Could the Cove be any lovelier? No; and to think we’ve been fortunate enough to have lived close and could just pop in for an evening wind-down or a weekend fun day. No matter which boat, from our 21ft Larsen to 32ft SeaRays to our Maine Cat 41, every moment in the Cove was a treasure. One especially fun time was when our son tried, with some success, to teach Russ how to dive. What about me you say? Hopeless.

Preparing to head off, Russ removes the secondary line from the mooring

Splish splash, they are taking a bath

Passing through what you could call Essex Harbor along the CT River we came upon a lovely motor yacht anchored, her black at-anchor day mark visible at the bow. M/v Blue Guitar, and depending on which source you believe and who has it right, belongs to, did belong to…… Eric Clapton. But don’t get too excited; from what I read the yacht he owns is Va Bene and she is larger and uber-luxurious. The clincher for me was that the captain did not possess a British or Aussie accent; therefore the yacht is not owned by Eric Clapton.

No matter who owns her, she is quite attractive

Low SW winds held some promise of a motor-sail across LIS; and that we did with very calm waters. Our big surprise resulted from raising the main; not only did gallons of water dump out (as expected because our sail and stack pack make a perfect water catchment system, but a crap-house full of spiders with broken dirt dwellings, came spilling out all over the roof top and stern- ugh it was awful and messy. So I’ve done some serious Google research and submit my conclusion: a mud dauber wasp builds a multi-celled mud nest, collects spiders, paralyzes them and lays one egg on each spider, placing the unit in a cell, covering the cell and making another. Here is a link to a more detailed tale along with better close-ups than I took.

More came out of the stack pack at the stern. Most of the mud was grayish and dry. The spiders appeared alive but not moving.

Plum Gut, that notoriously rough passage between LIS and Gardiner’s Bay welcomed us with barely a wavelet and the ferries that run between New London, CT and Orient Point, NY passed before we arrived.
During our powerboat years we never anchored or took a mooring at Sag Harbor, mostly due to lack of a dinghy with a decent outboard. The town-operated marina has prime location slips right at the park and about 15 additional less scenic ones at the foot of the main street. Now that we have our home and our taxi with us at all times, anchoring out is cheap and easy. We headed for the beach so this beachcomber could have a much-needed fix and watched the sea gulls feast on spider crabs they plucked from the shallows.

Not all the shops in Sag Harbor are expensive clothing or jewelry

The obligatory town walk through completed, we headed to our favorite dinner (and lunch) place, Dockside Bar & Grill at the American Legion across from the town park. Always a delicious meal outside under the umbrellas; a not so pretentious bit of NY dining. Our waiter was the most energetic and enjoyable waiter I think we have EVER had, anywhere. You must go dahlings, and be sure to ask for Peter! I opted for my Earl Martini on the rocks because well, it’s better for the drink to be on the rocks than the boat.

We splurged; consuming way too many calories and spending like drunken sailors on shore leave. Our appetizer was an engaging lobster/avocado spring roll. Russ chose a Serious Manhattan and my unique Earl Martini excellent; Earl Grey infused Bombay gin, lemon juice and agave. Yes, do try this at home.

Caught mama deer, the fawns moved into the trees while she watched me

Darn, we blinked and 32 days swept past faster than you can say “she sells sea shells by the sea shore!” Problem was she wasn’t collecting or selling those shells, she was searching for a new shell to call home. In between, she checked out new dining venues nearby with friends and family, became a regular at the UPS Store, the storage unit and eventually purchased a new home. What’s that you say? Wind shift we say. Stay tuned to hear how a catamaran morphs into a motor home.
June’s weather held much promise; a delightful month with few thunderstorms and nary a one nailed us. Our mooring held and we avoided a surprise parting, staying put through numerous tide changes, wind shifts and the funky stuff in between.

Father’s Day was nothing short of fantastic and we sucked up every precious minute with our son.

A rare foggy morning- the geese love to do that line thing

July 4th weekend brought Arthur but in his weakened (was the weekend after all) state he was a non-event except for rain and 20kts of wind immediately following. Yawn.

Finally that Monday we successfully met a friend of Jack and Kerry’s who was in Mystic for five weeks. Let’s just say, what happens in Essex, stays in Essex. We met at the Gris and then got treated to a sneak look at… oops I can’t say because this just isn’t supposed to happen.

The weird thing is, that very afternoon in the marina parking lot we ran into, not literally, the guy who was key to this sneak peek. We hadn’t seen him in years but in the space of 5 mins we exchanged the Cliff notes version of our lives for the past four years. Then we see him at the Gris – maybe it had something to do with Monday being Sea Shanty night – and our guest being a YC member (albeit on the west coast); we were treated to a rare viewing. Was very awesome in a historical and clandestine way.
The next morning we joined our nephews and their dad for breakfast, then finished our errands and all that fun stuff associated with heading off. A hurried good-bye to friends at the marina and we were off to Hamburg Cove, one of the most protected and prettiest coves on the Connecticut shore. Russ figures he’s been enjoying the Cove for 53 years, while I can only claim 26 and Benj, 21.

I refuse to dwell on the fact that all our stops on this upcoming two-month cruise will be our last; charging the camera now for the photo snapping frenzy to come. We snagged a DRYC mooring- thanks guys! And swung blissfully all night into day. Maybe a T-storm or just enough rain to rinse off the boat would be good.