Friday late afternoon found us anchored off Crescent Beach in Niantic. A SE wind direction gave us a pleasing beach view as opposed to one of the Millstone nuclear power station to our NW along Waterford’s shore. This isn’t much of a cruising destination; however, for us it was a new stop and a good way to prolong our eventual return to Deep River home base.

Yacht Cub behind breakwater, to the left is an association beach

Saturday morning we moved north a mile to a spot off what I call Boardwalk Beach. It is a town beach but not as cozy as the one near Crescent Beach and the Yacht Club. This one mile waterfront walkway, opened in 2005, provides views of Niantic Bay and Long Island Sound. You will find only two entrances to the boardwalk.  Benches and interpretive signs along the entire length of the boardwalk provide opportunities to relax and learn more about the history and coastal environments you see from the boardwalk.

Moving gave us a shorter dinghy ride into the inner harbor which took us under the new Amtrak bridge and the highway bridge.

Entering the inner harbor (Niantic River) after passing under the bridges.

We found a spit of beach to land on and bravely marched several blocks into town. Our local knowledge was useful as we’d driven here many times just never visited by boat. People outside their homes actually spoke to us; I thought for a moment we’d been transported south. Perhaps the proximity to water is a friendliness factor.

Our first stop was Thistle Beads in order that I might find a few jewelry-making items on my list; and that I did.  A couple of bakeries called out but we yielded to ice cream; egads- before lunch even. Main St is lined with useful shops, a small movie theater, a plethora of eateries and ice cream options not to mention banks, books and bars.

A few more precious leisure hours would be ours until heading back to our faithful mooring ball. (at least we hope it’s more faithful than the first one)

Another question we had was, “what town is Ram Island part of?” Noank, Mystic, Stonington? While much closer to Noank it is actually part of Stonington.  Here we were trying to leave town and all we got was a change of scenery, and no sheep. Sorry Benj.

Ram Island- circumnavigate it in 45 mins at a leisurely pace

Wikipedia has this to say about Ram Island: Ram Island is a small 20-acre (81,000 m²) island off the coast of Mystic, Connecticut. It is located in the Town of Stonington, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) offshore, between Mystic and Fishers Island. Once called Mystic Island, it was formerly the site of an exclusive Victorian era hotel resort at which steamships from Boston and New York City stopped twice a day. At its heyday the hotel played host to a world lightweight bare-knuckle boxing championship. By the 1920s, the hotel had fallen into disrepair and was completely destroyed in the New England Hurricane of 1938. A motel was later built that catered to transient boaters. Currently, the island is a private residence.

I satisfied myself with photos of the horses since rams were AWOL

The tiny bight (bay) is perfect for a quick respite or lunch stop and while Ortolan was the first to arrive, 5 or 6 others came and went before we headed off to Niantic.