It’s no secret that the Connecticut shoreline, particularly in the Old Saybrook to Mystic area, offers some of the best cruising on the east coast, with a combination of national and maritime history and a large selection of welcoming large and small marinas. And that’s before you head up the Connecticut River to Essex, which was burned by the British in the War of 1812 and is now the quintessential small New England town, or Hamburg Cove, just up the river a bit, one of the best gunkholes anywhere, in my opinion. But now that area is attracting more attention.…