We had a long, boring, but uneventful drive north to Milford,
Connecticut, following the mostly I-95 route up through New Jersey and
across the wonderful George Washington Bridge into upper Manhattan, then
the Bronx, where we were bogged down in pretty heavy traffic for a
while, but the mess on the roads began to clear in New Rochelle and by
the time we reached Stamford, the traffic was normal. About 325 miles
from home and we were at my old high school buddy's summer cottage in
Milford.

Got up early on the 4th and spent most of the day swimming, sailing
around on some old Alcort Sunfish(es), water skiing (haven't done that
for decades and my lower back was sore afterwards), had a wonderful
clambake on the beach, walked on the sandbars at low tide, watched some
local "amateur" fireworks and the next thing I knew it was Friday.

Went fishing with three buddies Friday morning in a 14' dory powered by
a 10 hp outboard, had a lot of fun, caught some porgies, some trash
fish, small sand tiger sharks, but no stripers. Too early in the season
for snapper blues, I was told. We kept the porgies for a fish fry
mid-afternoon lunch. Used sand worms and cut up fish for bait, just like
we did 50+ years ago. When we got back, we emptied the boat out and
swamped it to clean it out, just as we used to do. Friday night dinner
was at a outdoor lobster joint in what I am guessing was Madison,
Connecticut. I wasn't driving and I wasn't paying attention, but it felt
and looked like Madison or Guilford.

On Saturday, we convoyed from Milford to another old buddy's place in
Branford, Connecticut, where we stayed Saturday and half of Sunday
nights. Pretty much the same sort of activities, except we somehow ended
up swimming in a pool Saturday instead of Long Island Sound.

I still prefer the beach to a pool. Got out on a couple of really nice
sailboats, one 20-footer, another a 25-footer. Chesapeake Bay may be one
of the sailing capitals of the world, but I believe the wind is more
reliable on Long Island Sound, in that there usually is wind, albeit
light wind, in the summer. The Bay in much of the summer suffers from a
lack of even a light breeze. Most of my old friends who still boat seem
to have transitioned from larger powerboats to day sailer sailboats, or
to modestly powered open fishing boats in the 14' to 18' range. Less
fuss, less muss, less mess, easier maintenance, really low operating
costs with a small four cycle outboard. There's still plenty of decent
fishing along the Connecticut shoreline within a mile of the shore, so
if all you want to do is catch a decent dinner, you don't need much of a
boat.

One old friend, recently retired and now living full-time in Maine,
showed up in a monster RV called a Fleetwood Motor Home. It was at least
40' long and nicely furnished inside. Big diesel engine. Looked like a
bus to most of us so naturally, our friend's new nickname is Ralph
Kramden. I'm going to get him an old bus driver's cap and maybe a badge
for it proclaiming Gotham Bus Company.

Big party Saturday night and caught up with lots of old friends. Found
out one of my old gal pals lost her fight with cervical cancer. Life
sucks sometimes. She was only 64.

We hit the road at 2 this morning, light traffic, came through Baltimore
and down US 97 to near Annapolis and then a straight shot down Route 2
to home. A short nap for me, and I lived to tell the tale.

On 7/8/2013 11:29 AM, F.O.A.D. wrote:
We had a long, boring, but uneventful drive north to Milford,
Connecticut, following the mostly I-95 route up through New Jersey and
across the wonderful George Washington Bridge into upper Manhattan, then
the Bronx, where we were bogged down in pretty heavy traffic for a
while, but the mess on the roads began to clear in New Rochelle and by
the time we reached Stamford, the traffic was normal. About 325 miles
from home and we were at my old high school buddy's summer cottage in
Milford.

Got up early on the 4th and spent most of the day swimming, sailing
around on some old Alcort Sunfish(es), water skiing (haven't done that
for decades and my lower back was sore afterwards), had a wonderful
clambake on the beach, walked on the sandbars at low tide, watched some
local "amateur" fireworks and the next thing I knew it was Friday.

Went fishing with three buddies Friday morning in a 14' dory powered by
a 10 hp outboard, had a lot of fun, caught some porgies, some trash
fish, small sand tiger sharks, but no stripers. Too early in the season
for snapper blues, I was told. We kept the porgies for a fish fry
mid-afternoon lunch. Used sand worms and cut up fish for bait, just like
we did 50+ years ago. When we got back, we emptied the boat out and
swamped it to clean it out, just as we used to do. Friday night dinner
was at a outdoor lobster joint in what I am guessing was Madison,
Connecticut. I wasn't driving and I wasn't paying attention, but it felt
and looked like Madison or Guilford.

On Saturday, we convoyed from Milford to another old buddy's place in
Branford, Connecticut, where we stayed Saturday and half of Sunday
nights. Pretty much the same sort of activities, except we somehow ended
up swimming in a pool Saturday instead of Long Island Sound.

I still prefer the beach to a pool. Got out on a couple of really nice
sailboats, one 20-footer, another a 25-footer. Chesapeake Bay may be one
of the sailing capitals of the world, but I believe the wind is more
reliable on Long Island Sound, in that there usually is wind, albeit
light wind, in the summer. The Bay in much of the summer suffers from a
lack of even a light breeze. Most of my old friends who still boat seem
to have transitioned from larger powerboats to day sailer sailboats, or
to modestly powered open fishing boats in the 14' to 18' range. Less
fuss, less muss, less mess, easier maintenance, really low operating
costs with a small four cycle outboard. There's still plenty of decent
fishing along the Connecticut shoreline within a mile of the shore, so
if all you want to do is catch a decent dinner, you don't need much of a
boat.

One old friend, recently retired and now living full-time in Maine,
showed up in a monster RV called a Fleetwood Motor Home. It was at least
40' long and nicely furnished inside. Big diesel engine. Looked like a
bus to most of us so naturally, our friend's new nickname is Ralph
Kramden. I'm going to get him an old bus driver's cap and maybe a badge
for it proclaiming Gotham Bus Company.

Big party Saturday night and caught up with lots of old friends. Found
out one of my old gal pals lost her fight with cervical cancer. Life
sucks sometimes. She was only 64.

We hit the road at 2 this morning, light traffic, came through Baltimore
and down US 97 to near Annapolis and then a straight shot down Route 2
to home. A short nap for me, and I lived to tell the tale.


Donnie does a somewhat interesting boating post. Ask him to help you out.

On Monday, 8 July 2013 12:29:20 UTC-3, F.O.A.D. wrote:
We had a long, boring, but uneventful drive north to Milford,

Connecticut, following the mostly I-95 route up through New Jersey and

across the wonderful George Washington Bridge into upper Manhattan, then

the Bronx, where we were bogged down in pretty heavy traffic for a

while, but the mess on the roads began to clear in New Rochelle and by

the time we reached Stamford, the traffic was normal. About 325 miles

from home and we were at my old high school buddy's summer cottage in

Milford.



Got up early on the 4th and spent most of the day swimming, sailing

around on some old Alcort Sunfish(es), water skiing (haven't done that

for decades and my lower back was sore afterwards), had a wonderful

clambake on the beach, walked on the sandbars at low tide, watched some

local "amateur" fireworks and the next thing I knew it was Friday.



Went fishing with three buddies Friday morning in a 14' dory powered by

a 10 hp outboard, had a lot of fun, caught some porgies, some trash

fish, small sand tiger sharks, but no stripers. Too early in the season

for snapper blues, I was told. We kept the porgies for a fish fry

mid-afternoon lunch. Used sand worms and cut up fish for bait, just like

we did 50+ years ago. When we got back, we emptied the boat out and

swamped it to clean it out, just as we used to do. Friday night dinner

was at a outdoor lobster joint in what I am guessing was Madison,

Connecticut. I wasn't driving and I wasn't paying attention, but it felt

and looked like Madison or Guilford.



On Saturday, we convoyed from Milford to another old buddy's place in

Branford, Connecticut, where we stayed Saturday and half of Sunday

nights. Pretty much the same sort of activities, except we somehow ended

up swimming in a pool Saturday instead of Long Island Sound.



I still prefer the beach to a pool. Got out on a couple of really nice

sailboats, one 20-footer, another a 25-footer. Chesapeake Bay may be one

of the sailing capitals of the world, but I believe the wind is more

reliable on Long Island Sound, in that there usually is wind, albeit

light wind, in the summer. The Bay in much of the summer suffers from a

lack of even a light breeze. Most of my old friends who still boat seem

to have transitioned from larger powerboats to day sailer sailboats, or

to modestly powered open fishing boats in the 14' to 18' range. Less

fuss, less muss, less mess, easier maintenance, really low operating

costs with a small four cycle outboard. There's still plenty of decent

fishing along the Connecticut shoreline within a mile of the shore, so

if all you want to do is catch a decent dinner, you don't need much of a

boat.



One old friend, recently retired and now living full-time in Maine,

showed up in a monster RV called a Fleetwood Motor Home. It was at least

40' long and nicely furnished inside. Big diesel engine. Looked like a

bus to most of us so naturally, our friend's new nickname is Ralph

Kramden. I'm going to get him an old bus driver's cap and maybe a badge

for it proclaiming Gotham Bus Company.



Big party Saturday night and caught up with lots of old friends. Found

out one of my old gal pals lost her fight with cervical cancer. Life

sucks sometimes. She was only 64.



We hit the road at 2 this morning, light traffic, came through Baltimore

and down US 97 to near Annapolis and then a straight shot down Route 2

to home. A short nap for me, and I lived to tell the tale.


Now that sounds like a spectacular mini-vacation...almost as much fun as towing a 5 ton overstuffed travel trailer down the crowded hot highways. ;-)

Yesterday we passed a number of fishermen out in small open aluminum boats enjoying themselves. If your passion is fishing the 14-16 footers are ideal...no carpet to stain, no wood floor to rot...all aluminum.
My Princecraft Yukon was like that. On the other hand cruising around with a tiller operated boat for any time (3-4 hours) can get tiresome.

On 7/8/13 1:35 PM, True North wrote:
On Monday, 8 July 2013 12:29:20 UTC-3, F.O.A.D. wrote:
We had a long, boring, but uneventful drive north to Milford,

Connecticut, following the mostly I-95 route up through New Jersey and

across the wonderful George Washington Bridge into upper Manhattan, then

the Bronx, where we were bogged down in pretty heavy traffic for a

while, but the mess on the roads began to clear in New Rochelle and by

the time we reached Stamford, the traffic was normal. About 325 miles

from home and we were at my old high school buddy's summer cottage in

Milford.



Got up early on the 4th and spent most of the day swimming, sailing

around on some old Alcort Sunfish(es), water skiing (haven't done that

for decades and my lower back was sore afterwards), had a wonderful

clambake on the beach, walked on the sandbars at low tide, watched some

local "amateur" fireworks and the next thing I knew it was Friday.



Went fishing with three buddies Friday morning in a 14' dory powered by

a 10 hp outboard, had a lot of fun, caught some porgies, some trash

fish, small sand tiger sharks, but no stripers. Too early in the season

for snapper blues, I was told. We kept the porgies for a fish fry

mid-afternoon lunch. Used sand worms and cut up fish for bait, just like

we did 50+ years ago. When we got back, we emptied the boat out and

swamped it to clean it out, just as we used to do. Friday night dinner

was at a outdoor lobster joint in what I am guessing was Madison,

Connecticut. I wasn't driving and I wasn't paying attention, but it felt

and looked like Madison or Guilford.



On Saturday, we convoyed from Milford to another old buddy's place in

Branford, Connecticut, where we stayed Saturday and half of Sunday

nights. Pretty much the same sort of activities, except we somehow ended

up swimming in a pool Saturday instead of Long Island Sound.



I still prefer the beach to a pool. Got out on a couple of really nice

sailboats, one 20-footer, another a 25-footer. Chesapeake Bay may be one

of the sailing capitals of the world, but I believe the wind is more

reliable on Long Island Sound, in that there usually is wind, albeit

light wind, in the summer. The Bay in much of the summer suffers from a

lack of even a light breeze. Most of my old friends who still boat seem

to have transitioned from larger powerboats to day sailer sailboats, or

to modestly powered open fishing boats in the 14' to 18' range. Less

fuss, less muss, less mess, easier maintenance, really low operating

costs with a small four cycle outboard. There's still plenty of decent

fishing along the Connecticut shoreline within a mile of the shore, so

if all you want to do is catch a decent dinner, you don't need much of a

boat.



One old friend, recently retired and now living full-time in Maine,

showed up in a monster RV called a Fleetwood Motor Home. It was at least

40' long and nicely furnished inside. Big diesel engine. Looked like a

bus to most of us so naturally, our friend's new nickname is Ralph

Kramden. I'm going to get him an old bus driver's cap and maybe a badge

for it proclaiming Gotham Bus Company.



Big party Saturday night and caught up with lots of old friends. Found

out one of my old gal pals lost her fight with cervical cancer. Life

sucks sometimes. She was only 64.



We hit the road at 2 this morning, light traffic, came through Baltimore

and down US 97 to near Annapolis and then a straight shot down Route 2

to home. A short nap for me, and I lived to tell the tale.


Now that sounds like a spectacular mini-vacation...almost as much fun as towing a 5 ton overstuffed travel trailer down the crowded hot highways. ;-)

Yesterday we passed a number of fishermen out in small open aluminum boats enjoying themselves. If your passion is fishing the 14-16 footers are ideal...no carpet to stain, no wood floor to rot...all aluminum.
My Princecraft Yukon was like that. On the other hand cruising around with a tiller operated boat for any time (3-4 hours) can get tiresome.


Most of the inshore fishing I remembered and loved in NEw England was
within a couple of miles of the starting point. The rocky coastline was
a fish magnet. The same was true in NE Florida...not only could you fish
the ICW in a small boat but most days, you could easily fish the inlets
and shoreline in a 16-18 footer. Never enjoyed trailering that large
Parker we had...an hour towing it behind us was more than enough for me.

On Mon, 08 Jul 2013 14:29:40 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 7/8/13 1:35 PM, True North wrote:
On Monday, 8 July 2013 12:29:20 UTC-3, F.O.A.D. wrote:
We had a long, boring, but uneventful drive north to Milford,

Connecticut, following the mostly I-95 route up through New Jersey and

across the wonderful George Washington Bridge into upper Manhattan, then

the Bronx, where we were bogged down in pretty heavy traffic for a

while, but the mess on the roads began to clear in New Rochelle and by

the time we reached Stamford, the traffic was normal. About 325 miles

from home and we were at my old high school buddy's summer cottage in

Milford.



Got up early on the 4th and spent most of the day swimming, sailing

around on some old Alcort Sunfish(es), water skiing (haven't done that

for decades and my lower back was sore afterwards), had a wonderful

clambake on the beach, walked on the sandbars at low tide, watched some

local "amateur" fireworks and the next thing I knew it was Friday.



Went fishing with three buddies Friday morning in a 14' dory powered by

a 10 hp outboard, had a lot of fun, caught some porgies, some trash

fish, small sand tiger sharks, but no stripers. Too early in the season

for snapper blues, I was told. We kept the porgies for a fish fry

mid-afternoon lunch. Used sand worms and cut up fish for bait, just like

we did 50+ years ago. When we got back, we emptied the boat out and

swamped it to clean it out, just as we used to do. Friday night dinner

was at a outdoor lobster joint in what I am guessing was Madison,

Connecticut. I wasn't driving and I wasn't paying attention, but it felt

and looked like Madison or Guilford.



On Saturday, we convoyed from Milford to another old buddy's place in

Branford, Connecticut, where we stayed Saturday and half of Sunday

nights. Pretty much the same sort of activities, except we somehow ended

up swimming in a pool Saturday instead of Long Island Sound.



I still prefer the beach to a pool. Got out on a couple of really nice

sailboats, one 20-footer, another a 25-footer. Chesapeake Bay may be one

of the sailing capitals of the world, but I believe the wind is more

reliable on Long Island Sound, in that there usually is wind, albeit

light wind, in the summer. The Bay in much of the summer suffers from a

lack of even a light breeze. Most of my old friends who still boat seem

to have transitioned from larger powerboats to day sailer sailboats, or

to modestly powered open fishing boats in the 14' to 18' range. Less

fuss, less muss, less mess, easier maintenance, really low operating

costs with a small four cycle outboard. There's still plenty of decent

fishing along the Connecticut shoreline within a mile of the shore, so

if all you want to do is catch a decent dinner, you don't need much of a

boat.



One old friend, recently retired and now living full-time in Maine,

showed up in a monster RV called a Fleetwood Motor Home. It was at least

40' long and nicely furnished inside. Big diesel engine. Looked like a

bus to most of us so naturally, our friend's new nickname is Ralph

Kramden. I'm going to get him an old bus driver's cap and maybe a badge

for it proclaiming Gotham Bus Company.



Big party Saturday night and caught up with lots of old friends. Found

out one of my old gal pals lost her fight with cervical cancer. Life

sucks sometimes. She was only 64.



We hit the road at 2 this morning, light traffic, came through Baltimore

and down US 97 to near Annapolis and then a straight shot down Route 2

to home. A short nap for me, and I lived to tell the tale.


Now that sounds like a spectacular mini-vacation...almost as much fun as towing a 5 ton overstuffed travel trailer down the crowded hot highways. ;-)

Yesterday we passed a number of fishermen out in small open aluminum boats enjoying themselves. If your passion is fishing the 14-16 footers are ideal...no carpet to stain, no wood floor to rot...all aluminum.
My Princecraft Yukon was like that. On the other hand cruising around with a tiller operated boat for any time (3-4 hours) can get tiresome.


Most of the inshore fishing I remembered and loved in NEw England was
within a couple of miles of the starting point. The rocky coastline was
a fish magnet. The same was true in NE Florida...not only could you fish
the ICW in a small boat but most days, you could easily fish the inlets
and shoreline in a 16-18 footer. Never enjoyed trailering that large
Parker we had...an hour towing it behind us was more than enough for me.

It really helps to have a tow vehicle capable of the job. Pulling the 5th wheel with the Silverado
for 2000 miles was a great trip.

Don't know where Don gets the 'overstuffed' idea. You reckon he's been sneaking into my trailer and
marveling at the fact that it has furniture?

Sounds like a bit of jealousy, wouldn't you agree? He'll mature out of it one of these days.

John (Gun Nut) H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

On 7/8/13 9:11 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 08 Jul 2013 11:29:20 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

We had a long, boring, but uneventful drive north to Milford,
Connecticut, following the mostly I-95 route

It would tempt me to take the Metroliner up there and rent a car.


We've done that several times. Neither of us will fly to NYC anymore.
It's just easier and a lot more comfortable on the Acela. This time,
though, we took a few fishing rods, my small tackle bag, beach toys,
boogie boards, and my medium Igloo cooler packed with six dozen jumbo
Maryland crabs.