I'm a displaced Long Island nacra sailor now living in Milford, Connecticut and for more than 2 years now I have been looking for a place to launch my boat on the sound without success. As far as I can tell, there are currently no suitable public places in Connecticut where you are allowed to launch a cat but I have learned of a state beach project currently being planned in Milford that may be an opportunity to get a great beach designated for sailboat launching if we act now. However, I think that it will take more than just one person's letters to get serious consideration so I ask any sailors in Connecticut who would be interested in seeing such a site opened to email me so that we can organize.

It is a sin that along Connecticut’s 100 mile coastline there is not a single public area where catamaran sailors are allowed to launch onto open water. (You ever try paddling 1 mile out of Milford Harbor?) If there are enough people like myself out there maybe we can get something done and I can finally go sailing without having to drive to Long Island! There’s nothing more frustrating than living 1 mile from the water and not being able to launch your boat!

Oh, and if anyone does know of anywhere in Connecticut to launch a cat on the sound please post a follow-up.

I remember going through the same painful search...There are a few "public" launch ramps, but you still have to be a resident of those towns to use them. My favorite was Westport, right across the water from Cedar Point Yacht Club...I managed to sneak in there after Labor Day, when they stop checking for the permits...Awesome location...Good luck...I finally ended up sailing out of Croton on the Hudson...

In Madison, CT there is the Madison Surf Club where town residents are allowed to keep their boats, unfortunatley out of towners can not keep their boats there. But it is open to the public if you want to go sail there for the day, you just have to pay the access fee to the park. It is about 30-40 minutes from milford. You can get any information you need at the Fleet 136 web site
Fleet 136 web site
-Todd Riccardi

You havent looked very hard

There are plenty of place to launch in CT. Old Saybrook has a nice big public launch under I95 - free, Guilford has a public launch ($30 pass for the season), Old Lyme has a nice quiet launch, free, on the CT River. I've launched out of Stonington too.

Lighthouse Point in New Haven is wide open with a big parking lot and free for boaters.

I havent launched south of New Haven, but I bet you could find a spot here

http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/

If you are talking about mast up beach storage, then that's a differient story, you either need to join a yc or find a private spot to rent, or make friends with a person who has beach access.

Roton Point YC has a large Cat fleet, mast up storage. http://www.rotonpoint.org/sailing/index.html

The issue with Long Island Sound is the wind, its light during the summer the farther south you go,

Head north on 95 for better wind.


Bill

As an update to this string, Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven, which charged only $50 a season for non-residents to use the boat ramps as of a few years ago has increased the cost to $230 per year, just to use the boat ramp. Time to find a new launch! The problem is that there is no public access west of New Haven and all of the public ramps on open water are way out east.

Time to move.

Hi, There's a free ramp in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport at the end of Brewster Street. Google "Brewster Street Boat Ramp". The ramp is located right next to the Fayerweather Yacht Club, which is about a 1/2 mile sail out Black Rock harbor to the open Sound. There's a small, 10-car parking lot next to the ramp. I'm around the corner in Fairfield. We've got a pretty good cat scene here on Jennings Beach as well.

You can see the ramp here...
http://www.fayerweatheryachtclub.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/FYCfromAir.jpg