Ocean Sailing: Sound Sailing Center | Norwalk, CT

Captain’s Log: Thimble Islands

My kids and I sailed from New London back to Norwalk, stopping at one of my favorite spots, the Thimble Islands off Branford.  Unlike the Norwalk islands, which for the most part are glacial sedimentary deposits, the Thimble Islands are granite outcroppings, like much of the Maine coast, with all their rugged beauty.   The base of the Statue of Liberty is constructed of granite from the surrounding area.

Up to quite recently, all the symbol islands or private and you could not go I sure on any of them. Several years ago Outer Thimble was donated to the National Park Service and is now a public island.

 

Anchoring is tricky in the Thimble Islands, given the shifting currents.   2 anchors set 180 degrees to each other with a weight to keep the rode down will do the trick.  However, there are generally several unoccupied moorings available. If you arrive towards the end of the day it’s often a safe bet to grab one of these.  If the owner shows up they will certainly let you know!  We then dingied over to Outer Thimble and spent a few wonderful hours climbing all over and just laying on the rocks.

 

Heading out, I was surprised at how unuseful the GPS was for navigating between the various clumps of rocks. Paper charts with plotted courses are essential.  I am always glad to review possible destinations with our members based on my many years of experience. We hope you will get out there soon!  Memberships are filling up rapidly so let us know if you want to get out there this year.

 

 

The Thimble Islands are not the easiest destination, but they are, to my mind, the most beautiful one in all of Connecticut.