Thirty-Nine Times Two

Be warned! This is a long post because we had a lot of fun.

Back in 2019 shortly after our purchase, we took a deep dive into our 39’s history and learned that she had been named Limerick before she became The Edge. There were numerous notebooks and folders stored on the boat with the name Limerick and Don Dahl. We became quite confused because there was a currently owned Kadey Krogen 39 also named Limerick and owned by Don Dahl. As we began the journey to bring our boat home to CT, Al reached out to this guy named Don Dahl (the wonders of both the internet and an excellent Krogen Cruisers database.) He and his wife Cindy had once owned The Edge, which was now our boat, and then they later bought another Kadey Krogen 39 and named it Limerick, again. If that isn’t testimony confirming what a fine boat the 39 is, I don’t know what would be. “This guy” turned out to be very gracious and helpful as we traveled northward, checking in with us and answering questions about the systems, etc. We stayed in touch (what better bond than having a boat in common?) through emails and texts, and then added FaceTime “happy hours” through the long winter pandemic months.

Limerick and crew planned to travel north to Long Island Sound to visit and cruise with family in this region. They added an extra leg eastward to Shennecossett Yacht Club to visit us. We were going to meet in person!

Al decided to share his special swim platform cleansing method with Don. That implies that the platform needed cleansing which all agreed it did. Southern boats often develop that yellow tinge. On the bow we call it “ICW Smile.”

It was cloudy and humid when our boats left SYC, not a particularly promising start to our time with Limerick.

It is not often one sees such a large motoryacht in Fishers Island Sound. This isn’t Newport or Sag Harbor, but there it was, just off our starboard side.

Happily, the weather improved after we anchored and we enjoyed a relaxing afternoon. Except for Al. Ever vigilant as he surveys the anchorage around him, he spied a paddle boarder who appeared to be in trouble.

After dinner on Kindred Spirit, Napatree did not disappoint our guests. She turned on the light show as the sun set.

Blue skies replaced the clouds and Monday was bright and sunny. The Sunday crowds were gone and the anchorage was much quieter. We dinghied into Watch Hill to show Don and Cindy this little upscale beach town.

A few highlights, some of our favorites —

“The Watch Hill Merry-Go-Round or Carousel was made in 1867 by Andrew Christian and the Charles W.F. Dare Co. of New York City. Legend has it that a traveling carnival brought the carousel to Watch Hill in 1883 and for some unknown reason abandoned it. It is said to be the oldest continuously operating carousel in the United States. This treasure has survived disasters for over 135 years including the 1938 Hurricane’s devastating affects on Watch Hill, Rhode Island.” ~~from the website MerryGoRoundBeach

There was even more fun to come. Mary Jo and Dean arrived in the Napatree anchorage and joined the beach tour that afternoon. Later on, everyone gathered for dinner on Limerick.

Our final morning in Watch Hill was another warm and sunny one. All six of us walked the beach…. correction there. The guys stood and talked on the beach, Mary Jo and Cindy walked along the beach, and I started with them and then switched to the water for my walk.

We left Napatree and Watch Hill behind and headed to Stonington, for dinner at the DogWatch. Thanks for the photos, Mary Jo!

There aren’t any other Kadey Krogen 39s in our homeport region, so having two of us out and about was pretty special (and fun.) Much to our surprise we spied another 39 right in Stonington harbor.

A wonderful time came to an end, but we all look forward to spending time together on the water some day in the future. Don sent us two amazing photos of Kindred Spirit at sunset.

We awoke to another lovely, but warm, morning in Stonington.

And then it was time to wave good bye and wish our new friends bon voyage and safe travels.

Al and I stayed in Stonington for the rest of the day, playing in the dinghy and the water.

Thirty-nine times two equals more than seventy-eight. 39 x 2 = ∞ Infinite hours of fun and camaraderie. Thanks for coming out to meet us in person, Limerick, Don and Cindy.