Sept 10 & 11 — Days 63 &64 — Charles Is. Anchorage to Lloyd Harbor and Lay Day There Due to Weather — 26 NM

 Underway at 8, halyard on mainsail, unzipped, hoping for wind. But the seas were calm and to get in before the forecast rains start this afternoon we motored rather than sailed. The early departure also got us a bit of fair tide before the eastbound ebb set in. But with the planned destination of Zeiglers Cove, we would be arriving around noon this Sunday and the moorings would likely be full for a lot of hours. Why not combine today’s passage with tomorrow’s and get home in one day? Less than 40 miles and we recently did 57. Yes, but I do not want to get home so soon; I want to continue to enjoy every day of this cruise, and that included tomorrow. And Lene, bless her soul, is being patient with me. We passed close by this pretty lighthouse at Stratford Point.

Then came the idea: Lloyds Harbor, the western lobe off Huntington Bay, across the Sound on Long Island. Why not! Many moorings and an anchorage area. With less than ideal weather, some will undoubtedly be available. We have been to Zeiglers many times; Lloyds only once. It is a longer passage first and a shorter final leg. So we changed course, but only about fifteen degrees to port and motored on.

But then came the problem — and it looked much blacker and denser than Lene’s photo, below; every part of the sky looked blacker than the darkest parts in the picture. The storm covered the Sound completely, from north to south — no escape. The Coast Guard broadcast a hazard warning about wind but mostly about problems that don’t concern us: flash floods and downed trees.  I secured the mainsail, and zipped it up. We took everything that should stay dry below and I donned full foulies. Lene has a weather radar app on her phone which showed it coming. I turned on the radar display of our Chart plotter, which showed us in it. And then it came — from 11 to 12:30. It was wholly inconsistent. A few minutes of 35 knot wind, another band of 25 knots , and later at 20, bury each from a different direction. And there were periods of calm or light and variable wind in between. The rain came in bands,  torrentially, but mixed with moderate, light and no rain areas. The strong winds were sometimes with the rain snd other times without.

Needless to say I got drenched but the Yanmar pulled us through it, speeded up to 2000 rpms, and the autopilot, at heightened alertness steered us straight. 

In Lloyds Harbor, by my count, there are about 225 moorings, all of them empty: to the south, west and north of us.

We took one that appeared well maintained. I stripped, dried off,  put on dry clothing,  had a lunch which included hot soup in addition to the salad, and took a nap and read. Lene watched TV. She could not watch the US Open the other day due to a feud between media companies, but was glued to internet reports on the matches, point by point, followed by highlights films and  post match press interviews. She is very enamored with Coco Gauff, and was elated by her win.

More rain during the night and the morning forecast was for thunderstorms again, though it was sunny in the morning. Lene suggested a lay day. I loved it — a bonus day for  the cruise!  We have no appointments that need be adjourned and sufficient provisions. In fact, eating them up to avoid the need to carry them home is adding to my weight.

A non sailing friend put me onto a 45 minute documentary - One Warm Line - about the mostly sea songs of the late Canadian folksinger Stan Rogers, focused on Nova Scotia. I’d never heard of him but enjoyed it.

Our extra day might not have been needed. No rain arrived here at least, until about 4:30.

Here is a satellite view of the harbor, the western part of Huntington Bay to the right, and a bit of  Long Island Sound at the top.