores. Bob and Aileen, my shore crew. My parents and family, all those that kept my spirits up in various ways along the way, and of course my fellow competitors with whom I now share a bond through shared experiences, and membership of the Half Crown Club.

The plan now is to cruise to New York, inside Long Island Sound and enjoy the 4th of July celebrations there before heading back to Ireland via the Azores. I intend to maintain a daily blog here on www.dinah.sail.ie diarising the adventures still to come so please do stay in touch.

From Ostar 2009 this is Dinah out.

Barry