The
bridge came down and we all tried to hold our positions on the
river. Adamarie was close to the bridge, we were much farther
back with other boats between us. The bridge was closed for approximately
20 minutes. When it opened, a ferry or large excursion boat, which
had just entered the river, contacted the bridge tender who then
stated that he'd only be open for 5 minutes. The ferry operator
stated that he could make it and put the pedal to the metal. We
scurried out of his way to let him pass. He nearly mowed down
Adamarie as Dick cleared the bridge. We had to wait another
half hour for the bridge to open again. I held Realization
in position, this time much closer to the bridge. According to
the knotmeter we were making almost 3 knots but a look towards
shore showed that we were moving backwards -- gave her a bit more
throttle and continued to wait.
Finally
the bridge opened and we continued up the river. It took us 2
hours to get from the mouth of the river to The
Chandlery at Essex. Between the current and the wind I had
no intention of getting the slip that I originally wanted and
opted for a mooring as did Adamarie. Shortly afterwards,
Endure arrived and opted for a slip. Joe tried to ease
Endure into her slip but it wasn't an easy task. Endure
decided that she'd try to enter the slip sideways rather than
heed Joe's wish to nose her in and wound up plastered against
the main pier. Bill tossed us a bow and stern line and we were
able to pull her off and into her slip.
Bruce
and I then enjoyed a quiet dinner aboard Realization and
Dick barbecued aboard Adamarie while Bill and Joe dined
ashore at "the Griz."
Thursday morning Endure headed for Mystic
Seaport while Realization and Adamarie remained
at Essex anticipating the arrival of Machts Nichts (CD30MKII)
and Layla (CD30MKII). Dick, Bruce and I walked around town
and did a little reprovisioning. Bruce was able to purchase a
new alternator belt at the Brewer Dauntless yard. And I was able
to take care of three loads of laundry as well. We weren't sure
of exactly when the other boats would arrive but we made arrangements
for the 3 of us to dine at The Griswold's Inn. As the sun waned,
Mike Heintz, his brother Paul and cousin Matt aboard Machts
Nichts
entered the harbor. They tied up in a slip and readied their boat.
We asked about Layla and Mike stated that Larry wouldn't be able
to make the rendezvous. The 3 of us headed over to "the Griz"
for dinner where we enjoyed a good meal. We ran into Mike, Paul
and Matt, also headed to the restaurant, on our way back to the
boats.
Friday morning Adamarie, Machts Nichts and Realization sailed together from Essex, CT. The trip down the river was with the current and this time the trip only took a few minutes. The wind picked up as we approached Niantic Bay.
Upon
arrival at Millstone Point
Harbor I grabbed the binoculars and scanned the harbor --
nobody there, not even Heather Ann (CD30K). The three boats
continued sailing on Niantic Bay taking the opportunity for some
great sailing and photographs. Shortly after noon we spied Heather
Ann's tanbark sails and Leo MacDonald contacted Adamarie
and Machts Nichts on the VHF who let him know we were there
too. How could Leo have missed our tanbark sails? Leo and Bill
Slater took Heather Ann into the harbor while the rest
of us anchored next to the Niantic Bay Yacht Club's mooring field
and had lunch. We watched two tall ships, part of the OpSail fleet,
make their way into Niantic Bay to anchor.
After
lunch, Dick was first to weigh anchor and headed over to Millstone
Point Harbor where Leo directed him to tie up at the floating
dock. We were next to enter the little harbor. Leo directed us
to tie up on the opposite side of the floating dock. After getting
our lines and fenders in place, I promptly fell in a hole in the
dock where one of the planks had caved in. Oops! Then I had to
figure out how to climb from the dock up the rock face of the
shoreline to get to terra firma. We were followed by Mike Heintz
aboard Machts Nichts who tied up temporarily to the fixed
pier. Joe Focarile and Bill Comella aboard Endure were
next to arrive. Then the fun began.
Click on the links below if you'd like to know more.
Last modified: 5 September 2000
