Plan D - Hiding from Hannah
05 September 2008
Location: Essex, CT
Co-ords 41 20.73 N, 72 22.94 W
After, yet more study of the weather predictions we have switched to Plan D. The winds are forecast to be strongest in the far southeastern portion of Connecticut which is where Stonington is. Also, putting us off Stonington is the fact that it is a large harbor with many boats which increases the chances of boats breaking loose and dragging into us. To answer Tim's question as to why we didn't stay in Coecles - the most protected part of the harbor is where the moorings are and anchoring is only allowed in a different area. This area would give us protection from the South but not from the East which is where a lot of the wind will come from. Also, it is not a good idea to tuck in too close to land for this kind of a storm because the wind will certainly change direction as it passes by, i.e. the wind will "back" around in an anti-clockwise direction. Once the wind has clocked, that protective shore suddenly becomes too close for comfort and a place where you can get washed up on rocks. Having left Coecles early this morning we spent a few hours calling various harbors and marinas looking for a spot to spend the next couple of days. The only place that could give us a spot was back in Essex, which actually is not too bad a place as it is 6 miles up the river from Long Island Sound so we are not directly on the ocean. They gave us a nice heavy mooring so we feel fairly comfortable that we should be safe. We have taken the foresails down and lashed the main. We were pleased to see most of the other boats around us were similarly prepared. Tomorrow we will make the final preps and then sit tight. It looks as though the worst winds will hit tomorrow night and it will rain all day. We will check the latest forecast tomorrow and if it seems as though things will get very bad we will look for somewhere to stay ashore. Unfortunately, the local Inn is fully booked for a wedding otherwise we would have booked a room already.