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Tony used to keep his boat in Branford and wanted to return to see what had changed. It had changed considerably in that the number of boats had increased tremendously. Another thing we discovered as we traveled, the number of anchoring spots has decreased. The mooring fields have encroached considerably on the anchor space available. A sailor has little opportunity for the quiet anchorages of the past. Many are now mooring fields with numerous boats all around.
Branford is a charming community with many fine, old, restored homes dating from colonial days. In colonial times, Branford was an important salt works (meat for Revolutionary troops was preserved in Branford salt), a Yankee trading center and the original home of Yale University. Today it is more of a bedroom community to New Haven. We walked into town to get a few provisions. It was a pleasant evening and we all needed to stretch our legs. We returned to the boat, made dinner and called it an evening.
We got an early start out of Branford hoping to make Stonington by 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. We had some drizzle and rain while underway, but pulled into Stonington at an anchorage (in the middle of a mooring field!). We tried to get a mooring, but they were all full.
Stonington is Connecticut’s easternmost cruising port, it lays claim to having the most beautiful harbor on the East Coast. It is home to Connecticut’s only remaining fishing fleet. We discovered its charm on Friday morning as we walked into town looking for a place for breakfast. It boasts the third largest collection of historic houses in CT, and we saw many of them along the main drag. Stonington is a antiquer’s Mecca. It has an upscale feel to it in the restaurants and shops it supports. At the historically quartered branch of Fleet Bank, there is a unique 16 star and 16 stripe American flag from 1812 on exhibit.
Our plans were to stay until Saturday morning so we could get to Mystic, CT (a short cab ride away) to see the Mystic Seaport Museum. We arrived at the museum late on Friday afternoon, giving us little time to see a place that needs at least two days to get through. We decided to purchase a membership and marked it on our calendars to return in September and stay the several days required.
