Heading South - One of our best sails Long Island Sound

Sailing in Long Island Sound

We had a great last night in Newport. We had been keen to try Scales restaurant since we were in Newport last time as many locals has recommended it. We grabbed a spot at the bar for a cocktail and some Oysters and were delighted when we were served by James who we met at such a fun night out in Bristol back in July – James remembered us immediately and gave us a big hug and then shucked us some amazing Oysters. We met up with Will and his lovely wife Kristen to thank them for their support and friendship while we have been in New England and managed to just get on the last launch back to the boat after a few too many ‘just one more drinks’. I have a feeling we will see these guys again – I really hope so!

Me with Kristen and Will - one of Oyster Yachts finest

Yachts in Newport....

 A little jaded the next morning we sailed out of Newport in a gentle breeze before the wind dropped and we had to motor the last few miles to Block Island. As we approached Block a huge pod of Dolphins came to visit and played on the bow for ages, we could hear them chatting – a real treat as most of the dolphins we have seen in New England have just past us by.

Dolphins off Block Island

Block sits about 20 miles off the coast just south of Newport and is a summer playground with lively bars, beautiful sandy beaches, bike trails, great fishing and a lovely protected anchorage inside a lagoon. It has long been on our list of destinations and hearing from Supertramp that they were waiting for us to arrive was just the tonic we needed to put our boat yard time behind us and schedule a BBQ on board Askari that night. We spent two lovely calm nights at anchor at Block before getting up early for a sail to Sag Harbour following the US Coast Guard sail training ship, Oliver Hazzard Perry out of the cut.

Poor Peoples Pub - Block Island!

Pano Block Island Beach

Fi at Block Island

Beers and Ballards - an institution

Lovely dinner spot at Block Island

Leaving Block Island

Whilst in Block we had been doing some work on safe places to run to in the event that a hurricane heads our way – Irma made landfall in Florida and her further destruction caused us a lot of concern, whilst also monitoring Jose hot on her heals who might turn north. We drew up a short list and when I called a marina in Stamford, CT we were offered a good deal in a spot tucked up behind a hurricane barrier so decided to book in for a week for peace of mind. That felt a lot better – I don’t think I had realised the stress it would cause us moving south during these two months with new storms appearing every few days out in the Atlantic. Hurricane monitoring is now what we do at least twice a day…. That said we set off to Long Island sound leaving our safe zone of Newport Harbour behind us.

Super Yachts in Sag Harbour

Sag Harbor on Long Island was our first stop in New York State and wow did we know it; we anchored in the outer harbour - a mooring ball here would have been $100 a night without a launch. It was nice a protected spot right in behind islands although careful navigation is required to avoid the shallows. We took the dinghy into town where we were met by a wall of super yachts….. the pilot book did warn us that this was a fancy destination and we didn’t actually see any celebrities whizzing by in launches as suggested – although we probably wouldn’t have recognised them anyhow! The town was nice enough but definitely had a different feel, much more business like and despite being right on the water the town is back from it. It has some fancy restaurants and upscale galleries but not a good spot for a sundowner on the water. We walked around and spotted some of the historic sites that date back to its time as a whaling port and headed back to the boat for a GnT.

Tourist Office Sag Harbour

Whalers Church Sag Harbour

Trees starting to turn - Sag Harbour

The next day was seriously hot and we spent the morning servicing the dive compressor and sorting out the lazerette – the one part of the boat we didn’t cover off in the yard -Andrew is religious in his schedule to ensure we use all the equipment on the boat regularly and keep on top of our maintenance. After all that work we took a swim – yes seriously a swim! The water was lovely and it felt great to both swim off the boat for the first time since we left the Caribbean. We enticed Steve and Fi on Supertramp to come and join us – they were hard at work preparing their boat to be wrapped next week, however we were kind of on their way. We helped them out with finishing off their fresh food before hauling out on Friday - oh and maybe we shared a wine or two….

Sailing Long Island Sound

Thursday morning we passed through Plum Gut, where strong currents can run and then set out sails for a fantastic sail down Long Island Sound. It was just wonderful, we had 10-15 knots just ahead of the beam, the sea was flat, we had a few clouds but it was lovely and warm plus there was no one around – Askari romped along at 7-8 knots for 40 miles down the sound. I cannot actually remember a better sail since we arrived in the US. We pulled into Port Jefferson (Port Jeff) late afternoon and anchored just east of the power station in what is otherwise a beautiful deep harbour.

Our anchorage in Port Jeff

Ship Builders Monument in Port Jeff

Village Center - Port Jeff

Beautiful Water Front Port Jeff

The next morning we went ashore to a really warm welcome at the Yacht Club, even though we were not paying for their services and then went to the Village Center – a converted ship yard where we learned all about the history of this working town that is now doing all it can to attract tourist dollars. It was a lovely day so after lunch we went to explore a bit more of the harbour in the dinghy, visiting Setauket Harbor and the amazing sand dunes on the North East side of the entrance.

Sand Dunes

Canadian Geese - Port Jeff

Port Jeff

Tomorrow we head to Stamford, Connecticut.