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.
Author Archives: Martin van Breems
January 8th Newsletter
| Adventures on VAruna (our VAr37) – CT to USVI |
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| Crossing the Gulf Steam in Varuna. |
On November 28th we left Old Saybrook for Bermuda, sailing in convoy with Bermuda High. Conditions looked good, although a significant low pressure system would make the stream unpassable if we did not make good time (which of course we did). The Zoom jib boom helped make us faster than the larger Hanse 400, Bermuda High. Alan Suhonen captained Bermuda High assisted by Mark Robinson and Frank the owner. Alan was amazed at how quickly Martin and his crew on the 37 took off. Here is a report from Fred Williams, one of our members on Varuna on the first leg;
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| Dave and Fred on watch as we leave. |
November 6th Newsletter
| Still lots of Sailing at Sound Sailing Center! |
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With the warm weather so far this fall, we have kept all the boats in service, except for the Contest 36 in Mystic. Even better, a warm winter has been forecast, and unlike the past 2 winters, we will likely be sailing all winter. Of course, Frostbiting on the Ensigns is another option, and the VAr 37 membership has 1-2 spots available and will be doing the Offshore Passage to Bermuda and St Thomas at the end of November (see below). While in St Thomas, we will offer several Flotilla cruises for members this winter. Of course, VAr 37 members have the option of using her in the Virgins this winter.
Memberships make a great gift, and by signing up now, you pay 2015 rates for 2016. Rates will go up 6-8% next year, and students or returning members get an additional 5% off.
Ocean Passage / Basic Cruising Class
Last call to sign on for our Ocean Passage south 2015! Please get your registration form in this week. Our Var 37 will be Captained by Martinus van Breems. Frank Finoglio will Captain his Hanse 400 ‘Bermuda High’ (formerly owned by SSC). The cost for the Ocean Passage (including food) is $2,350, or $1,980 for members. You will have to pay transportation expenses, along with custom / immigration fees. Note that repeat students pay 1/2 price, and those who have done it more than 2x pay just a share of expenses.
We will meet on Saturday, Nov 21st from 9-3pm to review weather, the boat, and head out to practice reefing and man over board drills. Bring appropriate sailing gear (there is a list below) and lunch. We may make a run to West Marine, where you can buy gear at our discounted prices.
Friday, November 27th – Basic Cruising Class, Norwalk to Mystic. The passage from Norwalk down the Sound will be run as a Basic Cruising Class on the VAr 37, with stops in 4 harbors per student to practice the Basic Cruising drills. We have space for one more student. Bermuda High will depart from Norwalk and head straight to New London or Mystic. All crew should drop off their gear by thursday if they can not join us on friday.
Saturday, November 28th. Earliest departure from Mystic. Note that we often have a 2-3 day delay (or longer) to find an appropriate weather window.
Thursday Dec 3rd. Earliest arrival in Bermuda.
Friday, December 4th Likely arrival in Bermuda, 2nd leg crew should arrive if possible. Of course, we will have a very good idea if we will be leaving on Nov 28th by Nov 24th, allowing a week in advance to purchase tickets. An incentive to arrive by Friday evening is the massive party in St George from 6-9pm, with many events including lots of the finest homes open to the public and serving all sorts of amazing food and libations!
Sat, Dec 5th Earliest departure Bermuda.
Sun, Dec 6th Likely departure Bermuda.
Friday Dec 11th – Likely arrival in St Thomas. We normally spend the first night upon landfall moored off Caneel Bay, a lovely resort in St John, and have breakfast there in the morning. A well deserved treat!
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July 21st Newsletter
A lovely sail on the VAr 37.
Summer Sailing is Here!
Summer is here and as usual, some of the larger boats in the fleet will be making extended passages. The Contest 36 and VAr 37 will be making several one week cruises. The Contest is already in Mystic Shipyard East, and the VAr 37 will join her in August. Mystic Shipyard East is a lovely, resort style marina with a pool just steps away from our slip. From Mystic, Shelter Island or East Hampton / Montauk are less than 2 hours away, while Block Island is just 3 hours away.
The Sweden 340 is available and perfect for longer passages, with all the gear and lots of availability for that week long August cruise. There are only 5 days reserved in August so far. There are only 3 days reserved on the Hanse 320 in August, so lots of availability.
Martin’s kids discover new uses for the sailbags !