Exploring the Estuary – a Tour of the Nation s Newest Research Reserve
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When a pioneer has to toss a few names around
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Rocks litter the shore away from the main trail. (Betsy Graham)
Ice meets water near the mouth of the Poquonnock River. (Betsy Graham)
Snowmen decorate a boulder overlooking Fishers Island Sound. (Maggie Jones)
Hikers muck through an unfrozen section of marsh. (Betsy Graham)
A snow squall sweeps across a salt marsh. (Betsy Graham)
The rocky tip of Bluff Point Coastal Reserve in Groton juts into Fishers Island Sound. (Mary Sommer)
Published February 18. 2021 8:34AM By
Steve Fagin
After tramping for more than an hour over a semi-frozen salt marsh at Bluff Point in Groton, during a blinding snow squall reminiscent of a scene from “Dr. Zhivago,” our hiking group finally pushed through the reeds toward a well-traveled path.
Carol Sommer
As James Monroe Buddington approached the Connecticut shoreline on Christmas Eve, 1855, he noted that New London “didn’t make a dot much bigger than my hand … but it was a dot I was glad to see.” After a harrowing voyage through violent storms, he’d sailed the HMS Resolute, an abandoned British barque, from the Davis Strait near the Arctic circle into New London harbor. It was a feat that surprised everyone, including himself. The next day, excited crowds walked out on the frozen Thames River for a look at this unexpected arrival.
In May, James had sailed out of New London on the whaler George Henry. The trip was plagued by severe weather, damage to the ship by ice, and a scarcity of whales. When the crew caught sight of the Resolute, unmanned but in surprisingly good condition, James decided to curtail the disappointing whale hunt and salvage the ghost ship. He divided his crew so both the George Henry and the Resolute could be sailed home. It was an achieve