April 17th: Launch day! It took me a little longer than anticipated to get ORION ready to launch, and we missed the high tide. An hour later makes a big difference!
Fortunately, we were able to muscle her off the trailer, and I motored her out to her mooring where I put on the boom, bent on the sail, and made her ship-shape and ready to go.
April 22nd: The following week, I didn’t have much time to go out, and it was very windy, so I opted to simply motor up the Niantic River and anchor by Keeney Cove.
I grabbed a stick mooring instead, rested a bit, and made some work phone calls before motoring back to the mooring. Not a bad way to spend a blustery spring lunchtime.
May 13th: After a few weeks without sailing due to high winds and rainy weather, I was finally able to take ORION for her first official sail of the season!
It sure was odd to motor past the empty berth of the MIJOY 747. I wonder what will happen to the docks and building now that, after over 70 years, she is no longer in Niantic.
Light winds quickly gave way to a steady 5-10 knots from the southwest, and it was a fantastic beat upwind. ORION loved stretching her legs after a long winter.
As we rounded Black Point and headed toward the anchorage in Giant’s Neck, the clouds rolled in and it got rather cold. It was a glorious sail home, and I even brought out the asymmetrical spinnaker for a final romp averaging 6.5 knots over three miles! See a lot more pictures in the Google Photo Album.
May 20th: Another great sailing day. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of time to spend on the water, so I decided to sail over to Niantic Bay Yacht Club to see how many boats were in the water there.
The docks were mostly empty, and a big crane was tied up to the transient pier. It then dawned on me the docks were only just being installed in advance of Memorial Day Weekend!
June 3rd: Overcast skies and almost no wind didn’t keep me from motoring around Millstone Point to Jordan Cove for lunch, passing by the bell buoy south of Little Rock on the way.
This Tartan 31 was the only boat moored on the east side of Millstone. In another month, the mooring field will have another dozen or so boats.
I anchored and had a pleasant lunch of clam chowder and coffee (heated on my portable butane stove) along with a fruit cup and cookies, all from my stores I keep onboard in a sealed, plastic tub.
It wasn’t long before fog started rolling in and the rain began to fall. I quickly packed everything up and sailed home, hugging the coastline and keeping a close eye on my compass to avoid the rocks.
July 1st: I managed to sneak in a quick sail before a line of thunderstorms rolled through. I stayed in the river and enjoyed a little light-air sailing.
I was happy to see the catboat HANNAH M back on the river after a year’s absence. She was for sale last year, and I’m glad her new owner continues to keep her in the area. What a great boat.
July 15th: I had a nice afternoon sail in the Niantic River. It was almost high tide with a steady yet light breeze from the south, so I ventured up the left fork of the river.
I beached ORION at Turkey Point and enjoyed a light lunch on the beach in the shade. It was nice to sail back home over the sandbars since it was high tide.
July 22nd: I motored over to the launch ramp to meet my good friend, Mike Harten, to take him for a sail. He’s a great guy and a fantastic jazz upright bassist!
It was a great day to go sailing, but it took us both by surprise when there was absolutely no wind and it very quickly roared in blowing over 15 knots, forcing me to reef!
August 6-8: The Mariner National Rendezvous was held with 14 participating Mariners. We all launched from the launch ramp and went to Mystic Seaport for a fabulous weekend.
I took a bunch of folks out sailing who made the effort to drive to the event. Here I am sailing with Nick and Eniko DeMarco from Narrasketuck, Long Island. Check out the Google Photo Album of the event here.
August 27th: I took my nine-year-old son sailing up the river to go swimming at Turkey Point beach. This was one of his final vacation days before school, and we wanted to do something special.
We beached ORION, tied her to a tree, and swam for a good hour or so. The water temperature was like being in a spa! We finally left when some teenage powerboaters started zooming dangerously close to us in the water.
September 3rd: I sailed up the river and hooked onto a mooring to have a quick lunch and bail out any water that had collected from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
The nearby mooring fields are practically empty; many boaters who pulled their boats out of the water for Hurricanes Henri and Ida have elected not to put them back in for the season. ORION, however, will most likely be staying in until November to take advantage of the beautiful autumn sailing!
October 7th: After several daysails out in Niantic Bay, I decided to take advantage of the high tide and tow my nine-foot Dyer Dhow TRUE LOVE up the river to explore Keeney Cove. What a beautiful spot!
October 21st: With temperatures in the low 70s and the wind a steady 5-10 knots, I spent a wonderful afternoon in the river, stopping for a brief time to anchor and have lunch in the nearly-vacant mooring field.
October 28th: I took ORION for her last sail of the season, enjoying the Oswegatchie Hills foliage up the Niantic River.
November 4th: With my sister’s help, I unstepped the mast at the beach and hauled ORION at the Mago Point launch ramp before trailering her home to Northford. Another successful sailing season has ended!
