Huntington Harbor to Duck Island

We finally began our journey north making for Duck Island which lies at the mouth of the Housatonic River. We covered the 50 miles in 8 hours. Motored all the way as the wind was once again in our face.



We noticed a long line of boats moving very slowly as we approached the line between Bridgeport, CT and Port Jefferson, NY. It looked like about 50 boats of all types stretched out like a long string of geese making their way toward Bridgeport. We had no idea as to what this was all about until a Bridgeport Police boat hailed us and advised us not to cross the line but to either pass in front of or to the rear of the convoy which was escorting swimmers in the water. This was St. Vincent's Swim Across the Sound which is an annual event to raise funds to support the St. Vincent's Medical Center Foundation. The total distance of the course is 15 1/2 miles. Some swimmers were doing the entire distance solo. Others were part of teams. We could make out the heads and arms of some of the swimmers as we passed the leading elements of the escort flotilla. The record time for making the crossing is about 6 1/2 hours. We were amazed that anyone could swim so far for so long in these cold waters.



https://give.stvincents.org/swim/marathon-2016/event---marathon-2016-fact-sheet

Duck Island

Duck Island is a very small island of less than 6 acres. It provides a base for two breakwaters running at a 90 degree angle which makes it a good anchorage depending on the direction of the wind and waves. It once served as a quarantine island and had a hospital for patients with smallpox. All that is left of the hospital is a chimney. Today, the island is a bird sanctuary. We could see a large number of great egrets and snowy egrets nesting in the trees. It was an interesting stop and a peaceful night.