Yacht Zen Again: Essex to Block Island

Thursday 23 May 2024

Essex to Block Island

Hi everyone,

Yesterday we sailed from Essex to the Great Salt Pond in Block Island. It was a 36nm passage initially in 1/4nm visibility fog which burned off to leave a sunny sky. Winds varied from nil to 20 knots. The sail in to Block Island was a speedy beam reach. A great fun passage.

Through the Old Lyme Bascule Bridge in the fog

Here are the usual plots...

Track

Arrival Track

Graphs

It was a pleasant motor down the river from Essex. At the Old Lyme Bridge we waited for two trains to pass before the very friendly bridge operator let us through. The fog was fairly thick for most of the morning and the wind was light. We sailed until boat speed fell to 1.5 knots then motored.

Around midday the fog burned off and the wind gradually built. We had timed our run to pass through The Race (between Little Gull and Fishers Islands) with the ebb. We were getting over 2 knots of tidal assistance there, and the assistance continued all the way to Block Island although much reduced.

We were called by a US Coastguard cutter who asked us to manoeuvre to pass well clear of him. Perhaps he was wary of 'foreigners'. Or perhaps he was a watch officer in training. We obliged of course, not being keen on upsetting the USCG!

Passing Fishers Island

Sailing

Great Salt Pond Channel

Block Island Sunset

Today we went ashore to look around the island. It's a popular destination in the summer. Memorial Day this coming weekend marks the start of summer. Many restaurants and bars are preparing to open for the summer but were sadly closed today. The Oar looks like a great spot. Instead we ended up in the Poor Person's Pub!

We walked from the public dinghy dock below The Oar into Shoreham, the main town on the island. The ferry from the mainland docks at a separate port there.