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| East River in Madison, Connecticut |
Yesterday was the day after Labor Day, which naturally has that day-after-summer-ends feeling for many people. Fortunately I had taken this week off from work to spend time with my family & extend summer a little bit longer. I woke up early as usual, made my coffee, and went through my normal routine of checking news, tweets, weather, etc while my wife and two children slept. The weather forecast called for a beautiful September day, low 80's & sunny, and I was looking forward to playing in a golf tournament in the afternoon. More immediately though I wanted to try to fit in some time with my stand up paddleboard.
Hurricane Earl had come and go late last week, but the after-effects on the winds and tides were still being felt throughout the long weekend. Yesterday morning was no exception, with whitecaps and choppy waters still prevalent on the Sound. Long Island Sound is
typically glassy in the early morning, followed by minimal swells (if you can call them that) throughout the day, and then often a return to calmness in the early evening. Since Earl, though, the Sound has been somewhat choppy. Here is an example photo from Saturday morning:
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| Garvin Point, Surf Club, Madison, CT 09/04/10 |
Yesterday I felt like something different, so I decided to try out the East River boat launch area off of Neck Road in Madison. East River borders the towns of Madison & Guilford, and contains several inlets and waterways nestled around salt marsh lands. As expected, this inland waterway was calm and flat, with the exception of the incoming tide pushing water from the Sound upriver. At 8:00 AM it was also peacefully silent, and it was nice to be out there alone. There was an abundance of wildlife, however, including sea gulls, herons, egrets, cormorants, and the occasional bait fish jumping out of the water. It was a different experience to let the tide carry my board with it, and all I really had to do was use my paddle to navigate. Of course, it also made it a bit more difficult paddling back into the current to return to the shore. Here are several photos I took of the area:
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| Pebble path from the road to the launch area |
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| Prime parking, of course |
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| Calm water beyond the launch point |
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| Moored sailboats, with Guilford in the background |
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| One of dozens of docked boats that line the river |
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| Another view of docked boats, moorings & beach houses |
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| Panoramic view of beach houses that line the Sound |
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