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:
“I am not what is called a civilized man, professor. I have done with society for reasons that seem good to me. Therefore I do not obey its laws.”
—Earl Felton, and Richard Fleischer. Captain Nemo (James Mason)
“When the inhabitants of some sequestered island first descry the “big canoe” of the European rolling through the blue waters towards their shores, they rush down to the beach in crowds, and with open arms stand ready to embrace the strangers. Fatal embrace! They fold to their bosoms the vipers whose sting is destined to poison all their joys; and the instinctive feeling of love within their breasts is soon converted into the bitterest hate.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)