Great Captain Island, also known more familiarly as "Great Captains Island," is an island off the coast of Greenwich, Connecticut, and is the location of the 19th-century Great Captain Island Lighthouse.
The 17-acre (69,000 m2) island, a bit over a mile south of the Byram shore, is the southernmost point in the state of Connecticut and New England, lying south of 41°. The isle is the largest of a three-island group that also includes Little Captain (more commonly known today as Island Beach) and Wee Captain, attached to Little Captain by a sandbar. The islands are named after Captain Daniel Patrick, one of the first settlers of Greenwich. The town operates a ferry service to and from the island from about the second week in June through the second week of September. Three people live in the lighthouse.
Egrets, herons, osprey, and many other bird species can be seen on the island. Trails have been laid out for visitors, and the western part of the island has picnic tables, grills, restrooms, and posted swimming areas. The island is open year round, with a ferry running during the summer. No public tours of the lighthouse or island are available. A single dirt road leads to the eastern side of the island, where most egrets tend to nest and where the lighthouse is.
Read more about Great Captain Island: History, Wildlife, Town Memorial To Those Killed in The 9/11 Terrorist Attack, Trivia
Famous quotes containing the words captain and/or island:
“The night was thick and hazy
When the “Piccadilly Daisy”
Carried down the crew and captain in the sea;
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And I know they didn’t come ashore with me.”
—Charles Edward Carryl (1841–1920)
“We crossed a deep and wide bay which makes eastward north of Kineo, leaving an island on our left, and keeping to the eastern side of the lake. This way or that led to some Tomhegan or Socatarian stream, up which the Indian had hunted, and whither I longed to go. The last name, however, had a bogus sound, too much like sectarian for me, as if a missionary had tampered with it; but I knew that the Indians were very liberal. I think I should have inclined to the Tomhegan first.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)