Claire Bangser is a former Westporter, now living in New Orleans.
But she’s back home, visiting her parents. She was lucky enough last night to capture this amazing sunset on the Sherwood Mill Pond.
And we’re lucky enough she thought to share it with us. (Click or hover over to enlarge.)
Back in the day — through the 1st half of the 20th century — Captain Walter Dewitt Allen opened the Sherwood Mill Pond tidal gates by hand. Regular flushing dries out the seaweed, and freshens the water.
Today, the task that “Cap Allen” did well into his 70s is performed mechanically. This morning, the tidal gates were opened so they could be serviced.
The result: a bonanza for the few folks who wandered by. Under brilliant blue skies, the views — and the crabbing — could not have been better.
A young boy scampered down between the open tidal gates. He was looking for crabs, but he also spotted a large turtle and other pond life.
No one jumped into the channel today.
If you didn’t mind the mud, you got a rare view of Hillspoint Road from mid-pond.
The good news is: By 2050, Westport will have plenty of new waterfront property.
The bad news: Current waterfront property will be worthless. It will sit underwater.
Want to check out if you’re a winner or loser? Head to Climate Central. They’ve spent 2 years developing interactive maps for coastal states. You can see — if you dare — estimates of areas vulnerable to flooding from combined sea level rise, storm surge and tides, or to permanent submergence by long-term sea level rise.
The site also offers reams of statistics. But the maps are the money shots.
This is a very pretty map. Until you realize that blue represents water. Nearly everything south of the Post Road could be submerged. And look how far over its banks the Saugatuck River flows. Hover over or click to enlarge.
The above map is based on a 2-degree Celsius average rise in temperature.
Virtually everything south of 95 is gone. So is all of downtown, as the Saugatuck River surges over its banks.
Alert “06880” reader Glenn Payne — who we can thank (or blame) for sending the link along — notes:
While the attached is somewhat alarmist (it shows all land within 20 feet of high tide underwater), and the timing is likely beyond most readers, it does paint a very different picture of Westport sometime in the future. While some may be relieved that their house has not been submerged, their commute will be challenged, as I-95 will be.
He poses some interesting questions:
So don’t sweat the details of the new downtown plan. Who cares if there’s a new traffic pattern at the beach. Neither will be around forever.
But until then, be careful where you park. “06880” will move to higher ground. We’ll still be watching.
Welcome to Westport!
(To see the interactive Westport map, click here. For Climate Central’s “Surging Seas” page, click here.)
Posted in Beach, Downtown, Environment, Real estate, Saugatuck, Weather
Tagged climate change, ClimateCentral.org, Glenn Payne
Remember the days of persistent algal blooms in Long Island Sound? When hypodermic needles washed up on shore? When only truly brave souls went in for a swim — and then headed straight for the shower?
Those days are thankfully gone. It’s taken a concerted effort — by government and private agencies, working together and on their own — to clean up the Sound.
But how healthy is it today?
Save the Sound knows. The New Haven-based organization’s new online tool provides 10 years of water quality data, easily understandable by the public.
Compo Beach beckons on a hot day. But is the water as healthy as it looks?
One section focuses on the health of coastal beaches, including bacterial pollution that leads to beach closures and water quality degradation.
Rainfall data shows which locations suffer from bacterial contamination as a result of wet weather overflows and runoff, and which suffer in dry weather too.
The Findings & Solutions section offers strategies for reducing water pollution.
Every beach in Connecticut and New York is rated, from A to F. SPOILER ALERT: Compo gets a B-.
It’s not the sexiest site on the interwebs.
Nor is this one of the most irresistible stories I’ve ever posted on “06880.”
But if you care at all about Long Island Sound — and who in Westport doesn’t? — then clicking this link might be the most important things you do all day.
(Hat tip: Wally Meyer)
…but if you turn around and look in the other direction, you can often find an equally inspiring moonrise.
Diane Wendroff did just that last night. Here it is:
It’s been decades since Bill Whitbeck lived in Westport. (Westport, Connecticut, that is. He’s now in the beautiful seaside town of Westport, Washington.)
But he remembers fondly his days on Cockenoe. That’s the island a mile off Compo. (Which Westport now owns, having bought it in 1968 to save it — and us — from a proposal to build a nuclear power plant there. Click here for that unbelievable story.)
Still, he did not realize how many times his family visited Cockenoe until his father died, and the Whitbecks examined thousands of old 35mm slides.
It seemed like every other roll of film taken during the summers showed camping on the island.
The other day, Bill sent some of the images, from 1958 to ’60.
Bill Whitbeck’s sister Joanne, neighbor Bobby Bittner, Bill (waving) and his mom, at the highest area of the sandbar in 1958.
“We brought tents, camping gear and food for the weekend,” Bill recalls. “We’d camp on the western side’s long sandbar. From current photos I’ve seen, it’s almost gone from erosion.”
Other prime campsites were nestled in the trees on the southern side of the island, on higher ground with little trails leading to them. Those sites were usually snatched up first. But if Bill’s family got there early enough on Friday afternoon, they snagged a site for the weekend.
Bill Whitbeck (with pail), his mother, sister and a neighbor digging clams on Cockenoe’s sandbar, now almost totally gone. This stretch between the sandbar and the higher part of the island in the distance was covered at high tide, though it was shallow enough to walk between the two in 1958.
I was struck by the quality of the colors, and composition of the photos. I told Bill that they seemed like a Life magazine spread on the Kennedys at Cape Cod.
“The colors haven’t faded after almost 60 years,” he agrees.
“Kodachrome film used layers of dyes, as opposed to silver halide crystals found in other transparency films, like Ektachrome of Fujichrome. The silver crystals give most film their ‘grain’.”
Bill Whitbeck, his sister’s fiance, and 2 sisters on the maiden voyage of a 16-foot outboard his father built. It was so new, he had not yet installed a windshield. The photo was taken in Cockenoe’s bay, a perfect anchorage, surrounded by the island’s horseshoe shape. Check out the wooden boats — there was no fiberglass in 1959.
In 1994, Bill took his dad for one more walk around the island. He died a few years later.
Breakfast on the south side of Cockenoe, in 1959. The bay is behind young Bill Whitbeck. In the distance to the left is Sprite Island; Saugatuck Shores (still undeveloped) is to the right.
Looking east from the camp site in 1959. Some large Army-style tents are on the beach. Families would set them up, then stay on the island for weeks at a time. They made runs back to town once or twice a week for supplies. Whitbeck remembers during a few summers, enterprising young boys would go to Cockenoe on Sunday mornings with blocks of ice, and copies of the Sunday New York Times, Herald Tribune and Daily News, to sell to boaters and campers on the island.
Posted in Beach, Looking back, People, Places
Tagged Bill Whitbeck, Cockenoe Island, Kodachrome
When Positano closed on December 31 — the victim of rising rents and tough parking — Westport lost one of its last waterfront restaurants.
We’re left now with only Rive Bistro. (And Joey’s by the Shore — the best beach concession anywhere.)
But the restaurant gods giveth, as well as taketh.
Positano is adjacent to the Westport Country Playhouse.
Positano opened last night in its new digs, next to the Westport Country Playhouse. So — after 18 dark months — theater-goers now have a great, convenient spot for a pre-show meal or post-show drink.
And the rest of us have another excellent restaurant to savor.
The cast is the same. Joseph Scarpati still owns Positano. He still cooks alongside his son Fernando, a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef. His daughter Aida remains involved too.
The new Positano is bigger than the former spot on Old Mill Beach. There’s a full sit-down bar, which it lacked before. There’s room in the back for private parties. And a patio in front. (Despite being on the beach, zoning issues inhibited outdoor dining at the old place.)
Without any fanfare, Positano opened last night. These women were the first customers for today’s lunch.
The focus is still on authentic regional Italian cuisine. But the prices are lower than before.
The previous restaurant — The Dressing Room — was Paul Newman and Michel Nischan’s showpiece. The Scarpatis have honored their sustainable vision.
EcoChi, the designers, have reused the original Alabama barn wood found by Newman. Lighting fixtures, dining chairs, even table settings — all are designed with environmental integrity in mind.
Positano serves lunch from 11 a.m., and dinner from 4 p.m., 7 days a week. It’s worth checking out– even if you have to drive from Old Mill Beach.
This arresting artwork hangs on the Positano wall. The lemons represent the prized Amalfi Sfususato lemon, so sweet they can be eaten raw. The Italian village of Positano is on the Amalfi Coast.
Posted in Beach, People, Restaurants
This summer’s weather is our reward for last winter.
A lazy, casual Friday set the scene for an equally gorgeous Saturday. Compo Beach was fairly empty this morning, but ready for a very active weekend.
Sunday may bring thunderstorms. Right now though, we’re taking it one glorious day at a time.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard paid a visit. Hopefully, it was just to enjoy the beauty and serenity of a perfect Friday in Westport.
This morning — right underneath a sign prohibiting glass bottles, open fires and amplified music — an alert “06880” reader saw this:
If you’re hoping for a free concert though, you’re out of luck.
An hour later, it was gone.
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