Hamburg Cove

Another bay of the Connecticut River. We tried it last year, going up cove until we ran out of water, but this time, I went towards the river.

More Backyards Of The Wealthy. 

 These guys pose well.

 I don't think this has been used in a while.

Nice place for a paddle-less obnoxious boat traffic.

Duck And Menunketesuck Islands

The put-in spot is near Horse Hill Road, in Clinton. This is the Menunketesuck river, looking nice at 7:30 A.M. This may be the nicest example of a Long Island Sound tidal estuary I've seen. Birds, bends, grass hummocks, D.I.Y docks, and even some seclusion.

"Duck Island Roads". The partly-cloudy sky and calm wind made for amazing light.
From here, it was really just a 15 minute sprint to Duck Island. Three sailboats at anchor. Chatted with some nice bird watching folks in a Zodiac. 

There really wasn't a lot to this place. I can see that erosion has really reduced the size. Dense low vegetation, with the obligatory  poison ivy.  Without the breakwaters, there might not be any island left. The landmark chimney seems much smaller up close. A small staircase, but no other interesting ruins accessible.

Stopped by on Menunketesuck Island. This is about as much land as it has, the rest is just a grass bar.
On the way back, some people actually waved from their boats, kind of surprising in toney Westbrook. Back up the river a guy in a small boat was pulling up nets for crabs. He had apparently set a string of crab traps, and was going down the line. New T.V. show, "Mildest Catch"?

Ballast

I thought that this kayak was trimmed a little too far aft, that is, that the bow was a little higher than necessary. I originally tried to velcro the bottle & boat together, but it doesn't hold on the water. I got an inexpensive hold-down strap, and glued it down with a blob of epoxy. I orginally tried a full gallon of water, but it was excessive-1/2 gallon seems about right. I think it helps, but I'm still experimenting.