Field preparation / Long Island Sound
Avon
Adventure 620
Before searching a shoreline, Mike Sandone and Michael Girard took the boat out to learn what it could do.
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01 / A boat for the search
Following the shore.
Mike Sandone acquired an Avon Adventure 620, a rigid inflatable boat, to reach stretches of coast that are difficult to examine from land. He was interested in retracing early European routes along the Hudson River and checking lidar anomalies that might point toward historical mine sites. These were questions for future trips, not discoveries made on this outing.
Before committing the boat to that work, Mike made upgrades and modifications. Michael joined him for a shakedown on Long Island Sound, where a long run would expose problems that a short launch might miss.
02 / On the water
Fifty miles
of testing.
They traveled approximately 50 miles along the coast. A few minor issues emerged, but Michael reported that the boat performed well overall. His 2023 account does not specify the problems or describe a survey of the shore during this run.
The value of the day was practical: a chance to see how the boat handled before carrying people and equipment toward more remote sites. The Hudson and New England coastline remained the intended fieldwork ahead.
In the archive
The trip before the trip.
Exploration often depends on a day that brings back no artifact and resolves no historical question. This run was one of those days: preparation, shared work, and a clearer sense of the platform that would take the search onto the water.
Explore the field archive ↗Source & credit
Adapted from Michael Girard, “Avon Adventure 620,” published April 15, 2023, on his former website. The article described the Hudson and Northeast searches as plans; this record does not assume those trips or any resulting finds took place.
The photograph appeared with that article as “Capt-Sandone.png.” Its photographer has not been confirmed. See the image credits for attribution and use information.