A lot is happening in Stonington to make it an even more attractive destination for boaters.
By Michael M. Wiseman and Helen A. Garten
Stonington, Connecticut has long been a favorite destination for cruisers. It is a beautiful and historic harbor, which proudly hosts Connecticut’s last commercial fishing fleet. The annual blessing of the fishing fleet is one of the highlights of the year in Stonington. Located at the eastern end of Long Island Sound and beginning of the Atlantic, it is within a day’s sail of many of southern New England’s favorite destinations. Boaters visiting Stonington enjoy the support of Dodson Boat Yard (DBY) at the head of the harbor, which is widely recognized as one of the most respected yards around.
And now there are several initiatives underway to make Stonington an even more attractive and welcoming destination. These include additional launch service and transient moorings, and a proposed new transient dock facility that would be available within the next couple of years.
Stonington Harbor has added additional launch service and transient moorings to accommodate visiting cruisers. © Michael M. Wiseman
Stonington Harbor Yacht Club (SHYC), located near the entrance to the harbor, has long served the sailing community by supplying race committee boats and staff for weekend racing series and other events open to the public. SHYC also is home base for the Special Olympics sailors, who can be seen maneuvering around the harbor every Tuesday night during the summer in the club’s Ideal 18 fleet. It also has historically provided transient dockage to visiting mariners.
SHYC is now offering seven moorings for transients to supplement its dock space. It is also operating a launch service for the first time this year, serving the outer harbor including the designated anchorage area. This service is available to all moorings south of the commercial fishing dock, as well as vessels in the anchorage. SHYC Commodore Sarah Starkweather says, “The launch and mooring initiatives are an important step in enhancing the club’s waterfront presence, and we thank Dodson for their support, which was essential to its success.” Bob Snyder, DBY’s manager, and Steve Kingsland, its mooring master, were instrumental in establishing the moorings. Both are longtime advocates for the harbor, Bob having been at DBY for 44 years and Steve for 45.
Blessing of the Fleet © Michael M. Wiseman
Together with DBY’s launch service, the club launch service represents a significant enhancement to the harbor for both residents and transients, and advances the efforts of the Stonington Harbor Management Commission to make more moorings available to the public in the harbor and to improve access for visiting boaters. The Commission is also exploring ways to provide more transient and dinghy dockage available to the public. It is moving forward to create a new dock facility just north of the commercial fishing dock.
All of this demonstrates the ongoing commitment by Stonington harbor stakeholders to work cooperatively in a one harbor approach to benefit all. Besides SHYC and DBY, these partners include New England Science and Sailing, better known as NESS, a premier provider of water-based youth programs; the Stonington Small Dinghy Club, organizer of the harbor’s longstanding Wednesday night racing program; the Wadawanuck Club, the Harbor Management Commission; and Stonington’s harbor master Eric Donch.
Stonington under a stormy sky © Jerry Donovan
“We are very excited to see this plan come to life,” says Donch. “This SHYC-operated launch will help solve a long-standing problem of getting our transient visitors into Stonington Village. SHYC has been a valued partner in Stonington Harbor since their inception and this program proves their dedication to our harbor.” We hope to see many WindCheck readers in Stonington this summer. ■
Michael M. Wiseman is Chair of the SHYC Waterfront Committee and holds USCG Master 100 tons license. Helen A. Garten serves as SHYC Rear Commodore.
