Mon June 14 - Old Saybrook to Shennecosset Yacht Club

 In which raindrops are falling on our heads ....

We had planned to leave early, but the weather did not cooperate.   It was raining hard when we woke up, and I know how important a rainy lie-in is to Mel.  I'm no dummy!  And today was a relatively short drive to the Shennecosset Yacht Club - which would serve as our base to explore New London and Mystic.   We had a nice leisurely morning with tea, coffee and breakfast.  Finally at about 11:30 we started the motor, dropped the mooring lines and made our way back into the Connecticut River and then the LIS. 

The plan for the day.

 

It was rainy and cloudy the whole trip which made it hard to see, so we turned on the radar and navigation lights to make sure we could be seen/see everything, and used the AIS (Automated Identification System) to keep an eye out for fast moving boats.  

 

Nice and dry on the upper bridge - just hard to see.

So. Much. Technology.

We passed a few sailboats and saw some large ferries, but we made the trip without incident, passing the Thames river entrance and getting to the Yacht Club by early afternoon.   The plan had been to go into New London, but the rain started up again so we decided to stay on the boat to catch up on paper work (and the blog).  In the evening we took a walk around the area.

Mel's dad could give you a much more comprehensive lecture on the geology, but basically glaciers left lateral and terminal moraines, which are the land masses we are visiting.  A little geology humor - Mel's dad used to have a t-shirt that read: Help Stamp Out Terminal Moraines.  Which is almost as good as the one that read: Help Stop Continental Drift.  Oh those drool geologists!

Having JUST watched Downton Abby (yes - we were a bit late to the party), Rick is trying to see if the butler will answer.

Why does the light house at the channel to New  London look like the house where Peter Pan met Wendy, you ask? Well - you are going to be sorry you asked because Rick is now going to explain it in g r e a t d e t a i l...

This colony was called New London, and was settled on the Thames River - everything named/designed to remind the colonists of 'home'.  But wait - there is more. During the War of 1812, a section of CT (called the Firelands) was burned to the ground.  As reparation the government offered them free land in what was then the far western frontier - OH.  That whole area was called the Western Reserve.  So in Ohio, near where Mel's mother grew up, there is another New London! And Mel's sister went to nursing school in OH, at Case Western Reserve.  We never knew this history - thank you, Cousin Sarah.

As we were settling in for the evening we met the owner of the neighboring sailboat, Dan Crouch, and he offered to drive us into Mystic the next morning.   The people here in CT have been so nice! 

We were exhausted by 8pm - the boat next to us says it all.  It's a great play on words in Spanish, as well as English!  You may have to say it out loud.