Overnight on the River
A morning full of chores put me at the boat ramp in Haddam at 3pm. A quick setup and the boat was dunked by 3:30 for some afternoon cruising around and a trip down to Essex. I had planned on staying on the river for the night with my destination unsure. The lower Connecticut river has so many little coves and choices to anchor. A slow current and 2-3 foot tide mean that even larger boats can find a place to tuck in for the night.
My first idea was to go and stay at Hamburg Cove. This cove is a very popular place for boaters to hide in in bad weather and even more popular for boaters in the summer weekends seeking to raft up and spend the day or night. While most of the moorings are private, there are a number of moorings marked rental which you can tie up to and spend the day or night. I guess that the owner comes out and collects the $25 fee once you tie up and it seemed like a good option. The cove is very pretty and quaint lined with marinas and stately homes. I have heard that on weekends it gets pretty crazy but this being a weeknight I though that i would try it out. I entered through the narrow channel and found the place to be fairly busy. A number of boats of varying sizes were already tied up with grills going and kids swimming . Several boats there were rafted up with many boats looking like they were at capacity. Music was in the air and It was a nice atmosphere for some but I decided to take a pass and move on. I’m not averse to being around people but today after a long week of work I was looking for some more solitude.
Headed back North, I ended up heading into the Salmon River and anchoring in about 8 feet of good holding ground. It was a perfect spot to settle in and the weather was perfect. Its not really a river - although at the head of the cove there is a small stream outlet I have seen when I kayaked here before. There was a slight tide but no big current and my anchor set well in some soft mud. A few snacks for dinner and a few cold beers went down well as a I caught the setting sun. I buttoned up the cabin and lay in my rack reading for a while.
As looked around I was amazed to think that 15 years ago the view that I would have seen may have been quite different. In the 1960’s 3 nuclear power plants were built in New England along the Connecticut River or its tributaries. One in Vernon Vt on the Massachusetts border, one in Rowe, Mass on the Deerfield RIver - which flows into the river - and one here in Haddam less that 1/2 a mile from where I spent the night. The plant ended operations in 1996 and since then the site has been cleared of every trace of the plant a part of the decomissioning process. The only thing left in a heavily secured area are the multiple casks holding the spent fuel rods. I slept only a 1/2 a mile away from the casks and if you visited the area you would never have known that a huge nuclear power plant was ever there. The two other plants on the river have also ceased operations - the Rowe plant is similarly scraped clean and the Vernon plant is in the process of being dismantled. It is amazing to think of the effort and time spent over many year at this site to now see marshes where there was a cooling out flow and birds nesting where there was a reactor core. Some of the area has been turned over to the US Fish and WIldlife service as a preserve while the remaining 500 acres have no plans of conversion yet. Enjoy the sites from the river but don’t go ashore as this is still a secure facility where armed guards watch over high level nuclear material!
Although the day had been hot and humid there was a nice breeze and things cooled off. A number of Ranger 21 tugs often complain that the cockpit get hot and I agree that during the days it does warm up but all the nights I have slept on the boat have been quite comfortable. There are 3 roof vents and 2 portholes as well as 2 windows which all provide good breezes. I suppose that a small 12 volt fan would help at night but I haven’t found it to be too warm. I do have air conditioning on this model but haven’t really used it except to test it out. The best way to keep the cabin cool I have found is to put the Bimini top up. This night I slept well and the cabin is perfect for me. I am 6’3 and fit quite well in the bunk. I sometimes put the life jackets on the floor of the cabin as an extender but often don’t. I have spent most of my prior outdoors time in a tent so my standards of a good nights sleep are somewhat different than yours may be!
I awoke early the next morning around 5 am and watched the sun come up. One of the things that I realized that I often miss is seeing the morning from my boat. I mostly have to leave my house in the morning and by the time I get to the ramp it is mid morning. Today I was able to see the river wake up and it was really nice. It was one of those great cool morning where you know that it is going to be warm. The coolness in the air you feel will be gone soon but it was so nice so breathe in the clear air. I had stayed in a portion of the river with salt marshes on both sides and saw egrets, herons, and and eagle all from the boat. The only issue I encountered was that overnight a flock of bugs had found a way to stick themselves all over my boat in the night. There were hundreds of little bugs stuck in the accumulated wet dew over every inch of the boat. Some dead, some near death, while I watched other fly away quite healthy after being dried in the rising sun. It took me a full hour of cleaning the boat with buckets of water later in the day to finally rid me of them later on.
After the sun rose I headed North passing Middletown and up towards Hartford. This really is a special stretch of the river and I enjoyed the trip up the river. I turned around after passing Middletown and headed back to the launch. It was a great quick trip on the river and reminder of why I love this boat. I put some videos together here from the day.