Stonington, CT

Tuesday, 19 August

The Coast Guard Station at Watch Hill is easy to spot.

So, what does one say about Stonington, Connecticut, that has been said already about other towns and villages along the way? Hmmm. Let’s think about it. First, there’s the matter of getting there.

Uniform of the day was shorts and tees!

After four nights at Block Island—more than planned but never enough—the day was perfect for crossing the 13 nautical miles to Watch Hill, the extreme southwest corner of Rhode Island and the last of the Ocean State to be seen this trip. The water was fairly flat with just a hint of a southeast swell and, once out of Great Salt Pond, the easterly wind was enough to coax out all the canvas, Steadfast moving along at about 4 knots on a heading of 310 magnetic.

A large part of that $17MM no doubt is in the rip-rap.

Before reaching Watch Hill Passage, it became a motor sail but that was okay. It was still a splendid day with enough sun to peel away several layers of long sleeves, etc.  Steering to Watch Hill is fun, too.  It’s always been easy to spot the Coast Guard Station right at the point and the hotel up on the hill.  Now country singer Taylor Swift has made it even easier with the addition of a $17-million summer home just east of the lighthouse.   Once through the passage, Steadfast moved into Fisher Island Sound, rounded Napatree Point and motored through the breakwaters into Stonington Harbor. After a total of 17.2 miles for the day, she tucked into the harbor’s quiet northeast corner near Dodson Boatyard.

There followed the requisite stroll along—yes, what else?—Water Street and “downtown” Stonington. Dodson anchors the north end of Water which crests a block away at the Town Library then runs south down the grade to Stonington Point. There are three or four places to eat, a few fashionable shops, Dime Bank, Town Commons, Tom’s News & General Store and that’s about it. No place to provision, although Tom’s does carry a few staples and canned goods. But there is another “oh, wow!” collection of homes from the early 1800s and a few even from before the Revolution.

It must’ve been fun to watch this girl be moved in 1840!

Squeezed in among several of those, a hundred yards back from the point, is a short, squat granite lighthouse, impressive for both its construction and location. Despite foot-thick walls, it took such a beating at the tip of the point, it was moved in 1840 those hundred yards northward to where it stands today. Less than 30 years later, it was decommissioned and now stands all but hidden among stately old homes.

Dr. Holmes enjoyed his new home for less than 4 years.

A few blocks up Main, where stand many of the homes built by whaling ship masters and merchants who made their fortunes in the China trade. Also there is the 1787 home—briefly—of Silas Holmes, a physician who went to Block Island “on an errand of mercy in 1791” and drowned on the return. (See, that crossing from Block Island Sound is not to be taken lightly!)

The harbor, meantime, is home to its own impressive collection, a fleet that includes examples of Amel and Alerion, Hinckley and Hallberg-Rassy, Mason, Oyster, Valiant and virtually every other high-end boatbuilder. (And for at least one more night, of the Hutchins Company.)

So, what to say about Stonington? She’s lovely, with tidy homes on narrow streets that seem all to lead to the water. There’s a lot a sailor could like here, the harbor deep, easy to enter and fairly well protected. And right on the pier, the Dogwatch Café, chosen by Wight Vodka “One of the Top 10 Yacht Bars in the World!”

The Dogwatch offers seating inside, outside and at the Dog Pound on the pier.

Wight Vodka’s credentials are unknown. Likewise the criteria for selection among the world’s top ten. But the fried clams rank among the best sampled so far, of that it is certain.

Steadfast out.