“You’re paddling to where??” Friends at HHYC couldn’t fathom our weekend plan: kayak-camping on Connecticut’s Norwalk Islands, 20NM away, then paddling back the next day. But they were utterly speechless when Vlad and Johna (the intrepid windagainstcurrent) swung by to pick us up—they’d paddled 20NM already, starting from Pier 40 in NYC (Houston St./Hudson River).
(Truth be told, in writing this post, we geeks contemplated just sending y’all to Vlad and Johna’s blog and titling ours “What They Said…” but that would be cheating. Please do visit, however, as their version of the story is doubly good, and Vlad’s photography transcends.)
Red arrows = our route
Destination: Shea Island
May 17: Waiting at HHYC for Johna and Vlad to paddle up from the City. Flag indicates wind will be in our favor.
Two specks on the horizon now look very familiar
Johna and Vlad take a quick break at HHYC
And we’re off—a kayaking foursome
Vlad approaches Scotch Caps; American Yacht Club and Milton Harbor in background
Johna and Alex pass Rye Playland, the country’s only Art Deco amusement park
2geeks raft up for a pic of Great Captain Island, near Greenwich, CT
Vlad and Alex pass Great Captain Island lighthouse
Little Captain Island in the distance
Last and least, Wee Captain Island
Vlad and Johna admire Wee Captain Island while avoiding wee rocks
Feels like summer, but we still have the Sound to ourselves
A quick pit stop on Tod’s Point in Greenwich
Back on the water, to Stamford
Surfing wind waves to Stamford Harbor
Johna reminisces about her old office near Stamford Harbor
Stamford Lighthouse
Hey, we know that tug!
Johna waits for traffic to clear
Land ho! Greens Ledge lighthouse on the horizon
Daylight starts to wane
Johna in pastels
Johna in her Tiderace Xplore S
Alex approaches Sheffield Island, one of the Norwalk Islands
Wind ruffles the water at Shea Island, our destination
Vlad snaps a tiny house near Shea
The welcoming committee
Snowy egret fishes at sunset
Alex and Johna land at Shea Island
Alex looks for camping spots; old lobster traps at right
Our new home has a stone fireplace and 360-degree views
Even on land, Alex is Mr. Visibility
View of Copps Island across the tide pools
Ugh, we’ll have to carry the yaks up past the high tide line
Copps Island in pastels
Four kayaks, one long day. Who’s got the wine?
Sunday morning, May 18. Time for some geeky facts! 45-acre Shea Island was originally called Ram Island. It was renamed for Daniel Shea, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from Norwalk who died in the Vietnam War.
Sunrise on Sunday morning
The moon is still visible
Our hotel
High tide line
As for the Norwalk Islands themselves, they’re a chain of more than 25 islands amid partly submerged boulders, reefs and mudflats along a six-mile (10 km) stretch and mostly about a mile off the coast of Norwalk, Connecticut in Long Island Sound. Other islands include Betts, Chimon, Calf Pasture, Cockenoe, Grassy, Little Tavern, Tavern, Goose, Hoyt, Long, Peach, Sprite, Crow and Tree Hammock.
View from our tent
Alex wrestles the sleeping bags
Shea Island shells
Sunrise on the beach
Oyster and other shells
Marsh on Shea Island; town of Norwalk beyond
An osprey out for breakfast
Johna enjoys her coffee
Hurray, the boats are still here!
Another pretty day to paddle home
Oystercatchers fly over Stamford light
The dock at Great Captain Island. Soon to resume its summer exclusivity to Greenwich residents
Johna points to home (Manhattan) on the horizon
We 2geeks near home and a gathering storm
See the rest of Johna and Vlad’s adventure here. Want to plan your own kayak camping trip to the Norwalk Islands? Details available at the City of Norwalk site. Have fun 🙂
2 Geeks @ 3 Knots 
Lovely photos—looks like a fun trip! 😉
Seriously, it’s great to see it from a different point of view, and with a bit of narrative, which I failed to provide… So it’s my turn to link to your post!
OMG fun. Thanks for a very memorable, pre-Memorial Day weekend!
Pingback: A Paddle to the Norwalk Islands | Wind Against Current
Looks like a great time with friends. Wonderful weather and conditions. I really enjoyed the photos.
Hey, thanks 🙂 It was all of the above — we totally lucked out. Starting the next weekend, however, the motorboats come out of shrink-wrap and happy hour starts at noon…(dangerous “conditions” for us!). This was a last hurrah for serene “winter” paddling, and we savored every moment. See you on the water! J&A
Sharing the water is not an issue here. One will typically see more boats on the car top then on the water. Be safe!
Thanks! We’ll be right over, LOL 🙂
Great! Were have fresh halibut fish tacos in 30 mins. And, a guest room waiting! 🙂
Yum! Swiss chard and onions with chicken sausage (tad of butter) happening here… If you want to circumnavigate NYC, c’mon down! All of the above seems totally doable, yay 🙂
Excellent! If/when I ever get to NYC that is the only way I want to see it. Via the harbors.
This is fantastic, I stopped breathing as I was reading your wonderful post! What a spectacular tour! Take a bow, both of you, you’re my heroes. Very sportive indeed!
Lovely, lovely post, you know how to place the images and tell a good story. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, now I’ll visit Johna and Vlad.
Big hug to you,
Dina xo
We are grinning from ear to ear. Thank you!!
Hope you enjoyed Johna and Vlad’s version — I believe you follow their blog, also as a photographer? 90 miles is nothing to those two… Very intrepid indeed! (Maybe the word we’re looking for is maniacal?!)
Thank you, Dina, for your enthusiasm. We are very touched, as you are truly an artist!! J&A