Taking the boat to winter storage

October 24, 2015. Today was the day to get out of Norwich, run west down the Sound from New London to Old Saybrook and then make the long run up the Connecticut River to Portland, just across from Middletown.

The frost on the dock had melted by the time we got there but it was still a very cool morning. We had previously taken on fuel so we were free to take in the lines and let the old Chryslers get warm going down river. There wasn't another boat out that morning until we arrived at New London.

The weather was overcast but the visibility was remarkable. We could pick out the water tower on Plum Island as we passed New London Ledge Light. The Sound itself made for an easy ride: 1-2 ft. seas with the wind from the east. It doesn't get any better than that.

Navigation on this trip didn't exactly strain our skills. There are only two waypoints, first at Bartlett Reef and then at "Bell 8" just off Old Saybrook.  After we were a few miles past Bartlett Reef, Frances pointed out the inner light at Old Saybrook inlet. Bill spotted what she was referring to and said that it couldn't be Old Saybrook because we were still nine miles away. He declared that it must be a sailboat. However, noting that the target spot didn't move at all, Bill finally had to admit that what we were seeing was, in fact, the Old Saybrook inner light. Funny, Frances is the one who has vision problems, or so she says.

 Bartlett Reef

If the sun had been out during our trip up the Connecticut River, we would have experienced the best fall foliage in memory. As it was, the colors were still impressive and there were lots of people on the upper river out for one last fall cruise.

For those of you who have followed our boating adventures over the years, we can report that our old engines performed perfectly. We ran at 3000 rpm for a SOG of about 15 miles per hour. All the work we did on them last winter really paid off.

We shot some video during the day. Can't take a real cruise without video!