Lessons from a Voyage: Journeying from New York to Mystic Seaport

Departing New York via the East River, we took on a crew, which included Steve, a long-time friend from the UK, my wife, Sebrina, and three 16-year-old boys. The young men, by most impressions, appeared to share a common brain between them, with each contributing 1/3 and needing some encouragement to focus and act. I'll attribute this to a lack of sleep, as they discussed life's challenges while locked in their cabin in the evenings.

New York To Rowayton

Our first call was Rowayton. A small, picturesque township on the Connecticut coast and home to a long-term friend who has mastered both generosity and introductions to just about everyone locally. We moored up 1/2 a mile into the bay, between the harbor entrance markers and Greens Ledge

Anchored off Rowayton CT

lighthouse. Good holding is found near the shore, and the weather was benign. Three days of trips ashore, swimming around a hull bobbing in the swell, or our tender towing a tube full of howling 16-year-olds. Highlights included eating ashore at Rowayton Seafood, as well as a personal tour of a newly restored Greens Ledge lighthouse with Chris, his wife Terri, and friends.

A Lesson to Learn

Now for my lesson. The family departed for Charleston, and I was itching to leave for Mystic. It's just like driving on the freeway, right? At 5:00 am the next day, the weather is blowing a good 5, with gusts of 6, and we are charging batteries and prepping our engines, tanks, and systems. Vanguard is tugging on her chain, held to terra firma only by a severely oversized Rocna Anchor. Batteries, checked; steering, checked; engines, checked; thrusters, checked; helm control, checked; then we haul our anchor. It's stuck; the bottom is composed of sand and large rocks, massive remnants from the last ice age. The windless clutch slips and the chain is a fight not worth having, so we let out 10 or so extra meters in our 4m depth and push her hard forward against the tide. After one or two attempts, the chain starts skipping, and our anchor is free. Inertia has its uses. Haul her up, stow it, lock the fore hatch, and we're away. It's now a 6 gusting 7, but there is not much fetch in Long Island Sound, so the seas remain manageable.

Anchored off Rowayton CT. good holding, though a few large, anchor-grabbing rocks about

The going is "wet" as our wave-piercing bow meets the oncoming swell, the tide a good 1.3 knots in the wrong direction, and we are making a miserly 4.5 knots in the direction of travel against both tide, waves, and wind. The foredeck was underwater (our replacement forehatch is holding well). It must be ok because I was bored just sitting there. Six hours later, the tide has turned, which helps, but the wind is now against the tide. Crossing Stratford Shoal, I received my first lesson as the depth decreased from 20 to 8 or 9 meters. The waves became rather outrageous. It was a one-off, right? Wrong. Crossing Brandford Reef, we received our second lesson in seamanship. Enough of this, and we dipped into shelter behind the Thimble Islands. Low tide, rocks all over the shop, but the going was clear.

Lesson learned -

Be more aware of your surroundings and less reliant on personal impatience; you will not win. All the while, my Ukrainian colleague, Valeriy, is looking at me with that "I told you so" expression in his Russian parlance. Vanguard could and did take it well; there was no danger. Meanwhile, we received a Force 6-7 battering over 6.5 hours and 37 nautical miles, and I grew rather fed up with relearning what I should have already known. A salutary reminder to me of the importance of patience, awareness, and humility in the face of nature's power.

A calm night was had in the lee of the islands while the minor storm blew itself out. Departing in thick fog, we had a higher tide and were following our inbound, rock-free track, headed for Groton, 6 NM west of Mystic Sea Port. The wind backed to the Southeast, and the seas had dropped.

We set off near noon when the tide slackened and reversed in our intended direction. 9.6N Speed Over Ground.

The morning before departure was for cleaning and running repairs, not the impatience of an old fart like me.

Chris Leigh-Jones

A particular thanks to our friends Chris & Terri Walker for their kindness in entertaining us in Rowayton and arranging our mooring in Newport, RI, right opposite the upwind buoy for the classic races this weekend!