September 5-20   Essex and Saybrook, Connecticut

After days of pleasant cool weather, we were subjected to a heat wave, an unusual occurrence for the East Coast in September.  Heat and humidity limited our excursions away from the boat. We were increasingly concerned about the tropical storm/soon to be hurricane off the coast of Florida.  It was on a northward path and veering eastward toward Maine. Our planned trip to Essex and Saybrook was now questionable.

After a day of delays and uncertainties, Dave and Samantha finally arrived in Providence at 5:00 PM on September 11.  We celebrated with dinner at Blu on the Water. It had been five years since they had been on The Bottom Line.

Dave recently completed transporting a boat from Seattle to Los Angeles and was excited about continuing his boat captain career.  He is writing an on-line course for training transporting boat captains.  Safety of the crew and the vessel are his main objectives and he is explicit in his instructions. We were impressed with his knowledge and common sense methods for assuring a successful voyage.

Our seven-hour journey to Essex was delightful. The day was sunny with little wind.  As a professional with considerable experience (plus four years in the navy), Dave always takes the helm and becomes captain and navigator.   Samantha, who has joined Dave on many trips, becomes first mate and manages the lines.  I oversee the galley and David happily retires to the sofa with Pretzel for a long nap.

Exiting Long Island Sound into the wide expanse of the Connecticut River, we passed Saybrook, waited for the bascule railroad bridge to lift for sufficient clearance and then continued past large, beautiful homes lining the shores to Essex.  We docked at Essex Yacht Club, a lovely pristine facility only a few blocks from Main Street.

The following morning, we hired Uber to give us a brief tour of Essex neighborhoods.  The area is lush with aged trees, magnificent shrubbery and historical homes set in beautifully maintained landscapes.  The town, once a thriving shipbuilding center, retains a significant nautical presence with several large marinas.  We enjoyed shopping in the charming stores, mostly housed in historical buildings of white clapboard sidings.  Essex is the quintessential New England village. 

Main Street is dominated by the Griswold Inn, built in 1776 and still functioning as a hotel, restaurant, and lively bar scene. We enjoyed a great dinner in their lovely dining room, filled with old nautical prints and memorabilia.

Hurricane forecasts indicated we needed to cancel our plans to return to Wickford on Friday.  Our reservations at Saybrook Marina, at the mouth of the Connecticut River, were extended until Sunday.  After an hour journey down river from Essex we were assigned a favorable dockage, protected from wind and easily accessible to shore and the lovely facilities of the marina.

Dinner at the marina restaurant was excellent and the staff was very helpful.  We enjoyed the marina shuttle to town and made several trips to explore this small but very viable community. Dave and Samantha were constantly occupied in cleaning, organizing or repairing items on the boat.  David and I happily watched them work!

The hurricane passed us by without any significant wind and Sunday was a perfect day to return to Wickford. Dave and Samantha spent most of the journey on the bridge to have a splendid view of the shore and the many boats in the Sound.  Arriving early, we rested before the farewell dinner for our guests at La Masseria in East Greenwich.  Their visit had been a wonderful opportunity to have long conversations and enjoy new experiences together.