July 18 - Clinton to Essex

Up late, damp morning, very light breeze, hazy. Typical for Clinton.

It's Marion's birthday and Roger was up early, impatient to present his card. We'll be off on a very short hop to Essex for a birthday dinner at the Griswald Inn. We met Kirsten for dinner last night, but Clinton has become something of a wasteland for dining. Most all the restaurants were closed either because it was Monday, or because they were closed. We ate at the marina restaurant (Aqua) which was ok.

10:45AM: Now, about to leave. Yes, it's a late start, but we're not going very far. Knowing that Essex can book up early, we called to reserve a mooring; absolutely no luck. Both the Chandlery and yacht clubs are full up. It seems there is a yacht club cruise coming in. Yacht club cruises just roll past ports this time of year, eating up whatever resources are available for the cruiser who has not planned ahead and booked every moment of his trip. We are, of course, not such cruisers, and take what comes, often preferring to anchor out in some more isolated area. Birthdays, however, are different; we'll be staying dockside at Brewers, who because of the crush of visitors, required a credit card for the reservation!

Essex has been looking pretty depressed in recent years. Perhaps this is a sign of the town coming back some. We hope so.

Motoring towards the Connecticut River, we have the current against us. The lobster pot in the picture shows the current as it is towed under by it. This, of course, makes it a much harder target to miss. We've seen far fewer lobster pots in the Sound this year, likely due to the large lobster kill off. Still, there are enough of them that you still need to keep a sharp lookout.

About 1:30, we turn into the Connecticut River with its pair of lights at the entrance. It was a warm and calm trip, very flat seas and hazy sky. As we turn north, there is a bit of wind picking up from the south, but no use in putting up the sails now. We see the Old Lyme draw bridge up; chances are that by the time we get there, it will be down, waiting for a train. Sure enough. An interesting note: the bridge has an automated sign telling you when it opens next. I guess they got tired of calls on the radio. Also interesting, it seems to tell the wrong time!

2:45 finds us tied up at Brewers Dauntless Shipyard. The radio is warning of thunderstorms in the area, so with Marion's birthday dinner, it will make getting to and from the boat that much easier. I'm betting there are no storms, though.

Wrong again. 3:30 and just time to go for a walk in town and we have rain, thunder and lightening. This will probably pass quickly, and we're off for any shopping opportunity which may present itself. Ice cream is high on the list.

That was it for the rain. We went into town had our cones and did the obligatory shopping. The town seems as busy as ever, but the number of shops (aside from tourist shops) is still very small. The Black Seal is still thriving, but we opted for dinner at the Griswold Inn which served us some excellent swordfish for the birthday dinner. The cut was unusual, very close to the tail; it was quite tender and flavorful. I wonder if it was the cut, or just the fish.