A new experience. We wake to rain.
An hour later, the sky is clearing, and there is a promise of better weather later -- although not as good as they were promising yesterday. A cold front is due to pass through tonight or tomorrow. This should bring the sort of breezes we'd just as soon avoid, but if it brings a break in the rain it certainly will be welcome.
We're still unsure about our final destination for today, but it is likely to be one of the small harbors on the fishtail of Long Island. We missed this area last year, and still have many places to explore.
Fog delay.
Just as we get the engine started and are ready to go, the fog rolls in. We
thought that since it was so nice and clear after the rain, this would not be
a problem. It was a bit foggy earlier, a mile or so visibility, nothing
that would have stopped us, but now the visibility is down to about 500 feet.
This is too low for fun. The sun is trying to burn through though, so we'll
sit for awhile and read.
We leave about 10:30, Fishers Island now clearly visible, that would put the visibility at almost 3 miles. The day is gray, but we have high hopes for its improvement, we've already seen a few warm patches of sun through the clouds. We are heading for Shelter Island by going out the back (east) way from Fishers Island Sound, through an opening called Lord's passage. This will be a first time through this break in the rocks for us. The passage doesn't look too tricky, it's well marked, straight, and there is plenty of deep water. It's just that there are shallow rocks on either side, and a strong current to deal with.
As we turn to head through the passage, another two of the basic laws of sailing come to mind: first, fog doesn't just go away, and second, visibility in fog will be minimal just at the time you are in a situation which calls for more. The visibility slowly diminishes, then quickly drops to 500 feet. The good news is that the GPS is working just fine and although we briefly loose site of the marks as we go through the passage, we manage to steer a proper course, and allow for the 2 knot current which abruptly swings us around.
As we turn to follow the shoreline of Fishers Island, about a half mile away, we catch infrequent glimpses of the land as we watch the fog close in, and recede. We also feel the sun warm, and then cool as the fog and clouds return. For some reason, I recall that this is pretty typical weather for this patch of water.
We initially decided to head over to Dering Harbor, where you can walk to the Shelter Island Ferry (a very small ferry) which runs to Greenport. Alas, there is no room at the inn, and we will head for Coecles Harbor where there is a fine anchorage (but a narrow entrance channel).
As the
visibility improves, it is clear that we are not the only ones traveling today.
We pass several groups of boats, including some racing from somewhere on the
south fork to somewhere on the north fork. The wind is brisk, about 15 knots,
but now we're approaching the harbor entrance, motoring into the wind. The fog
is gone, the clouds are low, and the temperature cool. Marion is napping.
We find the entrance buoy and follow the channel in without incident There are very few boats in the harbor; on the weekend (on a nice weekend, at least) this place would be packed.
We decide to
head up to the north end of the harbor where the Ram's Head Inn has a couple
of guest moorings. We find one of the moorings empty, and are able to make a
reservation for dinner! Although I was happily looking forward to dinner on
the boat, we've been trying to get here, without luck, for years. We'll give
it a try.
We had a delightful dinner and time ashore. We took the dingy to the Ram's Head Inn's dingy dock which is on a narrow causeway between the main part of Shelter Island and a smaller piece of land, called Ram Island. Clearly, at one time, this was a separate island. A short walk up the hill brought us to a shingle style inn, with rolling lawns and a pleasant dining porch overlooking the hill and the end of the harbor. We had a very nicely prepared meal (I went for the duck, in a sherry vinegar and raspberry sauce, being sea-fooded out), in a very quiet and lovely surrounding. This is a very north shore kind of place, with a strong hint of the New England remoteness you see in Block Island, Cape Cod and the Islands. It is, if anything, more remote, being truly off the beaten path, and not overrun with cruises and beachgoers. It may just be the weather, or the midweek timeframe. It was a nice stop.
On the way back, into the still fresh southwest breeze, we are splashed by spray coming over the bow of the dingy until I think to just gun the engine, raising the bow and pushing the spray out to the sides. Now on board, we'll sit, shake off the blur of a bottle of wine, read and slip off to bed.
I hear a bit of rain on the deck above. Couldn't be. We'll check tomorrow.