Milford Mania – Grandchildren On Board!

Why would we go west??? We only go west when we were heading south on our Bahama voyages (2013-2014 and 2015-2016) or when we took a 3-week trip up the Hudson (2018). Our thoughts turned westward with a message from Don on Limerick up in Lake Champlain. “Hey, let’s get together one more time in Port Jefferson before we head south to the Chesapeake!”

Al and I thought it over. Milford is directly across Long Island Sound from Port Jeff and guess who now lives in Milford? Two reasons to head west. We decided this would be a great time for a grandchildren sleepover on Kindred Spirit. 

We left Shennecosett at 5:50 am to catch a favorable current. The trip was a straight 48 nautical miles west on Long Island Sound and took us only 6½ hours. Not bad at all.

We reserved a dock (something we rarely do) at Milford Landing Marina at the very end of the harbor and pretty much right in the center of town. It is a city marina and was very nice. Clean, well tended and landscaped with friendly, helpful dockhands. We highly recommend it.

Fair Warning here! The rest of this post is 98% photos of our grandchildren’s visit with us on the boat. This was a first – first time by boat to Milford and first sleepover on the boat. Such an event demands inclusion in our memories. How can you have too many photos of your grandchildren??

By mid-afternoon, Ryan and Kerri, along with our new crew, Caleb and Ceci, arrived at our slip. They were ready and eager for their first overnight on the boat.

The $10 toy fishing poles from Walmart were a big hit. They may not catch real fish, but the kids sure learn to cast that line. They fished here, there, and everywhere.

It is important for a crew to feel needed and learn to do chores. Just like their Papa, boat chores are much more fun than household chores.

What is it about that engine room???? The kids love that place. They ask over and over again if they can go down there with the Captain. 🥴

After dinner we took a walk down the dock, Al noticed the old Matthews (the boat, not the man.) He stopped to admire it and chatted with Dick, the owner. Al grew up in West Haven and spent time in Milford boating with his family. He reminisced about a Matthews that he recalled from his childhood right here in Milford Harbor, identical to this one. Dick said it was this boat, owned by his father.

Milford must be known for oysters. There is big Oyster Festival in Milford on August 20th and there were quite a few oyster boats at the docks.

Captain Papa believes in training the youth of today in proper boating activities. How fortunate that “Scoopy Doo‘s” is right there, a few steps from the marina. Another reason to recommend Milford Landing Marina!

Up bright and early on Saturday morning (6:30 am) the crew amused themselves with cheerios and artwork until Nana was able to quickly pull herself together and make breakfast.

When we retired to bed the night before, we noticed this —

Mom and Dad arrived just before noon for our day trip out to Charles Island. This was a trip down memory lane for Al after growing up on the water near here. He told us that the island looks quite different from his childhood memories.

Charles Island (a.k.a. Thrice Cursed Island), lies just a half mile off the coast of Milford at Silver Sands State Park. Legend says that three curses have been laid upon this tiny bit of land.

The notorious pirate Captain William Kidd visited Milford during his final voyage in 1699. Legend says that Kidd hid a portion of his fortune on Charles Island, possibly beneath a giant boulder known as Hog Rock and that he cursed the island to scare off treasure hunters.

The island was already cursed by a Paugusset chief in 1639 to protect the island’s sacred spirits from European settlers.

The third curse was by a group of sailors in the 1721 who supposedly buried stolen Mexican treasure on the island. They cursed the island so no one could find the treasure and come after them.

Over the centuries, Charles Island has been home to a tobacco plantation, a summer resort and a fertilizer factory. The 14-acre island has seen raging fires and devastating storms. Over the centuries, numerous plans for the island came and went. 

Eventually the State of Connecticut acquired the island and opened it as part of Silver Sands State Park in 1960. It is connected to Silver Sands by a rocky tombolo (a sandbar emerging at low tide) that allows visitors to reach the island.

Hurricane Sandy severely damaged the island’s vegetation in October, 2012.  Today, Charles Island is the site of a large heron and egret rookery.

Back to the present day!

The actual island was underwhelming and we did not last long. Sorry, Charles, I think you have seen better days. But Kindred Spirit was waiting for us and she did not disappoint.

Time for a dinghy ride! Papa takes Kerri, Caleb and Ceci for a spin around the anchorage.

A request to use the flybridge on the return to Milford Harbor was granted.

I think the whole family enjoyed their day on Kindred Spirit – Mom, Dad, Caleb, Ceci, and Nana and Papa, too!

Returning to our slip at Milford Marina presented me with a new challenge. I am always at the helm when we depart and return to our slip at Shennecossett but I had never docked the boat in any other slip until we arrived in Milford. Arrival day wasn’t too bad because there was no boat on our port side, just the dock on starboard. I called ahead for assistance from the dock crew, just in case. Nice to have them there but with Captain Al’s voice in my ear we can handle it pretty well.

Not only was it low tide, but there was now a boat on our port side in the slip. With only 18 inches between us and that boat, I had to back us into the slip. Passengers were reminded to sit still and be completely quiet so I could hear Papa’s directions in my ear. We did it. The dock crew looked up at me and said, “Nice job! You make it look easy.” That brought a big smile to my face! 😁 And the nauseous feeling disappeared.

Before we left Milford on Sunday, Al and I took a walk around the waterfront of Milford. After the months of house hunting with Ryan and Kerri this was a different perspective and made their new home even more special.

This was an exceptionally loooooooong blog post, but how can anyone not include all those photos of their family from such a special time?? Believe me, I selected these from hundreds! I would recommend Milford as a stopping point even if our grandchildren did not live here. I was quite impressed with the marina and the town.