Quick Trip to New London CT
It was shaping up to be a rainy afternoon with the weather forecast calling for thunderstorms so J.P. and I hit the water early with a plan to be off mid afternoon. New London Connecticut is at the mouth of the Thames River. The river runs up about 15 miles until it reaches Norwich where it no longer becomes navigable. New London harbor is a very busy port with ferries that run between Connecticut and the tip of Long Island. In addition the homeport of the US Navy sub fleet is in the port. Some boaters reported that it's not unusual to see a sub returning or departing from the port under heavy security. We saw a number of Subs at the sub base moored but none surfaced around us! Boaters in the area should be aware of the heavy security as well as a security zone around the base as noted on the charts.
A wide shoal filled entrance opens up into Long Island sound so use of updated charts is mandatory. We got started and on the water by 10:30 am launching at the public launch under the route 95 bridge on the West side. We knew that we had a limited time before the weather moved in so we decided to head out right into open water and seaward to the sound. There was a fair amount of traffic - both big and small boats. The Ranger 21 is a solid boat and can take reasonable seas but it is always prudent I have found to keep an eye out on the weather. We knew there were going to be storms in the afternoon so we made it over to Mystic in a few hours trolling for fish along the way. Mystic Harbor is a great place for water activities and I kayaked here many times before. This was my first trip over with the Ranger 21 and we had a nice time. Being a Saturday there was a lot of boat traffic on a narrow channel that leads to the Inner Harbor. Using our navigation apps we avoided the rocks and Shoals at the entrance to the harbor and took a nice tour looking at the many homes on the waterfront. There are several seafood restaurants that have docks for boaters you want to stop for a meal.
Although we would have liked to have proceeded to the Inner Harbor where you can cross under a swing bridge and visit the Mystic Seaport Museum we noticed that a heavy line of squalls was moving towards us so we turned around and headed back to the mouth of the Niantic River. The boat handled exceptionally well and although the Seas were calm, the wake from several larger boats did rock us around a little bit. Once back in New London we cruised up the river passing the United States Coast Guard Academy as well as several busy ferry docks. JP did some fishing and caught a few Bluefish and stripers that are running this time of year. As the rain got heavier and didn't look like it was going to let up we decided to get off the water. It was a quick six hour trip with a very wet ride home but a great day out.
New London Harbor does offer a public marina and Mooring area for transient boaters who are traveling up and down the coast. The docks are adjacent to New London downtown which boasts several good restaurants. Overall we had a great day out in New London and would definitely come back again. Next time we plan on running North up the Niantic River where you can pass by a large casino and end up in the City of Norwich. This stretch of the river is narrow and shallow and good navigation skills and accurate charts are a must. For the Ranger Tug the default Garmin that was installed by the factory is over 6 years old now and somewhat obsolete. While I had wrestled with replacing the whole unit with a more up-to-date navigation suite including touch screen display and possibly radar, I found that the cheaper option is simply to buy a Android pad and subscribe to Navionics where the charts are updated more frequently. I still use the default Garmin for depth finding and basic navigation but having a pad with up-loadable Maps is more cost-effective and efficient.
This is not the first time that the boat and trailer has been in the salt water and I had planned on making sure that we rinsed the trailer, tires and braking system off really well with a hose and fresh water when I got home but a 40-minute torrential downpour on the ride back solved that problem for me. Nevertheless I have heard that making sure that you rinse the trailer off really well after any saltwater dunks is important to maintaining the integrity and lifespan of the trailer parts system.
Overall it was a great day to be out on the boat and explore a new place. Once again this little tug proves that having a trailerable 21 foot boat but you can take in and out of Harbors in small places is such a benefit. The only downfall to the boat is that you have to be careful for the weather in the seas. Most larger boats have the ability to speed up and duck into a harbor or safe place when weather approaches however what we did notice is that we had to be very cognizant any approaching storms and anticipate that the slow speed of the vessel would prevent us from seeking shelter immediately. That being said if you stay close to inshore areas and have a plan for where to shelter along the way it shouldn't be a problem.
