"The Essex Corinthian Yacht Club had planned a mini cruise from Essex, Connecticut to Coecles Harbor, Shelter Island, New York to celebrate the 2015 Summer Sailstice Weekend. Several members provisioned and prepped their boats, and the plan was to set sail on Friday afternoon. Coecles Harbor is a great anchorage, with plenty of options for on- and off-shore activities. For several weeks before the solstice we had been promoting this informal get-together and it looked like we would have a nice little flotilla.
As the week progressed, the weather forecast became steadily worse. On Thursday, we got together at the yacht club to talk about contingency plans, as none of us wanted to spend a weekend in the rain (or worse, having to traverse Long Island Sound in stormy, soggy weather). One by one, the participants decided to pull out, until only a few intrepid souls remained. The few of us remaining decided we were not going to let the weather ruin our weekend!!!
We are lucky to have access to a very picturesque and sheltered cove on the Connecticut River only a few minutes from our yacht club. A decision was made to cruise upriver to Hamburg Cove and have an impromptu raft-up, to enjoy all the goodies we had packed for our Sailstice weekend.
On Saturday morning, a miniature flotilla of two Essex Corinthian boats shoved off and made its way to Hamburg Cove. We hooked up to our mooring and contemplated our surroundings. The usually very busy cove was almost deserted; many people had been scared away by the weather. We unfolded biminis, zipped up canvas covers, donned rain jackets, and unpacked our provisions. A little bit of rain wasn't going to spoil our mood (or so we kept repeating to ourselves...)! Halfway through the afternoon the heavens opened up and we sat huddled together waiting for the tropical downpours to pass. We told sailing stories and reminisced about past cruises to pass the time. Bit by bit the savory and sweet provisions and a few drinks disappeared. Wasn't it getting lighter over there? It looked like the clouds were getting thinner...right? Right?!?
At some point the rain receded to a drizzle and we were able to at least shed our heavy rain jackets. Laughter ensued when one of us attempted to cross over to the other boat and inadvertently hit a pocket in the canvas cover that had filled with a LOT of water....of course, a drenching was unavoidable!
Unfortunately the weather did not improve until Sunday afternoon, and rain showers returned later in the day, which made it impossible to add any other destinations to our mini cruise.
While we didn't make it to Shelter Island for our Summer Sailstice celebration as planned, we still had a lot of fun and enjoyed the camaraderie among boaters - no matter what the destination!"
From left to right: Laurel & Terry Stewart, Ruth & Peter Emblin
- Ruth Emblin, Rear Commodore, Essex Corinthian Yacht Club
Well Ruth, thank you for your story. We're impressed that you stuck it out and sailed regardless of the weather... You know you're a diehard when you go to that kind of effort to join the global saling celebration. You deserve excellent weather for next year's Summer Sailstice... we'll put in a good word :)