GREENPORT, NY; SHELTER ISLAND; AND ESSEX, CT

Thursday, August 29, 2024

Mystic Seaport will definitely rank as one of the high points of this trip!  We left Mystic Seaport on Sunday morning, and moved 1 mile down the river to the Mystic Downtown Marina, to be closer to the shops and restaurants.

As we left Mystic Seaport, we got one last look at several of the projects underway there, including the maintenance of the Kalmar Nykel, which is based in Wilmington, DE.  We last saw her in 2021 in Chestertown, MD, at the Downrigging festivities.  She’s very distinctive, with a series of brightly painted carved heads decorating her rails and stern.

The yard arms were turned sideways to fit through the bridge.

Lit at night in Chestertown in October, 2021 for the downrigging festival. Wonder if she’ll make it back in time this year?

Mystic proper is a very cute town, with lots of restaurants and shops.  It turns out, however,  that we left Mystic without having a meal from Mystic Pizza.  It may be famous, but the folks we talked to didn’t think too highly of the food!  Instead, we just enjoyed our equally famous Freedom Charcuterie on the boat.

From Mystic CT, we headed south across Long Island Sound to Greenport, NY, on Long Island’s North Fork.  I remembered visiting Greenport with my sailboat about 35 years ago, and I remembered it as charming and authentic.  It did not disappoint.  AND it now has a great Mexican restaurant where we enjoyed lunch. Judging from this sign, it must be a swingin’ place at night!  Unfortunately, our marina had live entertainment and a pizza truck that evening, so we never got to find out for ourselves…

Wednesday morning, we moved across the channel to Shelter Island: specifically Piccozzi’s Marina in Dering Harbor.  

Shelter Island is a much-sought-after retreat, accessible only by ferry.  We were there to have dinner at the Pridwin Hotel, built in 1909, and now owned by Curtis Bashaw, the chap who owns the Virginia Hotel and Congress Hall in Cape May.  He does a first-class job, and the hotel attracts first-class people (at first-class prices)! Curtis is also running for the US Senate seat in New Jersey – you may have seen his ads on tv.

We had scheduled to attend the weekly Wednesday BBQ on the lawn, and it was a lovely event.  Many Porsches in the parking lot.  Many yachts at the dock.

We left Dering Harbor precisely at 8 this morning, seeking to avoid the tidal rips at the mouth of Long Island Sound.  LIS runs generally East-to-West, and it is narrow at each end.  When the tide changes, a LOT of water moves through these openings.  When the wind is against the tide, you get tidal rips.  The effect of the wind against the tide creates a washing machine effect which can be brutal.  Best to be avoided by transiting at slack tide, which we did.  EZ-PZ.

Back on the Connecticut shore, we entered the Connecticut River and cruised past Saybrook Point, where we stayed on the way up to Maine, and continued up the river to Essex, another charming little hamlet best known for the Griswold Inn, or simply “The Griz”.

One of the oldest restaurants in the US, having been run by only six families in its history.

The Gris has one of the largest collections of paintings of ships – covers walls and ceilings.

The bar with a great piano player and popcorn machine….

And a Christmas tree!

Essex is lovely with beautifully maintained colonial homes from the 1700’s with white fences in front. Main Street has beautiful shops and restaurants.