Just for the record, my Hawaii trip was 17 days over and 22 days back on C&C 41 from Everett, WA. Awesome sailing at around 8 knots.
I thought with the perfect homeport it would be a place you want to spend some time.Who cares? It is called "sailing". Final destination to be wherever the wind takes you.
I agree, Don. My boat is berthed in Quincy, MA, but her homeport is Englewood, FL. We enjoyed cruising the Florida area, and now enjoy the New England area in the summer. Someday, we might end up at our homeport again.Florida offers year round sailing, warm water, warm weather, nearby the Exumas, Bahamas, Caribbean islands, the Keys, dockside restaurant heaven throughout the coastline, the Gulf coastline, diving on the bottom isn't torture...
Having said that, I still prefer Newport and the RI/MA offshore islands of Nantucket and MV. At least in June and July.
Oh... oops... sorry. misunderstood...I thought with the perfect homeport it would be a place you want to spend some time.
I’ll see you down there......For now, the Chesapeake, in retirement, the south coast of Grenada.
I’ll see you out there this summer.....View attachment 160478 View attachment 160479 View attachment 160480 Stonington/Mystic/Noank area. Stonington is the best, IMHO. 13 years on a waiting list to get a mooring there, and that's where I like to be. The town itself is a well preserved Colonial New England place, with a revolutionary war and whaling history (more "real" than Mystic) with nice restaurants and it's a 10-minute drive to downtown Mystic with more shops and restaurants. Daysailing in protected Fisher Islands Sound and it's an easy shot WSW across The Race to eastern LI (Gardeners Bay area) in a NW wind (when a front comes through) and SE 18NM to Block Island on a beam reach out and back in the prevailing SW winds makes for a nice weekend during settled weather. Or due East to Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay, and Marthas Vineyard. All of these are within an easy day's sail away ("easy" depending on winds and current timing).
That’s wife and mine favorite place indeed!!I'd swear we were on your mooring, Larry, or one nearby. We had that exact view of Scott Kraft's Alden Caravelle in the foreground. There is also an Alden Challenger nearby, to the left in your photo.
We were on a rental from the large marina just into the right side of the frame.
We loved it there, the marina was very handy and we enjoyed the restaurant there. I also anchored one night in the outer harbor which I'd do again. My only complaint is the phony ice down that way. Frozen slush. Here, we have the real thing.
On our way out of Mystic, we anchored off Fishers Island for the night. Had the anchorage to ourselves, in August. It was beautiful.
Dodsons is very nice, plenty of boat porn at that marina, and The Dogwatch restaurant at the dock is a great spot. Further down Water Street are beautifully preserved antique homes one after the other, and some other really worthwhile restaurants. Definitely a great walking town.I'd swear we were on your mooring, Larry, or one nearby. We had that exact view of Scott Kraft's Alden Caravelle in the foreground. There is also an Alden Challenger nearby, to the left in your photo.
We were on a rental from the large marina just into the right side of the frame.
We loved it there, the marina was very handy and we enjoyed the restaurant there. I also anchored one night in the outer harbor which I'd do again. My only complaint is the phony ice down that way. Frozen slush. Here, we have the real thing.
On our way out of Mystic, we anchored off Fishers Island for the night. Had the anchorage to ourselves, in August. It was beautiful.
Dodson, right. Great place as was all of historic Stonington.Dodsons is very nice, plenty of boat porn at that marina, and The Dogwatch restaurant at the dock is a great spot. Further down Water Street are beautifully preserved antique homes one after the other, and some other really worthwhile restaurants. Definitely a great walking town.
Where off Fishers did you anchor? East Harbor is a great lunch stop or overnight in settled weather, due South of Stonington and has no shoreside facilities. West Harbor has a yacht club and the lobster boats will sell you their catch, and has a couple of stores in walking distance where you can get a few essentials, and an ice cream shop is there.
Another good stop is In the bight on the east side of Ram Island (South of Mystic) which is sheltered in the prevailing SW winds. Horses roam free on that private island (no landing allowed, so not good for dog owners except as a lunchstop).
Stonington would be the better bet for provisioning. There's a Big Y supermarket about 5 minutes from Dodsons if you catch a cab or Uber/Lyft.Dodson, right. Great place as was all of historic Stonington.
It must have been East Harbor and winds were light. It was comfortable with a few small rocky islands to land on. We didn't know there were stores at West Harbor (found out later on a download of AC of late). We needed provisions so that would have been good to know.
Barry, I can understand how we grow up on a location and tend to stay there through the decades. As you transition to this second period of life, you might consider a change. I read your text and yes I have highlighted only parts of it. These are the action parts as I read your comment. I wonder if you want your dream to encompass a period of forced work to have more time to do what you want. Perhaps there are alternatives that, at least for a while, might be fun to stretch your perspective - explore. Might enrich your life, because it is too short and will be gone before we blink.My goal / dream is to spend...work my way down the coast....It's really a great place to sail but the season is too short for me.