Hi Gary, Summer sailing in the area from New London to Cape Cod is usually very pleasant. 10 to 15 Knots of wind from the Southwest mean being on a broad reach from Connecticut to the Buzzards Bay area. By about 3 PM things can get quite boisterous in Buzzards Bay if you have the SW wind against a current running in the opposite direction. While they are very infrequent, if you get caught in a Nor'easter they last for three days. The temperature drops to the low 60's the wind howls in the rigging, and I've had green water coming over the our bow in Oak Bluffs Harbor while on a Town mooring. Otherwise it's pleasant sailing / lots of sunshine / lobsters / but look out for the motorboat plague. A major problem sailing at that time might be fog. The fog can vary from, say 200 feet visibility, to a pea-souper. New England sailors learn to navigate under fog curtains or else you go nowhere. My Pratt&Whitney sailing friends taught me how to use a bottom contour line to sail from Watch Hill to Point Judith Harbor of Refuge and with a bit of tide correction added, I hit the western opening to the Harbor. By about 1 PM the fog will dissipate and then you can sail for Buzzards Bay tower in bright sunshine. Interesting places to stop and visit is the Thames River at New London (Electric Boat builds submarines on the eastern shore) the square rigger EAGLE might be back from its summer cruise with Coast Guard Cadets; up beyond the highway / railroad bridges is the New London Submarine Base. You can sail by, but don't get too close to them. Next is the Mystic River with the Mystic Seaport Museum. A great place to visit, and don't miss going into their Book Store and go upstairs to the Book section (great on a rainy day) and also look at their marine art gallery / and ship models display area. Abbots in Noank is a great place to eat a lobster and watch boat traffic go up and down the river. In Narragansett Bay you'll find Newport. Visit some of the old summer homes of the Vanderbilts etc. You know, tiny seaside cottages with 30 rooms, and where it was all a matter of one-upmanship, and who could throw the biggest and most lavish parties. Buy the annual ELDRIDGE Nautical book with tide / current patterns / and local area knowledge information. It's a great cruising area. Connie On 8/13/2019 7:49 PM, Gerry Lempicki via montgomery_boats wrote:
The stories you all are telling of hapless sailors are funny...or not, really. But it doesn't surprise me; we've entered an age of instant gratification. People want to go do something but not necessarily put the time into it to learn properly. One thing that really gets me these days is how everyone gets taught to study in order to pass a test, but not really learn the material. Sorry, I'm going on a rant here. LOL My problem is that I over research things; although that's how I ended up with an M17 for our first sailboat, so it can't be all bad. :) We're very happy the way things have turned out this summer; we've gotten a ton of sailing time on our reservoir. Last week was the first time we felt the need to reef, so we put one in before sailing off the mooring. It turned out to be a perfect lesson in how reefing works; we sailed when no one else was, and midday we were able to shake it out and continue on. Now we need to find a ride on the ocean off New England to see what we think about ocean sailing.I have 2 weeks off starting today, so tomorrow we go to finish up the new traveler installation. The traveler is all mounted, but we need to put on the blocks and eye straps used to position it. That will definitely smooth out setting the main.