It rained all night in Norwalk, and when we got up, it was still raining hard. However, the weather forecast showed that the rain would let up some time around noon, and although thunderstorms were coming, they would not arrive until around 5:00 pm in Norwalk. The forecast for Mystic, our destination, was better, and although there were thunderstorms in the morning, the afternoon looked clear, with thunderstorms coming again in the evening. All of this to say that we had a window leaving Norwalk at mid day and getting to Mystic around 4:30.
We desperately needed to pump out our waste tanks, so as soon as there was a break in the rain, we headed over to the fuel dock and pumped out. Elana has become very handy on the boat, and she handled the bow line and helped me with the dreaded pump-out routine.
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| Elana helping with the bow line |
Of course, as we pulled out of the marina it began to rain again, so I drove the boat from the inside helm - first time ever. As soon as I tried to chart our course, I discovered that I still had no chart data in my MFD, and I had to use my iPhone app and the in water navigation aids to make our way through a somewhat tricky channel to get back to Long Island Sound. Visibility was low, it was raining, and my equipment was not ideal. I was pretty stressed out for about the first 20 minutes. Then we found open water, and I got the hang of using the app instead of the chart. The rest of the way was simple, but we encountered our first day with some waves. I'd say average waves were about three feet, and we were bouncing around. Still, the boat handled it great, and we were able to do about 21 knots without any discomfort. It was 66 degrees out and raining on and off, so none of us were up top where we normally like to ride, and we stayed inside the whole way. The water is deep in the Sound, and I noted the depth sounder reading 188 feet at one point. Unfortunately, we did not see any dolphins or other sea life. I guess those are more common in the ocean.
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| Norwalk to Mystic |
When we got close to Mystic, we found an easy to reach fuel dock, and I was impressed when my crew jumped into action, we had the lines and fenders in place in under a minute, just as I was pulling up to the dock. A huge improvement over our earlier experiences, and everything was handled much more calmly and smoothly with Ann, Elana and Benny each comfortable and experienced in their roles. Professionals!
The rest of the way to Mystic was in a marked channel in a no wake zone, and I was easily able to navigate it without any equipment, which was good, because according to my chart plotter we were on land some of the time. I wrote to Navionics who provides the data chip with the maps and asked them how come I have no data on my charts. Haven't heard back yet. Looks like I'll be dataless on my charts until Martha's Vineyard in a few days.
As we approached Mystic, we had to wait for the railroad swing bridge to open. I called on the radio and the bridge tender said "5 minutes". About 15 minutes later, a train went by, and then 5 minutes later the bridge opened, and we went through. The one bad thing about a marina next to a train bridge is that you are next to a train bridge, so now every 15-20 minutes a loud train goes by, and they seem to feel they need to honk when they are on a swinging bridge. We are docked about 50 yards from the tracks. Let's see how late they run...
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| The spinning train bridge |
As soon as we got through the bridge, we saw the dockhand signaling at our slip. It was a scary looking docking situation. I had to turn us around in a busy bridge crossing channel with another large boat coming behind me. Once I did that, I had to back into a slip right next to another boat about the same size as ours, with a current pushing me away from that boat and into the edge of the moving bridge, and with little room and no pilings between us. Of course, the owner of the boat was on his bow cleaning it, so I got to do this right in front of him. I had to fight the current and straighten out the boat and line it up with the slip. Of course, Ann is behind me telling me I'm not going to make it, but I had a plan, and I stayed even with the slip, on the side away from the other boat and down current from it, and eased Sababa in until I had 6 inches to spare, and then I slowly started to move back and inch the boat into the current and away from the dock as I backed her in. It went very smoothly, and I was pretty proud of myself, but I realized how intense the whole experience was when I caught my breath afterwards. One of the more stressful docking experiences I've had in a while, but I felt very good when the guy on the other boat told me that as soon as he saw how I was approaching it, he was not in the least bit worried. Called me a pro!
So, of course, as soon as we get all the lines tied and the power connected, Ann suggests that maybe I should turn the boat around so that we can get our dingy out in the morning. Luckily, she agreed that maybe that's something we should do tomorrow. Hopefully, she'll decide we don't really need our dingy in Mystic after all. Not loving the idea of docking it again here. But if I have to, I have to.
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| Tied up in Mystic near the swing bridge and next to a nice boat that I did not hit when docking! |
Once the boat was secured, I took a shower, and we headed into town. It was only a short walk, which gave me hope that we won't need to use the dingy here.
Of course, we went to the restaurant that made this place famous, Mystic Pizza. Kind of corny because they had TVs all over the place running the movie on endless loop. The back of the menu told the story of how a movie producer traveling through town decided it was the perfect spot to stage her story, and the rest is history. The pizza was actually pretty good!
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| We ate at Mystic Pizza |
Besides a famous pizza restaurant, the town also has a pretty well known and seriously cool drawbridge. There are large cement blocks 50 feet in the air that counterbalance the bridge when it opens. The bridge opens every hour at 40 minutes after the hour, assuming there is a boat that wants to cross. During off season, they require 8 hours notice to open it. Presumably that's how long it takes to get someone there to set everything up and open the bridge.
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| Mystic drawbridge |
After dinner, we walked back to the boat, and I did a thorough washing down from stern to bow. It's supposed to thunderstorm overnight, but a hard rain won't wash off all the salt the way my washing does. So, we're in for the evening. Benny on his video games, Elana texting on the phone with friends, Ann reading and talking on the phone, and I'm working on my laptop. Typical evening on the Rubin boat.
Tomorrow is a tourist day in Mystic, so I won't write a blog entry, and the next day, we'll head to Providence, navigating with my phone app.
