I've sent this request to two list. Apologies to those who get a duplicate. This Sunday, I hope to paddle with a friend to Connecticut's Thimble Islands. I've read the short write-up in Tamsin Venn's book, "Sea Kayaking Along the New England Coast" but there's not a whole lot of information. Has anyone done this trip? Please share highlights, cautions, etc. Thanks, Bill Leonhardt *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Bill, The Thimbles are a nice place to paddle although there are not many landing options on the primarily private islands. The best option is "Outer Island" which is a wild life sanctuary, but during the weekends there is a care-taker on the island who will let you land. Parking in Stonycreek can be a problem as there are limited spaces and during the summer residents of the island will use many of the spots. The locals can be somewhat intolerant of kayaker riff-raff "invading" their town. It pays to launch early. For more information about the Thimbles post on the Connyak.org bulletin board: http://www.connyak.org/cgi-bin/BBS.pl/ This is the local CT club and many of the members paddle extensively in the Thimbles. Nick On Thursday, July 10, 2003, at 09:11 AM, Leonhardt, William J wrote: > I've sent this request to two list. Apologies to those who get a > duplicate. > > This Sunday, I hope to paddle with a friend to Connecticut's Thimble > Islands. I've read the short write-up in Tamsin Venn's book, "Sea > Kayaking Along the New England Coast" but there's not a whole lot of > information. > > Has anyone done this trip? Please share highlights, cautions, etc. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 824 Thompson St Glastonbury, CT 06033 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
[Moderator's Note: Content unaltered. Excessive quoting (i.e. headers/footers/sig lines/extraneous text from previous posts, etc.) have been removed. Please edit quoted material in addition to removing header/trailers when replying to posts.] Congestion is a big problem if you put in at Stoney Creek. I've been there when I was 6th or 7th in line to unload the boats at the small boat launch. There is no parking lot so you'll need to leave your gear at the launch and to go find a spot on the street somewhere. Many of the locals see kayakers a lot like kayakers see jet skiers, as an annoyance. My boss who has a big boat moored there calls them speed bumps. Stay clear of the docks just east of the boat launch where a couple of tour boats and the island taxi dock. Those guys will run you over and never look back. If you don't mind a few more miles of paddling you can put in west of the Thimbles at a public boat launch on the Branford River or just east at the mouth of the East River. I like putting in at the East River and paddling the 5 or 6 miles to the Thimbles and then back. There are very few places to stop and get out of the boat. There's a small beach about 2 miles east of Stoney Creek called Leetes Island that you can use and a small park between there and the East River. If you decide on the East River launch don't put in at the Guilford docks. Depending on how they feel they might charge you as much as 5 bucks a boat to put in and park. Drive around to a public boat launch a few 100 yards up the river in Madison where it's free and there is lots of parking. Have fun. At 09:11 AM 7/10/03 -0400, Bill Leonhardt wrote: >I've sent this request to two list. Apologies to those who get a duplicate. > >This Sunday, I hope to paddle with a friend to Connecticut's Thimble >Islands. I've read the short write-up in Tamsin Venn's book, "Sea >Kayaking Along the New England Coast" but there's not a whole lot of >information. > >Has anyone done this trip? Please share highlights, cautions, etc. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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